Hiking trail through Armenia's scenery debuted by Armenian NGO and volunteers

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Despite its small size—just over 11,000 square miles—Armenia packs a wealth of scenery and wildlife into its craggy terrain. It’s a hiker’s dream, with landscapes winding through the Caucasus Mountains from the arid Aras Valley, at the Iranian border, to lush forests rolling into Georgia.

But until recently, it was impossible to hike across the whole of this nation at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. “I remember looking out at these mountains and thinking, ‘my God, I really want to explore them’,” says Tom Allen, a British adventurer and trail developer who first visited the country in 2008. 

Allen’s experience led him to design a 514-mile route crossing Armenia, which launched in early 2022. Working with NGOs HIKEArmenia and Trails for Change, Allen and teams of volunteers not only built fresh trails but also linked Soviet-era 4x4 tracks, herding routes, and longtime footpaths.

It all winds through cloud-hugging pastures past ancient monasteries, stone villages, and crumbling caravanserais from the days when the Silk Road made Armenia rich.

Hiking along ancient thoroughfares from village to village, “you see things that are thousands of years old,” Kosian adds. “You meet families who have lived in the same place for generations. They tell you stories about how they used the trail you’re walking on to go to school. And all of this adds age and depth. It becomes more than just hiking; it becomes walking through an open-air museum.”

Armenia was once merely the realm of intrepid hikers who connected the dots on their own. The TCT, which is expected to draw a hundred through-hikers this year (and thousands more day hikers), gives the country a way to draw “soft adventure” travel as well. All the while, the trail has fostered a burgeoning outdoors movement within Armenia, with local trail clubs helping maintain the route.

Source: NatGeo

Edited December 10, 2022 by FfFfFfFF

[HermioneT 1,635]

Maybe one day when I'm feeling a bit more adventurous than now and have a bit more money, I would love to hike there.

[theidlerwheel 424]

The Caucasus are so beautiful 

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2 minutes ago, HermioneT said:

Maybe one day when I'm feeling a bit more adventurous than now and have a bit more money, I would love to hike there.

I read the whole article and there is barely any mention of the war/ tensions with Azerbaijan.. but yeah, this is still something to keep in mind when planning to visit the region (which is a shame because the scenery is so stunning ) The trail extends into Georgia and Georgia feels kinda safer, but in a worst case scenario Georgia and Russia might go to war with each other (very not likely in the current state, but still).

[Illundressyou 405]

wow, looks absoolutely stunning

[chromaticainmyhead 5,276]

The endless amount of beauty and wonders our planet has to offer.. seeing incredible pictures like these often makes me speechless about it

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