Alaverdi

Understand

Alaverdi is the largest city in the Debed Canyon of Lori, an area rich with historical monuments and natural beauty, and your best bet for refueling, getting supplies or finding other things you'd expect in a town. The city itself has little to offer of historic value, save for the beautiful old foot bridge, since it was built as a mining town, a fact which you won't be able to miss as you go past the massive mining works. The mine once wreaked massive environmental damage, which stopped for a while with the collapse of the USSR, but now it has restarted, albeit on a much smaller scale. You can drive to the Sarahart suburb, which is on top of the canyon cliffs, or you can walk up the ancient foot path which is past the bridge. There is a cable car suspended in the air since it was closed years ago, which once took the miners to and from work. Sarahart is adjacent to Sanahin Village, with the famous monastery, and the museum to the Mikoyan brothers, with their extraordinary accomplishments of worldwide significance. Although accommodation options are somewhat limited, making the decision to stay a few nights in the area will allow you to much better appreciate and explore what Armenia has to offer, without sitting in a car all day back and forth from Yerevan. Alaverdi is surrounded by the following important suburbs and villages, which will also be considered in this article: 1 Sarahart, 2 Sanahin, 3 Haghpat, and 4 Odzun. A bit further south are 5MISSING WIKILINK Tumanyan and 6MISSING WIKILINK Dsegh. Alaverdi itself is actually just a transport hub, and you are better off staying on top of the canyon.

Getting there

By marshrutka 1 Bus station. Specific destinations:

Marshrutkas between Alaverdi and Vanadzor (1 hr, 500 dram), Stepanavan (2 hr, 700 dram), and Gyumri depart daily. To Vanadzor: 09:00, 10:30, 11:00, and 13:00. Furthermore, almost all transport to and from Tbilisi passes through this town. A bus from Alaverdi to Tbilissi leaves every day at 11:30. Yerevan (3 hr, 1,700 dram). There is one at 11:00.

By train 2 Train Station. Train Yerevan-Tbilisi passes through Alaverdi, but unfortunately does not stop at Alaverdi. The best station would be Vanadzor.

By taxi There are numerous taxis waiting for your negotiations.

By thumb It is easy to get around and into the Alaverdi canyon.

Getting around

The Alaverdi town is built along the Debed River and easily walkable. To reach Sanahin and Sarahart take a taxi (1000 dram), marshrutka (100 dram), or just hitchhike. Everything along the canyon can be managed by hitchhiking, but taxis are abundant. As of December 2019, the M-6 road around Alaverdi is under construction and in pretty bad shape. Some stretches are passable at max. 10 km/h. 2024: The M-6 road isn't under construction anymore, the road going up to Sanahin Sarahart is also newly paved and the asphalt is to continue to Akner village within approximately a year.

By marshrutka 3 Bus Station for Odzun. To get to Odzun catch a bus going to Vanadzor (every round hour), 200-300 dram. There is at least one bus at 14:00. (updated Oct 2019) Useful marshrutka routes (the last go at 19:00):

Marshrutka #5 – from the train station through the entire city along the Debed River. Marshrutka #3 – from the bus and train stations to Sanahin suburb, every 30 min, 100 dram. Marshrutka #063 – between Alaverdi and Haghpat, 200 dram Alaverdi to Haghpat: weekdays 08:15, 09:00, 10:30, 11:30, 13:30, 15:00, 16:30, 17:30, and weekend 09:00, 13:00, 17:00 Haghpat to Alaverdi: weekdays 07:30, 08:35, 09:30, 11:00, 13:00, 14:05, 15:30, 17:00, and weekend 08:30, 12:00, 16:00 Marshrutka to Akhtala Monastery: 12:00, 300 dram.

By cable car There is a funicular (even though actually a cable car) between Alaverdi and Sarahart. The cable car operates at the following times: 07:00-10:00, 11:00-13:30, 15:00-19:30, and 23:00-00:30 As of 2019, the cable car is broken and locals are not confident on a timely repair.

By taxi A taxi to Odzun is officially 1,500 dram, even though it is just 10 km. But it is uphill and often taxi drivers demand 2,000 dram from tourist. Do not fall for 2,000. Otherwise, the going rate, as always, is 100 dram per kilometre, at least when not climbing up. Also it's possible to charter a taxi to Haghpat Monastery and Akhtala Monastery together for 5,000 dram. Or t

See

In the town 1 12th-century bridge of Sanahin. From this bridge you can walk up to the top of the canyon and further to Sanahin monastery. 2 Church of Saint Gregory of Narek (Narekatsi church) (by the post office near the bottom of the cable car). New town church completed in 2001. 3 Mikoyan Brothers Museum (in Sanahin village, a short walk from their original home and 200 m from the great Sanahin Monastery), [email protected]. M-Sa 11:00 to 16:00. Artyom Mikoyan was a famous aeronautical engineer and designed the aircraft of the Mikoyan-Gurevich fighter series (MiG parked out front), while his brother Anastas become Premier of the USSR. The price includes a guided tour in English (translated folders in German, French and Spanish are also available at the museum). For adults 500 dram, for ages 6-18 250 dram, for ages 0-5 free of charge. which includes a guided tour in English by one of our team (Armenian and Russian language are also available). (updated Aug 2021)

Nearby

4 Akhtala Monastery (20 km east of Alaverdi). With the possible exception of Kobayr Monastery, Akhtala has the most exquisite frescoes in Armenia. This fortified monastery, with massive gates and beautiful details, carvings, and ruins, is above a mining town of the same name. Built by the intertwined Armenian-Georgian royalties of the times, this monastery captures the best of both. There are sunken rooms, arches that outlasted their buildings, and nice views. 5 Kayan Berd (between Haghpat and Sanahin, follow the road to Akner N of Sanahin and then take small trail to the fortress). Ruins of a small black fortress built in 1233.

6 Haghpat Monastery, Haghpat Village (6 km north of Alaverdi). Part of the same UNESCO site as Sanahin, you'll have a hard time choosing a favourite. The labyrinth of passages, chambers, khachkars and views will leave you wondering how this masterpiece was built. A combined UNESCO world heritage site, these two monasteries sit on top of opposite s

Do

Hike, bike, climb, camp, 4x4, photography....

Hiking

There are many trails in the area that link monasteries with each other and with villages. Some have signs and some are marked on OpenStreetMap, others aren’t! The paths are very scenic. The following are some of the recommended trails:

Sanahin to Haghpat. Follow any of the paths from one monastery to the other. The shortest trail with least distance on paved roads is 9 km and takes about 2-3 hr. It takes you through the steep gorges, a small mountain river and the village Akner. If you follow the official path, be careful going down to the mountain river; one of the water pipes has a leak and the steep incli