Armenian Tourist Attractions: Gtichavank Monastery, Karabakh's best kept secret.

g'tichavank
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1241-1248 AD - Near Gosh Village, Hadrut Region, Karabakh

"G'tichavank Monastery"
© 1999 Raffi Kojian, All Rights Reserved

Location in Karabakh G'tichavank, in the Southern parts of Karabakh is one of the lesser known treasures of the region. Nestled at the top of a gorgeous mountain, we took a round about and rewarding route that eventually circled the entire amazing mountain. A rock climbers delight of sheer cliffs on one side, and a completely even, 45 degree slope of soft dirt on the other side, covered in trees at the end of their fall display when I visited.

The road up to the monastery is dirt, and in a 4x4 we had no trouble getting up all the way to the monastery, but wet and muddy conditions could easily have changed that. The views at the monastery are panoramic and although it was a slightly hazy day, we saw more amazing views than we could possibly photograph. There are picnic tables up there, and after the long drive (which should be much much easier after the new ArmeniaFund road is built) you should spend some time up there exploring and relaxing. You won't want to leave anyways.

The monastery itself is in need of a lot of work. I have not really noticed graffiti on a monastery before in any noticeable amount. This place was absolutely covered from top to bottom in Armenian names painted in Russian. None of this can stop you from enjoying the partially collapsed buildings, with beautiful walls, khachkars, roof, and even a tree growing out of one section.

There is not much else I can say to do the place justice, so I will let the pictures I took try.