Tatev, Shaki waterfall, Karahunj

One of the famous spiritual and scientific centers of medieval Armenia, the famous monastic complex of Tatev, is the beauty of Syunik region. Being located in the highland mountains, it was also an inaccessible fortress not only for the local monks, but also for the students studying in the monastery and the residents of the surrounding villages to take shelter from enemy attacks. From the territory of the monastery there is a wonderful view of the observation post of Harsanadzor, from where the bells were used to inform about the attack of the enemy. Next to the monastery, you can also see the 17th-century oil mill, where through an animated video, you can learn about how in the late Middle Ages oil was extracted from various seeds, which were used for the needs of the monastery. You can reach the monastery either by car, going down and up through the beautiful and high bends of the Vorotan river gorge, or by the “Tatever” ropeway, which is considered the longest (5.7 km) in the world, admiring the beautiful nature of the Vorotan gorge from a height of more than 300m.

Not far from the city of Sisian, on one of the tributaries of the Vorotan River, there is one of the most beautiful places in the Syunik region, the Shaki waterfall. Since 2008, it has been registered in the list of state natural monuments of the Ministry of Nature Protection of the Republic of Armenia. The 18m high waterfall is one of the favorite places of tourists visiting Armenia.

The “troop” consisting of hundreds of basalt stones up to 3 m high and weighing up to 10 tons will not leave anyone who visits here indifferent.There are conflicting opinions about the meaning of the structure and the year of its construction. However, according to official information, it is a 7,500-year-old observatory. The authors of the observatory hypothesis draw parallels between Carahunge and the famous Stonehenge, attributing to both structures the importance of an observatory. There are also parallels in the names of the mentioned structures. The word “stone” is translated as “kar” in Armenian, and the similarity of the words “hendge” and “hunge”, which are not translated, is already obvious. Those scientists who do not share the hypothesis of the observatoryclaim that it is a cemetery.