Ropeway ‘’Wings of Tatev’’ –Tatev Monastery - Tatev HEO, Kapan /overnight stay/- Baghaberd Fortress – Vahanavank Monastery – Halidzor Fortress – Khndzoresk - Goris /overnight stay/- Agitu Memorial – Vorotnavank Monastery – Karahunj – Shaki Waterfal
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Ropeway ‘’Wings of Tatev’’ is the longest reversible aerial tramway, connecting villages Halidzor and Tatev through Vorotan gorge, stretches 5,7 km. The maximum height above the gorge is 320 km. The cabin, holding 25 passengers, moves with the maximal speed of 37 km/h, passing the way from the point of departure to the destination in 11 minutes 25 seconds.
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Tatev Monastery is located in the middle of Syunik Province in South Armenia, 30 km from the town of Goris near the village of the same name – Tatev, on the right bank of the River Vorotan. It was founded in 895-906. The Monastery is one of the intellectual centers of medieval Armenia. Its strategically beneficial location on a foreland, created by the deep, rocky slopes of the river, prospered to the creation of a powerful defensive complex. Gavazan (the pendulous column), built in 904 in the courtyard, near the living quarters of the Monastery, refers to the number of unique works of architectural-engineering art of Armenia. It is octahedral, folded out of shallow stones, column with the height of 8 meters. Under the impact of seismic soil fluctuations and even from a simple touch of a human arm, the column, due to articulation, bent and returned to its initial position.
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Tatev Hydroelectric Power Plant is located on the River Vorotan. It is one the most powerful hydroelectric power plants in Armenia and provides a significant share of power generation of the Republic. Tatev Hydroelectric Power Plant is a part of Vorotan cascade Hydroelectric Power Plant. The construction of it has 3 vertical bucket turbines, working under the water pressure of 565 meters.
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Kapan is located in a picturesque valley of the River Voghji between the ridges of the Zangezur Mountain Range - the Bargushat and Meghri. It is an executive center of Syunik Province in Armenia. Kapan is the largest town of South Armenia, the symbol of the city is a wonderful Mount Khustup, the height of which is about 3200 meters. Two rivers leak though the town –Voghji and Vachagan, which was first mentioned in the V century. In the X century the possessor of Syunik, King Smbat II, proclaiming himself the Lord in 970, moved here his own residence from Vayk and founded Syunik Kingdom.
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Overnight stay in Kapan.
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Baghaberd Fortress is not far from the town of Kapan and has been famous since the IV century. The significance of the fortress especially grew in the IX-XI centuries, when the storage for manuscripts of Tatev Monastery was built. The remains of the fortress have remained till our days. Once it used to be a huge fortress, where in the underground labyrinth were rooms and channels.
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Vahanavank Monastery was built in 911 by Vahan, the junior son of King Dzagik, and the Monastery is named after him – Vahanavank. It used to be the religious center of Syunik Kingdom. The oldest building of the complex is St. George Lusavorich Church. Surrounded by wonderful nature of the mountains of Syunik, the Monastery complex is the shrine of the kings and princes of Syunik.
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Halidzor Fortress is approximately 5 km from the center of Kapan. Initially Halidzor was a monastery, founded in the X century. In 1723 it was converted into a fortress by David-Bek. The fortress played a significant role during David-Bek’s insurrection. Deceased during this battle, David-Bek is buried in the monastery cemetery of this fortress.
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Khndzoresk Village is 8 km east from Goris. The main sight is the ‘’cave city’’, Old Khndzoresk, a village, spread out over 3 km on the slope of a deep gorge, which for a long time used to be one of the populous villages of Syunik.
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Overnight stay in Goris.
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Agitu Memorial. In the early Middle Ages, Agitu was one of the first settlements in Syunik for political, religious, military and economic purposes. Agitu is famous for its famed memorial, which was built in the VI-VII centuries. The sculptures of the memorial are very similar to the sculptures of Zvartnots Temple. Stone inscriptions can also be seen on them. Agitu Memorial is one of the rare preserved tombstone obelisks in Armenia. It is noteworthy that the obelisk of Agitu served as an example for the construction of the arch of the bell tower of Memorial Complex of Sardarapat. According to one version, this memorial is the burial place of the victims in the name of the Christian faith.
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Vorotnavank Monastery is located near Vagatin village. Vorotnavank was founded in 1000 by Queen Shaandukht of Syunik. In the early Middle Ages, the church was an educational center, and also a famous place of pilgrimage with the miraculous power of healing from snake bites. According to historian Stepanos Orbelyan, the monastery complex was one of the largest in Armenia. According to him, the most ancient church of the complex - St. George Church (now ruined) – was built by Grigor Lusavorich.
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Karahunj or Zorac-Karer is an ancient megalithic complex, located on a mountain plateau at the height of 1770 meters above sea level. The complex consists of many huge standing stones, part of which have round holes in their upper part. The construction itself consists of 223 (only numbered) basalt (andesite) stones with the height of 1,5-2,8 meters, and the weight up to 8,5 tons.
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Shaki Waterfall. According to a legend, the Waterfall got its name in honor of beautiful Shake, who, unwilling to submit to violence from one of the conquerors, threw herself off the cliff. During the fall, the girl's long dress opened from the wind and turned into a waterfall, which was later called Shaki waterfall. The waterfall is 3 km north-west of the city of Sisian, in the gorge of the River Vorotan, the height is 18 meters.