Tatev Monastery and Vorotan Gorge

Seeing Tatev pop up as a potential WH candidate for 2028, I had to dive deeply into my memory for an opinion. Fortunately, I still have my diaries in Dutch available.

I visited in 2005, as a day trip from Yerevan with a car + driver. It’s in the direction of Iran and it would take us 5 hours to get there. We regularly encountered large trucks with Iranian number plates. The chance that they are bringing something to Armenia is greater than getting something, but Iran is (compared to Azerbaijan and Turkey) a good neighbour. We also got caught up in very large herds of sheep twice, accompanied by shepherds and dogs.

After an hour or two, we stopped at a roadside restaurant. It was more of a shack, but with two seats outside (photo top right). A small river flows by, and the restaurant also serves fish. And meat, because the owner came outside with half a pig and a cleaver to make slices of meat for the barbecue on a sawn-off tree stump. We only took coffee and enjoyed the surroundings. The driver didn't want me to pay, and the owner of the restaurant didn't want any money from the driver either, hospitality all the way.

Like all real monasteries, Tatev lies in an almost impossible location. First, we had to go down a winding road into the valley for half an hour, and then up again via the continuation of that winding …

Visited in the summer of 2012. Very beautiful and well preserved monastery in an area full of impressive monasteries and definitely a highlight of a visit to southern Armenia. Didn't take the cable car but it was accessible by bus from Goris and made an easy 1/2 day trip. Whether or not it makes the WH list (it should) the setting was stunning and quite peaceful and worth the visit. Easily hitchhiked back to town as I recall. 

One of best preserved monasteries in Armenia. Additional attraction is the famous "Wings of Tatev" - the longest cable car in the world (be prepared to long queues in the high season).

Access to the monastery is by chartered taxi (from Goris or Sisian, expect to pay around 8.000 AMR for return trip). Tatev is magnificently situated in the mountains, it is also one of the most visited sites in Armenia, so it is better to avoid weekends, especially during holiday months.