Stone Lake to Amberd Trail

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Features Lake · Views

To get to the trail from Yerevan, Stone Lake (Kari Lich) can be reached by taxi. The distance is 70km and the cost is 10,000AMD. Be sure to take a taxi with a working meter. Taxies throughout Armenia are quite affordable. Alternative vehicles do not work to reach this trail. The best time to visit the area is from May to October.

The trail starts from the area of Stone Lake (Kari Lich), which is located in Aragatsotn marz. The slopes of Aragats can be reached along a narrow asphalt road by taxi. Mount Aragats is the highest point of the Republic of Armenia at 4,090 m from sea level. Aragats has been one of the largest volcanoes in the world.

The Aragats Research Station which is also located near the start of the trail was founded by the Alikhanyan brothers. It is a unique place for this region of the world. Lake Sevan (Kari Lich) is named Kari for two reasons: first, it is surrounded with flat, sharp-edge stones; second, its water is cold like the stones. This mountain lake in Armenia is covered by snow and ice until mid-July.

After taking in the beautiful views of Mount Aragats and Lake Kari, you'll connect to the main route through the Aragats research station and hike to the medieval Amberd complex.

From Stone Lake to the Amberd highway, you'll see enjoy panoramic views of the majestic mountains. The trail eventually comes to the Amberd Medieval fortress and castle which was built during the 10th century in the historical marz of Aragatsotn. The fortress is located 7km to the north from Byurakan village at the connecting point of Arshakhen and Amberd rivers, at an altitude of 2,300 meters. The principals of the fortification building of medieval Armenia are reflected in this castle. After stopping at the historic Amberd castle, hikers can continue back to Yerevan by any means of transportation.

On the way back, you can also visit the Armenian Alphabet Monument after M. Mashtots, Saghmosavank, Hovhannavank.

Flora: The semi-desert, dry mountain grasslands and alpine zones follow each other up the slopes of Aragats. Rivers flowing through beautiful gorges and valleys covered will low grasses create small waterfalls in some places. People come here from all over, to behold Aragats, enjoy the alpine zone of the mountain, and to see the meadows decorated with colorful flowers, such as blue forget-me-nots, alpine violets, wild lilies, poppies, bellflowers, and more. The flora of Amberd and the Amberd Gorge differs from the nature of Aragats. In spring and summer, nature awakens here, and in autumn the colors of forest trees and shrubs create a perfect palette. Both sides of the road from Byurakan to the Armenian Alphabet Monument are covered with forests where people spend their holidays.

Fauna: You may come across foxes, wolves, rodents, and rabbits. During very hot days, there are lots of reptiles (lizards, snakes) and rarely turtles.