5 / 5 - One review
How to get there
20 minutes from Yeghegnadzor by car
When to go
All year round, snow cover can sometimes be inconvenient in winter
Minimum stay
One day
Tsakhats (Armenia)
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Practical information about Tsakhats
Reviews of Tsakhats
Tsakhats Kar is a beautiful lost monastery, hanging on to the mountain, above the Yeghegis Valley, in the superb Vayots Dzor region. A fine and elegant basalt church, a peaceful atmosphere, splendid views: an exciting place!
My suggestion:
From Yeghegis or Artabuynk, it's a pleasure just to go up to Tsakhats Kar on foot, passing by the picturesque Smbataberd Fortress! A combination of a walk, a fortress and a monastery in the middle of the Armenian mountains, there you have all of the country's attractions.
Summary:
I must first say that the small region of Yeghegis is particularly seductive: the landscape is beautiful and balanced, mountainous, open and pleasant at the same time. It is one of my favourite places in the south of Armenia. With sites like the Smbataberd Fortress and Tsakhats Kar Monastery, it has nothing to be jealous of the more visited regions in the country.
For those who love ecclesiastical Armenian architecture, the Tsakhats Kar Monatery has everything going for it. Although small and in partial ruin, the site is a real beauty. It owes this above all to its two picturesque churches: Sourp Hovhaannes (Saint Yoannès), a 989 basalt realisation, and Saint Karapet, also from the 10th century, the two of them mixing their ocre, orange and black tones which make up the specific Armenian colour chart.
Although they are partially in ruin, these two buildings emit a lot of spirituality. Around them, the ruins of the conventional buildings and the cemetery with its Khatchkars (richly decorated Armenian crosses) add to the grandeur of the site.
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100 travellers' photos
