“Armenia 🇦🇲 ~Scenic Sevan Lake and the Elusive Azhdahak Crater Lake”
We spent a half day on the road, trying, one more time, to reach Azhdahak. I thought I was so smart to get a route from Sevan Lake to the site, instead of from Garni, where we tried, twice, to get up there. But the Google Map tricked us and took us all the way back to Garni, only to link up to the road we tried two times already!😳
The good news is, once we figured out where the map was really leading us, I said, oh well, let’s continue and see how far we can get this time, since the roads did have less ice, and there was no fog or rain, on this beautiful sunny day. Funny thing is, we made it only about a mile further than the last two times we tried. Had the bad, rocky road continued, we could have made it!
We made it far enough this time, to realize the barely and bad road ended, and clearly one would need a 4X4, horse, donkey, or a long hike by foot, to make the rest of the 12 miles. Yes, there was snow and ice, still, but enough gravel showing through we could have kept on track, had there been at least the same kind of bad road.
BTW, it was my turn to drive the whole day, so Daryl could take a break. Before we realized the road would run out, because there was a bend I could not see beyond, Daryl got out to move a rock in the road. Of course this meant I had to stop in the middle of the icy hill. Once Daryl got the rock moved, I could not get any traction to continue up the hill; though I tried. Looking at Daryl for his thoughts at this point, I see him with his hands covering his eyes. 😂 By this time, it dawned on me, the bad, barely-there road ended, and we could go no further. So, I hollered at the big guy out my window, so he could hear me, and suggested he might want to get back in the car, because once I figured out how to get turned around, on a hill, on the ice pack, with only a little gravel, I would not be able to stop to let him in. He got back in, and I began the maneouver of getting us turned around. Before that happened, we would slide sideways down the hill. Daryl covered his eye again.😆 (He is such a Californian) Anyway, I got ‘er straightened out, and off we went. Luckily, I knew there was gravel at the bottom of the icy hill, so all was well, when I got to that. Whew, no incident!
Anyway, after being defeated another time (third time was NOT the charm in this case) to reach the crater lake, we made ourselves feel a lot better for coming all this way, when I realised; “hey, we are back in the region where they make that really yummy sweet bread, we enjoy with our morning coffee!” So, we bought some. But, because it smelled so good, and was still warm from the oven, we couldn’t wait for coffee, and dove right into it; as we made the long drive, back to Sevan Lake.
The photos of the Crater Lake are not mine, but since it’s so beautiful, I wanted y’all to see, what none of us got to see!😜
Azhdahak is an extinct volcanic cone with a crater the depth of just over 164 feet and a diameter of just over 1,640 feet. There is a beautiful lake located in the crater of the mountain.
Mountain Azhdahak consists of slag, lapilli and volcanic bombs. Most of the year it is under the snow. The slopes are free of vegetation.
The Geghama mountains are a very popular destination for hiking and trekking in Armenia.
The really good news is the rest of our day was salvaged, when we did get to see more historic sites 30-minutes from our hotel, and near Sevan Lake. This will be another blog post on this
In the meantime, after getting back to Sevan Lake, the sun was in the perfect position to get some good photos, as we drove around it to see other sites!
My photos from around Sevan Lake
Out of all the highland lakes around the world, it is special. Its sparkling waters have given a home to many legends and well told stories. Here area. few I have learned about
There was once a land with bountiful fertile soil and beautiful gardens. The land was watered by a nearby spring. It was a small but strong spring and once the water flowed from it, the flow had to be stopped by a boulder.
One day a playful young beauty was filling jugs with water at the spring, all the while daydreaming and not paying attention to what she was doing. Once the jugs were full she left the spring, forgetting to replace the boulder. She went home and when evening came she went to bed. During the night, disaster struck. The water from the spring poured out and became a small river, flooding the entire village. People woke and saw the waters rising. They started to climb trees to avoid the flood water, but the waters kept rising higher and higher. All the while the girl slept.
An old man, angered by someone’s carelessness, shouted “May the person who did this turn to stone!” At that moment the forgetful girl awoke and walked out of her house. As soon as she stepped into the street she turned to stone. The powerful waters were still rising and eventually they formed a lake with a rocky island. Today this rocky island still dominates the blue surface of Lake Sevan, looking like the head of a neglectful girl.
The lake is in two connected parts; the smaller, but deeper Maly Sevan (northwest), with a maximum depth of 282 feet, and the Bolshoy Sevan (southeast), reaching 131 feet in depth.
Just in time for sunset and dinner, we made it back to our stay at the NoyLand Resort; safe and sound.
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About Us
Hello and Welcome to our Travel Blog Website, We enjoy writing about our experiences and taking photos of our adventuring along the way. Our names are: Daryl and Pen, but Daryl calls me “Bunny.” We met, quite randomly, whilst both… Read More
That “road” though!!! Mmmmm, the food looks yum-azing.
These roads are NUTS around here. The food can be very good!
You guys are re amazing I love the photos
Looks like heaven
Thank you. Armenia has taken us by surprise. When we first got here, we were sort of unsettled, thinking this might be a long winter, due to the border closures around. But, we have really embraced this country and are loving it!