Mountains are Talking for Armenia

“Hiking is a lifestyle”. Mher Avetisyan

Interview with Mher Avetisyan who is a guide working with Armenian Geographic.

-How many years are you working in this field, and what dynamics can you see of the development of the branches of tourism in Armenia?

-It’s been already 6 years that I work in the field of mountain tourism, but I’m in mountains since I was a child as it has always been my hobby. I should say that mountains were always empty, especially during the summer you could rarely see people setting up tents or hiking there. However, in the last 2-3 years in the mountains you can meet not only foreigners, but also locals. The number of local hiking organizations is increasing, and these organizations take larger groups for hiking trips. At the same time, new, unknown and lost destinations are being discovered on daily basis. So mountain tourism in Armenia is developing very quickly.

-What is the reason for the development of mountain tourism in Armenia?

-First of all, the development of modern technologies have their impact on the growth of this field. For example, when ArmGeo or other organizations publish hiking photos on social media, people get curious about where those photos were taken? It’s spreading like a virus. Besides, these places are inaccessible to the human eye, and when they see a photo with completely different perspective and colors, they also want to see these places with their own eyes.

-Who are hikers in Armenia?

-Of the locals, mostly young people participate in hikes, but we should say that many people over 40 are interested in this activity, too. We don’t have statistics, but as I understand it, hikers are mainly office workers who work in front of the computer all day long and want to be more active and hike during the weekend.

-From which countries do people come to Armenia to participate in hikes?

-I mainly work with foreign tourists. Talking about the Armenian tourism in general, we can say that our tourists are from certain countries, but this doesn’t apply to mountain tourism. There are people who come to Armenia just for hiking. The main countries from which people come to Armenia for hiking are Germany, Italy and France. There are also tourists from Scandinavian countries, but not that many. For example, there are mainly Armenians in groups that hike to Ararat, but sometimes foreigners also join these groups.

-Which are those main destinations that are interesting for hiking tours?

-It’s relative to talk about the main destinations, because Armenia is a very interesting country from the perspective of hiking. Our country is small but we have many low and high points, and you can overcome some the roads in a short period of time. Depending on the season, the destinations of hiking trips change.

-So, we have hiking trips for all the seasons?

-Yes, there are hiking destinations for all seasons. There is a misconception about winter hiking in Armenia. In winter, we do not hibernate and wait for warmer days. In fact, there are more hikes in winter than, for example, in August.

-Anyway, can you list some destinations that tourists might be interested in?

-It depends on how much time tourists are willing to spend on the road. If they want something close to Yerevan, we offer Hatis, Mount Ara, Geghama Mountains and Aragats. But if they have more time, we can offer thousands of destinations in Lori and Tavush regions. There are many destinations that are very popular, such as Lastiver or a hike from Lake Parz to Lake Gosh. But there are also thousands of directions that seem to be a hidden and unexplored part of Armenia.

-What do you think who should do hiking and who should not?

-I will recommend everyone to do hiking, because there are both easy and difficult hiking destinations. Those who have health problems, I do not recommend to take part in high-altitude hiking trips. People who have problems with blood pressure, weight, or people with cardiovascular disease can only take part in easy hikes.

-Can you remember an interesting incident that happened during your tours?

-Many interesting things happen during each hiking trip, because many people with different worldviews participate in them. Once, something funny happened during the hiking trip to Aragats crater. It was a small group of locals and the participants were inexperienced. While I was folding up my tent, some young hikers were trying to fold up another one. However, for technical reasons it was not so easy to do it, so they decided to walk from Aragats crater to the car holding the open tent in their hands. This is a very funny story for experienced hikers as the journey from the crater to the car takes half a day. It’s impossible to walk that distance holding an open tent in your hands. So, I just helped them with the tent, put it in my backpack and said “let’s go”.

-How can hiking influence on a person?

-Hiking is also patriotism. Love for the homeland begins with hiking. A person who appreciates the nature will not leave a trash on the ground. Hiking is an upbringing, it’s a lifestyle. Therefore, I would recommend doing hiking from childhood, because this is a way to learn to love your country.

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Hiking Tours in Armenia