1. Intro
2. Recap of week 63 to 70
3. Finishing up logistics in Tbilisi and getting ready for Armenia
4. Getting a glimpse of old Soviet Armenia in the Debed Canyon
5. Reaching Lake Sevan
6. Catching up with old bike buddies in Yerevan and learning about the Armenian Question
7. Highway to the danger zone and the conflict with Azerbaijan
8. The road south through the mountains of Syunik
9. Resting up in Meghri and preparing for the big tour of Iran
10. The end of a travel volume and now what

During my biketouring in Armenia I’ve cycled over high mountains doing the Vorotan Pass, the switchbacks of Tatev and the Meghri Pass. Camped next to the blue marvels of Lake Sevan and Lake Vorotan. I’ve visited Yerevan and educated myself on a dark part of history dubbed the Armenian Question. I’ve found my favorite local food called zhingyalov hats and heard Jackals howl into the night. I’ve fallen in love with Meghri, a local village booming with fruit gardens. Best of all, I’ve met friendly, smiling and kind Armenians everywhere I go.

The last blog ended up with me waiting for bike parts in Tbilisi. Looking back, I should have ordered the parts while on the road several weeks in advance of me arriving in the capital city of Georgia. Somehow, I was convinced I could find what I needed in local shops, but after running around the city for two full days, I realized that there was no other way than having the parts shipped. I found a company called Camex which looked promising with fast customs clearing. The packages arrived after two weeks of waiting and I spent another week having the bike fixed and serviced. It was a longer wait than I had planned for. My stay was made very comfortable and fun as I got hosted in an apartment by another biketourer and spent my time hanging out in downtown retro cafés and drinking craft beers at night in good company at local dive bars. So after a bit more than three weeks in Tbilisi, I was ready to set off and on 21st September (week 66) I embarked on my Armenian tour down south to the border of Iran.

I entered Armenia and had my first days of biking through the Debed Valley before I passed the first set of peaks on my way to Lake Sevan. From Sevan I only had one day of biking before I reached Yerevan. Arev and Matthias, whom I had the pleasure to bike with in Turkey for two weeks, had decided to stay with Arev’s family over the winter in Armenia’s capital city. We shared good laughs and tasty food for a week. The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan had recently flared up at the eastern border in the south. Roads close to the border towns of Goris and Kapan had been closed for a short period. Artillery shellings and ground fighting occured now and then but during my stay in Yerevan a ceasefire was brokered and the tensions eased up. Things seemed calm enough in the southern region of Syunik for me to safely bike towards the border between Armenia and Iran.

From Yerevan to Meghri, I teamed up with a German guy called Andy. As we passed the cities of Sisian, Goris and Kapan, we made sure to frequently ask locals, police and military personnel about the situation further down the road. We were assured every time that it was safe to bike onwards. The southern region of Armenia is more or less just one big mountain with a lot of elevation meters so the daily mileage count was low. It took us about one week to reach the border city of Meghri where we stayed for some days to rest up and do some preparations for the upcoming tour in Iran. I instantly fell in love with Meghri and decided to stay for a full week. Andy had made arrangements to meet up with a friend in Tabriz (Iran) so we would go our separate ways as he needed to cross the border sooner than me.

Now, my week’s stay in Meghri is soon up. I spent the time here hanging out in the village and walking small tours around the area. Iran has seen some demonstrations against the government lately. The situation is tense and I am daily trying to get updates and advice on traveling the country. I believe there is a very low risk of anything serious happening. I will stay away from any demonstrations and bike around bigger cities as much as possible. After all, I am just a simple biketourer making my way east and I am really looking forward to seeing this beautiful country and experiencing the kindness of the Iranian people I have heard so much good about.

After my long stay in Tbilisi I was very eager to get on the bike again. Tbilisi is not a bad place to stay. The city has such a vibrant energy with cafés and bars spread around in small charming streets - especially in the old town. The three weeks I ended up staying there went fast after all. It was a bit frustrating to wait for my packages for so long. Bike parts are hard to get. Suppliers are still being affected by the supply chain disruption during the COVID lockdowns. So I had to order the rim from one shop, bottom bracket and cassette from another and my new food pouch from a third supplier. I used Camex.ge to ship the packages from Europe to Georgia. Some of the packages got lost for some time at Camex’s local warehouse in Germany. For two days straight I was at their office in Tbilisi trying to locate my packages. In the end they magically appeared in their warehouse inventory even though they very stubbornly claimed that they never did receive the packages.

While waiting for the packages I sorted out the visa to Iran. I applied via the official eVisa portal but nothing happened for weeks so I ended up going through a travel agency called TAP Persia which processed the visa for me in a matter of days. I also managed to get some stickers designed and printed. My goal is to do a bit of advertising for my world bike tour and hopefully inspire others. During my tour in the Svaneti region of Georgia, I promised myself to go through my panniers with a very critical eye in order to lose some weight. With the help of my host, I left behind a lot of stuff I didn’t use much and which I didn’t really need. The clothes were given to second hand shops and other more valuable items were shipped home to Denmark. With all this admin stuff going on, I never found the time to leave Tbilisi. I had originally wanted to explore the north east part of Georgia using Tbilisi as a base and taking local buses to places like Stepantsminda. In the end, I actually enjoyed being stationary and I would save exploring the rest of Georgia for another visit. It’s always good to have something to go back for.

With all the logistics being done, I happily set off and started biking to the border of Armenia. It’s not a long distance and I reached the border in a day. I found a secluded camp spot overlooking the border town with a golden glowing sunset which would be my last in Georgia. The following day I would cross into Armenia. A new country with new adventures.

I never heard much about Armenia. It is not a tourist destination like Georgia and not many stories were shared with me by other travelers. Back in pre COVID times, a very popular route was done by Silk Road Travelers. It would go through Georgia to Azerbaijan where people would take a ferry from Baku across the Caspian Sea to explore the Stan countries of Central Asia. Otherwise they would do a quick landbased route through northern Iran and up to Central Asia via Turkmenistan. I guess that might be part of the reason why I’ve met few travelers going this way with stories to tell about Armenia. As the Silk Road route is not really doable to do overland at the moment (the land borders of Azerbaijan is closed and Turkmenistan does not issue any tourist or transit visas) me, along with many others, go south through Armenia and into Iran. For my part, I entered Armenia with a blank sheet of expectations.

It was a fast and easy border crossing. Immediately I noticed the change in attitude of the people. Armenians are smiling, friendly and with a sense of humor. Not that Georgians are not nice, it is just that things got notched up a bit on the other side of the border. The border police quickly asked me what was in my panniers before sending me off and at the last passport control they even made a joke about my bike missing a horn to honk at the cars. I replied that I just yell HOOOONNKKK and we all laughed. I managed to get a local SIM card at the border but had to wait to get local currencies as both ATM machines were out of order.

I set off for the Debed Canyon following the river which over centuries had carved and snaked its way through the landscape. On each side I had steep mountain sides. Biking along the river was relatively flat and I enjoyed cruising through the scenery. The area looked deserted but for a few settlements. The first bigger town I reached was Alaverdi where I cashed out some Armenian Drams. Old and rusty industrial buildings were placed in and around the town. On a plateau above, I saw some concrete towering structures which are residential buildings. I couldn’t tell if people lived in them anymore nor did I notice any factories being active. It all seemed to be from an old Soviet era now left to fade away. I heard talk about this town being an old copper mine town. What it is today, I am not sure. For a long time I had longed to explore old Soviet cities and remnants from the Soviet Union. I didn’t really feel I got it either in North Macedonia or in Bulgaria but Armenia delivered on it straight away. True, it is a boring look to a town or city when it has these identical gray and squared concrete buildings where all sense of creativity has been abandoned. But they are practical and efficiently mass produced units, and I do see and appreciate them for what they are. Together with the old and rusty factories the area did omit a certain honest atmosphere I really treasured alot.

With money in my pocket and a few groceries in my pannier, I continued onwards since it still was early afternoon. I started to scout for camp spots and soon agreed with myself that I had to climb up some switchbacks to reach the plateaus above me. Odzun was close and had a decent road connection. I began stomping the pedals up the switchback bends to reach an amazing view at the top. I biked through the village, filled up my water bottles from a public water tap and headed off for a church I had seen on the map. Behind the church I found an epic viewpoint. A good first day in Armenia.

Lake Sevan is a big lake. It takes up a significant part of Armenia's land area. I wanted to see this blue marvel before heading for Yerevan. I had to descend from Odzun and I picked a back country road thinking it was in fine condition. The scenery was amazing with sugar cone cliffs and curly rivers in a lush valley. But the road was rough gravel at its best and I assume the paved stretches with asphalt must be from Soviet times. There were more potholes than roads. Thunderstorms had started to roll in over the mountains. I had to drag the bike through waves of heavy rain showers. Few options to take shelter at roadside eateries existed. I had a quick look at the map, saw a pizzeria in Vanadzor and very quickly booked a room so I could stay in a dry place for the night. I don’t know what it is but my cravings for a pizza never fails and it always works as comfort food. Once I had parked my bike at the hostel, I went straight for Tashir Pizza and warmed myself up as I could see the stormy winds outside bending back umbrellas and throwing peoples’ hats around.

Dry and well rested I started the next day with a coffee from a street machine. They are apparently very popular in Armenia. I ordered a MacCoffee (I have no idea what it is, but it sounds cool) and watched the morning hustle and bustle of Vanadzor. I set off towards Lake Sevan. On my way I passed Dilijan and did a bigger climb to avoid a long tunnel connecting Dilijan with Sevan. I set a daily record for elevation meters doing +1500 elevation meters in a day. Armenia was going to be very hilly - that much was already clear. On the pass just before I could glimpse Lake Sevan, I saw local cowboys on horsebacks as they were herding their livestock. Farmers were loading trucks with hay, stacking it so high that it defied any gravitational laws. No idea how they manage to drive without tilting the haystack and losing it all on the road. But they are skilled farmers and I know this is definitely not a first for them. The hay would be stored in even bigger piles next to their houses. They are prepping up for winter - busy times for sure. The villages I passed on my way to the lake were all beaming with life and activity.

The days were getting shorter and darkness would come before seven at night. I rushed towards the lake and found a hiding spot for my tent among some trees next to the lake.

There is a really picturesque church on a peninsula reaching out into Lake Sevan. The churches and monasteries I passed along on the road are a legacy from the past. The Kingdom of Armenia was the first state to adopt Christianity as its official religion which certainly has left its marks all over the country. Besides this and the marvelous lake, the city of Sevan has nothing really interesting to offer so I was quickly on my way again.

Yerevan was a day’s bike ride away and mostly downhill through Hrazdan Gorge. It’s a beautiful ride on good roads. In general the asphalt is good if you follow the main roads. Many stretches are maintained and kept in good shape. I had pristine new fresh asphalt so it was fast cruising down to Yerevan. As I got closer I could see Mount Ararat which makes a spectacular backdrop. A few months ago I was on the other side of this mountain when I visited Dogubeyazit in Turkey. I liked Yerevan, Armenia's capital, which is filled with grand Soviet-era architecture and its Republic Square, marking the city's core, surrounded partly by colonnaded government buildings. Walking the half finished Cascade Complex showed that Soviet architecture can be very beautiful.

I had one important errand to run in Yerevan which was to pick up my Iranian visa at the embassy. During my errand runs, I quickly discovered that the coffee vendors were selling all kinds of flavored coffee blends. My all time favorite was Nutella Coffee. Agreed, it does sound strange but it’s a heavenly beverage if you are a Nutella fan like me. I would be savoring a couple of these each day as I explored the city. Besides that, I was visiting some old biketouring friends, Arev and Matthias. They were so kind to host me for nearly a week. It’s always nice to reconnect with people and especially when it comes to this lovely couple.

On a more serious note, Yerevan has an important history to tell regarding the Armenian Genocide. This was something I knew nothing of which I felt a bit sorry about since it is a very important piece of history. Arev is a local Armenian and she gave me a long history lesson about the Armenian people. It is a turbulent story which ripples into modern day society. One they spanned a land based area in ancient times from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea in today’s Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Iran. Then they were being ruled by the Ottoman Empire for centuries, followed by a short period of independence before being included in the Soviet Union which created some border issues with Azerbaijan that is a main reason for the ongoing war today with its neighbor to the east. After hearing Arev’s history, I decided to visit the Genocide Musuem. The entrance is free and it is very well curated. I spent half a day at the museum reading all of the material. The text is well written and accompanied by pictures which show the dark times the Armenian people went through. During the first World War, I read about how Turkey was dealing with what they described as the Armenian Question. I will not go into details but I urge anyone in Yerevan to visit the museum or otherwise read up on the topic. We must know the past so we can make sure not to repeat the bad parts.

Learning about this dark part of recent history was depressing, but sharing good times with my hosts made up for it. We would go to the Mother Armenia monument to watch the sunset and visit local eateries serving yummy local food like zhingyalov hats which is a type of flatbread stuffed with finely diced herbs and green vegetables. It is a traditional dish from the regions of Syunik and Nagorno-Karabakh and my all time favorite food from Armenia. I ended up staying longer than planned.

During my stay in Yerevan I closely watched the news. A very recent flare up in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan had occurred with numerous deaths on each side. The Armenian border cities of Goris and Kapan were shelled with artillery and the roads nearby were blocked for a short period. Foreign Ministries did, with some delay, issue travel warnings advising against all travel in southern Armenia. So naturally, I was a bit in doubt if I should continue my biketour down south or wait it out. A ceasefire seemed to be brokered from what I gathered and the fighting would more or less stop. The tensions eased up and I believed it was safe enough to travel from Yerevan to the border with Iran. I met Andy in Yerevan. We agreed to team up and tackle the situation together. Our plan was to bike through Goris and Kapan and not spend the nights there. Andy also knew Russian and would frequently ask locals, police and military personnel along the road about the current situation. It was reassuring that they each time told us it was safe to bike onwards.

Even with all this positive info, I couldn’t help getting rid of the feeling that we were headed on a highway to the danger zone. I guess the risk of an escalation was present while we were in the area but I took the risk to be low. And I figured the world is a risky place anyways. You can’t go exploring the far corners of the world and expect everything to be as safe as back home on the sofa watching Netflix and fetching snacks from the local kiosk. I am not a big risk seeker in any way but I concluded a long time ago that exploring and going on adventures always includes a certain portion of risk. As an example, I always went on hikes in the mountains of Norway alone. I would go off trail without any mobile phone connection. I could get into an accident and not be able to get down from the mountain myself. But I always planned my route in advance and gave as many details as I could to my Mom. I carried food to last the entire trip and quality mountain gear and a warm sleeping bag together with an emergency whistle. If I didn't contact my Mom on an agreed date, she would send for help. That made it a risk worth taking. My point being is that you should not be afraid to take risks. Living life includes all sorts of risks, big and small, and you should not be afraid to live your own life. The only thing I would advise you to do is to think things through, calculate and evaluate the risks and trust your gut feeling. It’s all OK to be a bit worried and afraid at times (I for sure am) as long as it doesn’t take control of you so you can’t enjoy whatever life adventure you are on. So I guess that sorted things out for me. I left Yerevan with the border town of Meghri as my destination.

The route to the border of Iran would have a lot of elevation meters packed into only a few hundred kilometers. I’ve never done that many hills in such a short distance before. Every day had over 1000 elevation meters per 50 km on average. Certainly a challenge. South Armenia and the region of Syunik is just one big mountain going up and down. But you do get rewarded with untouched mountain nature and fabulous views.

First up was reaching Lake Vorotan. It did take us a couple of days. It was an easy ride out of Yerevan on a Saturday. Entering and leaving big cities is always a bit hectic but we managed to navigate ourselves out on one long main road before we were biking in quiet surroundings all the way to Khor Virab - a monastery set on top of a hill with mighty Mount Ararat in the background. We camped not far away before making it to Areni the next day and then doing the big push through the gates of Syunik on top of the Vorotan Pass before reaching Lake Vorotan shortly after. On our way we always had mountains around us and they were layered behind one another as far as the eye could reach. It was like a theater scenery with 2D printed mountain silhouettes with one mountain ridge behind the other. These mountains went on forever and the climate up here is windy and rough. We were lucky with the weather on our first pass and in the morning we woke up to a cloud filling Lake Vorotan as if it was a bowl of white candyfloss. We had placed ourselves on top of a mountain ledge overlooking the lake below us. As we drank our morning coffee and prepared our oatmeals, the clouds slowly rose up and vanished into thin air as the sun was gaining strength. Pure nature magic!

There are few human settlements up here and passing some of the towns after Lake Vorotan is like visiting ghost towns. Along the road, restaurants are not open, gas stations are out of gasoline and some cafées have been closed to only cater for military personnel. The road to Goris is bare and plain mountain nature just as I like it. Most likely it’s due to the autumn season - the few flat plains and all the hillsides are covered in golden vegetation. Some of it for sure is due to hay being harvested leaving only yellow stubs. The hillside vegetation might get the color from a lack of rain. Perhaps it's different in late spring and summer. In any case, the golden glow of the natural scenery here was amazing. I really enjoyed it.

The golden glow would stop as we left Lake Vorotan and headed for Tatev. It was like a line was drawn through the landscape. Behind us, bare rock surfaces, and ahead of us, lush green mountain slopes. Tatev is known for two things as far as I know. A really long and high cable car which transports people in dizzying heights above the deep valley. And a spectacular monastery that might just be the pinnacle of all the monasteries in Armenia. We found a viewpoint overlooking the Tatev Monastery and spent the night there next to a bunch of trucks who had also decided to spend the night at the nearby parking lot. Those truckers were a bunch of free minded people. So much that one of them had pooped on top of a rock just next to my tent. It was not a nice smell to wake up to and my appetite for oatmeal breakfast was gone.

The roads leading up to and after Tatev were filled with trucks. I think I counted more trucks than cars. Some of them would wave and give thumbs up. Others would angrily motion for us to get out of the way. The same would happen with cars in the area. The roads here often get jammed packed with herds of sheeps and vehicles would park at the side of the road halfway into the car lane. This seems to be perfectly normal and doesn't cause any angry outbursts. However, cycling on the side of the road seems to be an annoying extra obstacle which they are not yet accustomed to. I don’t really mind the ones that give us an evil stare from their driver’s seat. There are so many others that encourage us and they understand that sharing is caring. Also when it comes to the roads.

On the following day we passed Kapan and found a picnic area next to Vahanavank Monastery. It was in a forestry area with a water source nearby and covered pavilions. We have had all sunny days since leaving Yerevan so I couldn’t really complain about the rain that hit us late afternoon just as we were pitching our tents. The rain would continue the next day as well and we decided to stay an extra day. I befriended two dogs who stood guard outside my tent at night. I would wake up to distant howls. At first I thought it was my new dog buddies but later someone told me I might have heard the sound of Jackals. I had to google it. I imagined they were fierce predators but they actually look kind of peaceful and are normally not of any danger to humans. Still I wouldn’t get too close if they are in a pack and I would happily surrender any food in my panniers.

One more day to go before reaching Meghri. We would have to go over the Meghri Pass with an altitude of 2535 meters. It was 30km with more than 1600 elevation meters (again a new record). It was a long day of only uphill with stunning views. The clouds had almost cleared and after leaving Kajaran we quickly climbed above the clouds which we looked down upon as a white sea filling up the gap between the mountain peaks. The Meghri Pass was our last peak and last climb in Armenia. We took group photos, exchanged some highfives and I just had to climb the Meghri Pass sign to get a goofy photo. It was a great finale to my Armenian tour and a great testimony to the mountains of Syunik which I would encourage everyone to experience. Next up was the town of Meghri.

After passing several Armenian cities, I didn’t expect much from Meghri. I had gotten used to the gray looking concrete structures that made the basis of so many Armenian cities. But Meghri would be something else. From the road below I could look upon stone houses crawling up the hillside. Many with magnificent fruit gardens and everywhere I looked friendly people waving and greeting us. Meghri is surrounded by steep blackish mountains that took my breath away. I instantly knew that I wanted to take a break here before entering Iran.

Me, Andy and a Swiss couple we met on the road, stayed at the same guesthouse. We all needed to do some sort of administrative preparation for Iran. For my part I needed to test out navigation apps that could do offline route planning. I might be without mobile data and Internet access for some parts of my travels in Iran. Due to sanctions against the country, our western credit cards would not work. As a solution I ordered a tourist debit card. On top of this and also due to sanctions against Iran, my travel insurance didn’t provide cover. So I searched for and bought local travel insurance. Better safe than sorry. I always say, if you can’t afford insurance, you can’t afford to travel. Some apps are blocked in Iran and to be able to use my banking apps and to be able to call my family back home, I made sure to have a working VPN on my phone. Traveling Iran requires some preparation.

I finished up my todo list and said goodbye to Andy. He had made arrangements to meet up with a friend in Tabriz (Iran) and didn’t want to take a long break in Meghri. The Swiss couple were worried about the situation in Iran and decided to go back to Yerevan to catch a flight to Dubai. For my part, I had some wonderful days going around the city and the surrounding area thinking about the travels ahead of me. Very soon I will take on a new big part of the world.

Reaching Meghri also means that I have arrived at the border between Armenia and Iran. I started some time ago to divide my travels into sections. Just as a book in a series of similar books is a volume, so are the different parts of my travels. I do this to make it more manageable and flexible. When I decide on a travel volume, I commit to it. Making it too big and too ambitious just might force me to carry on with something that I am not really happy about. Goal obsession is one of my strongest character traits - and it is also one of the weakest if I don't take care setting realistic goals.

Turkey, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan was a touring challenge but certainly easily doable if I just allowed myself enough time to complete it. I planned to reach Baku before New Year’s eve allowing myself a month long break in Georgia. It is now October and Baku got crossed off the list as I can’t cross the land border into Azerbaijan. Instead I biked to the very south of Armenia which marks the end of my travel volume 2: The Black Sea Pearl.

As I’ve decided to keep on biketouring, I have come up with a new set of countries. I had a long look at the world map and there is a land corridor south of the Himalayas going as far as the Pacific Ocean. I want to reach the border of Nepal. To do so I will travel via Iran, Pakistan and India. It’s only three countries but they are massive. I’m sure it will be an adventure on a whole new level. Inspired by my old man’s talk about van trips done by hippies to India, in a time before I was born, I’ve named this one ‘Travel Volume 3: The Hippie Trail Quest’.

First up is Iran. Times are turbulent in the country as the people are protesting against the regime. Demonstrations occur in larger cities and there is extra scrutiny on travelers. Some biketourers are leaving the country and others remake their plans to avoid Iran. It is a big country with 83 million people, much the same as Germany. However, Iran’s land area is almost 5 times bigger than that of Germany. I am confident that I can find a route through Iran that goes around bigger cities to avoid demonstrations, and which still will show me the beauty of Iran and its people. I will decide on the route in more detail as I am in the country. All I know for now is that I am headed towards the port city of Bandar Abbas.

• blog armenia biketouring

PreviousNext

georgia and the caucasus mountains

2022-09-01 | blog

I’ve biked from the beachfront city of Batumi and arrived in Tbilisi. A vibrant city where modern lifestyle intermingles with enduring old architecture in charming side streets. My route took me deep into the Svaneti region of the Caucasus Mount...

announcement of a new travel volume

2022-10-15 | news

Announcement of a new travel volume. My next countries will be Iran, Pakistan and India. Main planned touring highlights are the desert landscapes of Iran, the Karakoram Highway in Pakistan and the Kashmir region in India.