Tour to Northern Armenia

During the tour to Northern Armenia, we will visit several attractions near Stepanavan: Stepanavan Dendropark, Hnevank Monastery, and Lori Berd Medieval Fortress.

Stepanavan Dendropark is the first botanical garden in Armenia. It was founded by the Polish engineer-forester Edmond Leonowicz, who served as its director until 1984. The local climate is cool since the dendropark is situated at 1550 meters above sea level. Here, you can find a vast variety of plants, many of which were acquired through international exchange programs from other botanical gardens in Tbilisi, Kiev, Moscow, and the Far East. Samples were also obtained from more distant countries such as the USA, Germany, Portugal, and France.

Hnevank Monastery is located on the right bank of the Dzoraget River. The semi-ruined complex included three churches, a parish, residential, agricultural, and additional buildings. The main church (7th century) features a rectangular exterior and a cruciform dome structure inside.

The Lori Berd Medieval Fortress is situated at the confluence of the Urut and Dzoraget gorges. The fortress was founded by David Anhogh (David the Landless), most likely in the years 1005-1020. After the surrender of the city of Shamshulde to the Georgian king Bagrat IV in 1065, Kyurike I declared Lori the capital of the Kyurikyan Kingdom (1049-1189). Being on the northern trade route, Lori was a major center of trade and craftsmanship in medieval Armenia, connected by trade routes to Ani, Dvin, Dmanisi, Tiflis, and other cities. In the 11th-13th centuries, the city had a population of 10,000 people. The territory (approximately 9 hectares), surrounded by the city’s first fortress gates, served as the acropolis.