Armenia is land of stones. Having clearly expressed mountainous relief Armenia is distinguished with the difficult geological structure and great variety. During thousands of years geological processes and meteoric influences, especially gusts of wind gave birth to natural stone sculptures which are rare and unique geological monuments of nature. They are miraculous natural formations and have scientific, cognitive, aesthetic significance and are very attractive especially for tourists.
Today we can see various samples of natural stone sculptures in Armenia. One of these miracles is the huge “Tortoise” which is situated on the left side of the Yerevan-Gyumri highway. It has three meters length and is easily seen from the hills. Tortoise consists of two huge pieces of basalt which acquired the appearance of tortoise because of gusts. The other monument which is especially interesting is the famous “Perlite Elephant”. It is situated in the surroundings of the perlite quarry in Charentsavan and it is consisted of perlite and obsidians. The elephant is 5 meters long and 2.5 meters high. It is amazing how natural the nature created the elephant’s long trunk, its big hung ears and body. The more interesting is the fact that next to the big elephant the nature erected its youngster, too. You can find numerous natural stone sculptures in Jermuk city. The famous one is “Arch of Luck” which is situated in the gorge of the river Arpa. It is said that those who pass underneath the arch, will be happy. Not far from the “Arch of Luck”, just in the river “the walrus refreshes”. In the gorge of the river Arpa there is another prominent figure-“The Sculpture of Warrior with Helmet”. The 8 meters high rock is situated 2 kilometers South from the basin oh Kechut, on the old highway Yerevan-Jermuk. The natural monument was given the name Vardan Mamikonyan in honor of the famous general of the fifth century.
The real museum of natural stone sculptures is Syunik. 25 kilometers to South from the center of the region, Kapan, on the slopes on the way to the reserve “Shikahogh” you can see a long row of 6 meters high elephants which slowly passes through the panorama of wonderful forests. On the highway Yerevan-Meghri and in the surroundings of the city Sisian, not far from the waterfall of Shaqi there are amazing “bas-reliefs” which are real masterpieces created by the nature. You can find another interesting construction on the way Goris-Stepanakert. It appeared as a result of the gust of soft volcano-leaden rocks. Because of its appearance this rock received the name “Devil”. This is the world of natural stone sculptures which delights with beauty of sceneries and figures created by nature and surprises with its peculiarity.