Mountains and monasteries in Armenia
An e-bike adventure through the 'rare beauty' of the West Asian nation

With its glorious mountains, idyllic villages and spectacular ancient monasteries, Armenia is a place of rare beauty. But this landlocked country in the Caucasus remains something of an "enigma", said Tim Moore in the Financial Times, receiving far fewer visitors than, for instance, neighbouring Georgia.
It is "geographically Asian" but "geopolitically European", and tends to surprise newcomers with a sense of "pervasive otherness" – for example in its unique alphabet, which consists of 38 curly letters. The first country to make Christianity its state religion (in AD301), it has endured much "tragedy and suffering" at the hands of imperial powers, most famously in the genocide of 1915-17, when roughly a million Armenians were murdered by the Ottoman Turks.
I explored the northern province of Lori with The Slow Cyclist, which specialises in e-bike tours of "remote" places. From Yerevan, Armenia's capital, we drove to Gyumri, the country's second city, where many tsarist-era townhouses have been restored in recent years. From there, we crossed into Lori, a region of "steep slopes and deep gorges", with peaks rising to 3,196 metres. Our sturdy off-road e-bikes proved equal to the territory, carrying us nimbly between villages where, in late September, the pomegranate and apricot trees were "laden" with fruit and the front yards "ablaze" with roses and marigolds. Our nights were spent in pleasant lodgings, and each day we'd arrive at lunchtime at some orchard or dell to find another feast of fabulous local food laid out for us under the trees on tables decked in crisp white linen.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
We ate one of these lunches beside the 7th-century monastery of Hnevank – a sublime ruin with a soaring steeple in a vast canyon ringed with cliffs. Yet more "dumbfounding" was the monastery of Bardzrakash, perched halfway up the side of a gorge, the intricate carvings on its walls still "sharp and clear" almost 800 years after its abandonment during the Mongol invasion.
From £3,390pp (theslowcyclist.com)
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Test flight of orbital rocket from Europe explodes
Speed Read Isar Aerospace conducted the first test flight of the Spectrum orbital rocket, which crashed after takeoff
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump 'not joking' about unconstitutional 3rd term
Speed Read The president seems to be serious about seeking a third term in 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Myanmar quake deaths rise as survivor search intensifies
speed read The magnitude-7.7 earthquake in central Myanmar has killed a documented 2,000 people so far, and left scores more trapped beneath rubble
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Following the Tea Horse Road in China
The Week Recommends This network of roads and trails served as vital trading routes
By The Week UK Published
-
Roast lamb shoulder with ginger and fresh turmeric recipe
The Week Recommends Succulent and tender and falls off the bone with ease
By The Week UK Published
-
Adolescence and the toxic online world: what's the solution?
Talking Point The hit Netflix show is a window into the manosphere, red pills and incels
By The Week Staff Published
-
Snow White: Disney's 'earnest effort to meet an impossible brief'
Talking Point Live-action remake of Disney classic is not the disaster it could have been – but where's the personality?
By The Week UK Published
-
Don McCullin picks his favourite books
The Week Recommends The photojournalist shares works by Daniel Defoe, Lesley Blanch and Roland Philipps
By The Week UK Published
-
6 breathtaking homes in capital cities
Feature Featuring a glass conservatory in Atlanta and a loft library in Boston
By The Week US Published
-
Playhouse Creatures: 'dream-like' play is 'lively, funny and sharp-witted'
Anna Chancellor offers a 'glinting performance' alongside a 'strong' supporting cast
By The Week UK Published
-
The CIA Book Club: 'entertaining and vivid' book explores a huge Cold War secret
The Week Recommends 'Gripping' narrative explores a covert smuggling operation across the Iron Curtain
By The Week UK Published