Tatev

Tatev is a tiny village of some 800 people and one of the most spectacular monasteries in the Caucasus, hanging on the edge of a cliff above the Vorotan gorge. People come for two things at once: a monastic complex founded at the start of the tenth century, and the Wings of Tatev, the world's longest non-stop passenger cable car, which carries you across the canyon in a matter of minutes.

What is worth seeing

• Tatev Monastery — founded in 906, and in the Middle Ages not only a spiritual centre but the seat of Tatev University (1390–1435), where manuscripts were copied and philosophy taught. It is a working monastery today; entry is free, but cover your shoulders and knees.
• The Church of Saints Peter and Paul — the main church, the one from 906. Fragments of the frescoes survive inside.
• The Gavazan — a swaying column of the tenth century. A remarkable piece of engineering: the pillar is mounted on a hinge so that it responds to tremors and rocks gently. Genuinely curious; look for it in the courtyard.
• The viewpoints — the edges of the monastery grounds open onto the gorge. Come early in the morning or towards evening: at midday the light is flat and the crowds off the cable car are at their thickest.

The Wings of Tatev cable car

The main logistical axis and an attraction in its own right. The cabin runs 5.7 km over the canyon, at times some 300 m above the floor of it, linking the village of Halidzor on the Yerevan–Goris road with the monastery.

What an independent traveller needs to know:

• The cable car does not run on Mondays (maintenance). This is the classic trap: people arrive and find the station shut. Check in advance.
• A return ticket costs noticeably more than ordinary local transport, but it is part of the experience rather than just a way of getting there.
• There is an alternative for the budget-minded and for Mondays — the hairpin road down into the gorge and back up to the monastery by car. Beautiful, but slow and full of tight bends.

Getting there

Tatev is a long way off — about 250 km from Yerevan — and there is virtually no scheduled transport to the village itself. The options:

• The Yerevan–Goris minibus (from the bus station, roughly 4–5 hours), then a taxi from Goris to the cable car station. Goris is the regional hub and the logical place to stay the night or stop for lunch.
• Car hire is the most convenient: on the way you can call in at Noravank and the Selim caravanserai and watch the landscape change. The road is surfaced but mountainous.
• An organised transfer or day taxi from Yerevan — expensive, but direct; often combined with Khor Virap and Noravank.

Within Tatev everything is compact: the cable car station is a couple of minutes' walk from the monastery, and you do not need a car.

How much time to allow

Formally Tatev takes a few hours, and many people do it as a side trip from Goris or as part of a very long day from Yerevan. But a day trip from the capital means eight hours or more on the road for a couple of hours on site. A better plan:

• A night in Goris — then you drive up to the monastery in the morning without the crowds, and on the way you can see the Devil's Bridge (a natural stone bridge over the Vorotan with mineral springs and a small cave) and call in at the cave village of Khndzoresk with its long suspension bridge over the gorge.

What is nearby, and what to combine

• Khndzoresk — an abandoned cave village 30 km away, with a swinging suspension bridge. An excellent short walk and a logical pairing with Tatev.
• The Devil's Bridge — directly below the cable car in the gorge; lovely, though the hairpin descent by car is not for everyone.
• Noravank — a monastery among red cliffs on the way from Yerevan, and worth the stop.
• Garni and Geghard — on the other side of Yerevan; they cannot be combined with Tatev in one day, so do not try to force it.

Practical advice

• Mountain weather is fickle: at 1,600 m it can be windy and cold even in summer, and in winter the cable car is sometimes stopped because of wind. Bring a windproof layer.
• Food: there is a café at the upper station, but the choice is thin and the prices touristy. Eat properly in Goris, where it is cheaper and better — look for the local khorovats and lavash.
• Cash: in the village and at small places cards are not always accepted, so keep dram on you.
• The main mistake is coming on a Monday, or on a compressed one-day dash from Yerevan. Give yourself half a day to a day and Tatev goes from a box to tick to the best thing in Syunik.