Jeep Tour: Trchkan Waterfall, Chichkhanavank Monastery

• Trchkan Waterfall
• Chichkhanavank Monastery  

The first point of the tour is Chichkhanavank Monastery, which is located in the Lori region, near Shirakamut village in Spitak. A tributary of the river Pambak Chichkhan or Chichkan flows in the southern part of the church. The same name is given to the gorge through which the tributary flows. An exact name of the church is unknown, and it is called Chichkhanavank by the language of the people. The etymology of the name is associated with the sea buckthorn plant (chichkhan) widespread in the region. Almost no historical information about the church has been preserved. But the walls of Chichkhanavank contain quite rich documentary material. In particular, almost all the stone masonry of the church have such master signs as there are on the early medieval monuments, for example, in Zvartnots. The given master signs also allow to suppose that the church was built no later than the 7th century, since buildings with such signs are dated back to the 7th century at the latest. On the walls of the church there is one Arabic and one Aramaic inscription, which is a unique phenomenon, because almost no Aramaic inscriptions have been preserved, except for the land-dividing boundary stones left by Artashes 1. The church has a cruciform plan, a central dome, one altar and only one entrance from the south side.

Being located at the foot of the hill, the church was almost completely destroyed by the 1926 Gyumri earthquake. The church was partially reconstructed during the Soviet years, having lost its original elements and its former appearance. This option, however, was again destroyed by the 1988 earthquake. Chichkhanavank has reached our days in a completely destroyed state and was restored during the years of independence. In the reconstructed version, only the layout of the construction of the complex from the 7th century has been preserved. From an architectural point of view, the current construction has nothing to do with the ancient monument. 

Then we will continue our off-road journey along the mountainous paths to the picturesque Trchkan waterfall. Trchkan Waterfall is one of the natural wonders of Northern Armenia. The waterfall is located on the border of the Shirak and Lori regions of Armenia, on the Trchkan tributary of the Chichkhan River, and is the second highest waterfall in Armenia.

Departure: 10:00

Arrival: 21:00

Departure place: Hakob Hakobyan str. 1/ next to the Mergelyan Institute