Byurakan

Byurakan is a city in Armenia located on the volcano Aragats. It is a good place to sleep to then climb Mount Aragats.

Get in

By bus

The bus number #519 connects Yerevan to Byurakan. It leaves from Kilikia bus station at 10:30, 13:00, 14:25, 15:50, 17:40 and 19:55. The cost is 400 dram (as 2022). To go back to Yerevan, you can take the bus in Byurakan at 7:30, 9:00, 12:00, 14:30, 16:00 and 18:30. Sometimes the bus will not show (and you don't know why). In this case, usually local people waiting for the bus will share a taxi. You can try to go with them.

Get around

Within Byurakan, it is quite easy to get around on foot.

See

• Surp Hovhannes Church. Tucked away behind some houses, it is marked with the old Christian cross used before the Armenian cross design came into use.
• 1 Orgov Telescope. The radio telescope to observe distant space was active from 1986 to 1990, when it fell into disuse with the Soviet break-up. An attempt to restore it brought it back online in 1995, but it was abandoned for good in 2012. From the gate, there are guided tours of the grounds, the telescope dish, and the control room, in their all Soviet glory, on most days of the week. Some hiking tours also combine a visit to the nearby observatory, see below.  

Do

• 1 Byurakan Observatory, ☏ +374 91 195903. You can observe stars and planets from one of the Byurakan Observatory telescopes. Tours are organized everyday at 21:00, 22:00 and 23:00. You will join a group of about 20 to 30 people and observe one or two stars and one or two planets. As the group can be quite large, you will unfortunately not have a lot of time per person to observe the sky through the telescope. Moreover, as there is a lot a light pollution due to the cities on the bottom of the volcano, the sky is not as dark as it used to be probably at the construction of the observatory. However, it is still a good experience if you have never observed stars through a telescope. It is recommended to book in advance the tour by phone but if you are a solo traveler, you can just show yourself at 21:00 and ask to join the group. 1000 dram for Armenians, 3000 dram for foreigners. (updated Aug 2022)

Mount Aragats

Mount Aragats is the top summit of Armenia and actually consists of 4 summits (North, South, West and East). This climb is usually undertaken from mid-July to mid-September when the snow pack is mostly melted.

The climb of the South Summit is not really hard, except if you are not used of the altitude (it is around 3,900 m high). The West Summit (4,080 m) can be a little bit dangerous, especially on the way down, so try to find people going with you if you are a solo traveler. Hiking poles are recommended. The North Summit (4,095 m) is the tricky one, especially the way between the False North and North Summits.

If you are a good hiker, you can climb two to three summits in one day. If you want to climb all four summits, it is better to come with your tent and to sleep one night in the volcano.

Most climbers start out from Kari Lake above Amberd Fortress, as before it is just a boring paved road. At about 05:00 head up to the southern peak (about 2 hr), then head back down (1 hr). After sunrise, the likelihood of cloud cover is much greater.

If you want to go for a one day trip, you can hitchhike from Buyrakan to Kari lake. Try to start early, around 06:00 or 06:30 as there are not a lot of cars going there. If you are lucky you will find a tourist car going there and you will be on the lake 1 hour after. If you are less lucky you will still meet local shepherds living on the volcano who will be happy to take you, but who will probably not go to the lake so you will have to wait for another car or have to walk a little bit on the road.

Buy

There are several mini markets in the city where you can buy basic food (fruits, pasta...).