#Syunik province of #Armenia is famous only with two #sights - #Tatev monastery and #Karahunj. Nevertheless, far from these two places, in the town named #Kapan there are other sights worth to visit. #Halidzor #fortress is one of such places. While reviews written in the #tripadvisor muscly say that there is nothing to do there, I doubt that. First, while the road is hard for cars, it is easy to walk and thus it is a great chance for #hiking. I used to hike to Halidzor a few years ago, and it was amazing trip through forest with great views. Second, a fortress is situated in the top of the hill, and is more than 1,500 meters above the sea. This, it has a great view to Kapan town. Finally, there is a small #chapel below the fortress, which is reconstructed (unfortunately) using an ancient grave stones (#khachkar). As the person who visited many places in #Armenia I conclude that some of those stones are uniques only for #Syunik province. I noticed it in #Vahanavank, #Khndzoresk and #Halidzor.
meghrigs
★★★★4.0Wrote on 7 Oct 2016
Not that easy to find fortress/church
Once you reach Kapan city, look for a sign for a psychiatric hospital on the other side of the highway. There you start your rather long climb up through the forest. After hiking up a little bit you reach a "crossroad", on your right there is a stable of horses (not very visible), so you need to take your left and continue hiking up following the path. You reach a small stream of water on your way up. Thew view of the path between the trees is stunning. Villagers say 4x4 could climb up; indeed there are tire marks, however the hike is much more fun. The fortress/church is beautiful as well, although some parts look renovated. This is originally a 10th century monastery. The view from the monastery down is breathtaking with lush green areas all around. Explore the fortress chambers they look interesting.