Lori fortress
Fortress, 11th c.
The ruined capital of the medieval Kiurikian kingdom, on a natural fortress between two gorges.
Lori / Regions
Stepanavan & the Lori plateau
Լոռվա սարահարթ
Open grassland at 1,400 m, split by two sudden river gorges.
West of the canyon the land flattens into the high Lori plateau: hay meadows, pine forest and wide views of the Javakheti and Bazum ranges. Stepanavan is the small capital of this side; the eleventh-century Lori Berd fortress sits a few kilometres away on a spur between two gorges, and the Sochut dendropark hides in the forest above Gyulagarak. Cooler, greener and quieter than the canyon — good for slow travel, cycling and walking.
In this part of Lori: 42 sights, 18 places to stay, 8 places to eat, 52 natural sites.
- Rivers
- Dzoraget, Tashir, Gargar, Mendzor, Urut
- Stepanavan by car
- 2 h 23 from Yerevan, 2 h 09 from Tbilisi
Filter this area on the Explore map
Towns and villages
Don't miss
Sochut Dendropark
Arboretum, founded 1931
A 35-hectare forest garden planted by the Polish forester Edmund Leonowicz above Gyulagarak.
Hnevank Monastery Complex
Monastery, 7th–12th c.
A monastery on a rock in the gorge where the Dzoraget and Gargar rivers meet.
St. George Church, Sverdlov
Church, 6th c.
A rare early-medieval church on the edge of Sverdlov village, north of Stepanavan.
Khuchap Monastery
Monastery, medieval
A forest monastery on the Georgian border above Privolnoye.
Walks
- Lori Berd and the gorge bridge 1 hour, easy
- Dendropark forest loop 1–2 hours, easy
- Transcaucasian Trail through Lori Multi-day, challenging