Through a Hiker’s Eyes: The Geghams
For German hiker Daniel Gehrmann, trekking the Gegham Mountains section of the Transcaucasian Trail in 2023 was a journey into Armenia’s wild and rugged heart. This remote stretch demanded complete self-sufficiency—Daniel had to carry all his food and carefully ration water, making it one of the more challenging legs of the trail.
But the rewards were just as powerful. Along the way, Daniel encountered the quiet resilience of life in the highlands. Though few people call the Geghams home, those he met left a lasting impression through their generosity and warmth. His most memorable moment came when he shared lunch with a local shepherd. Despite the lack of a common language, they connected over simple food and shared humanity—a reminder that some of the most meaningful encounters happen in the unlikeliest places.
Daniel recently published a full write-up of his journey on his website and generously allowed us to share an excerpt here. Below are highlights from the beginning of his adventure. To read the full story and see a map of his route, visit his website!
Gegham Mountains, Transcaucasian Trail, 2023
By Daniel Gehrmann
Background
The Transcaucasian Trail is a long-distance hiking trail that traverses the entire Caucasus Mountains—both large and small—for a total of around 1,540 km. I stumbled upon the Transcaucasian Trail by chance while planning my 2023 vacation. Georgia was pretty high on my list of favorites, and I was in the mood for a multi-day trek. Since the Transcaucasian Trail runs through Georgia and Azerbaijan in addition to Armenia, I quickly came across the Transcaucasian Trail during my internet search. The fact that it ultimately ended up being a section in Armenia and not Georgia is due to the pictures of the Geghama Mountains that I saw during my research. The barren, volcanic landscape with its diverse color spectrum from green to brown to red quickly captivated me. So, after some planning, I set off for Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, in September 2023.
Day 1
The crossing of the Geghama Mountains begins in Lchaschen, a small village not far from the city of Sevan on the lake of the same name. I had previously been in Dilijan in northern Armenia, and from there took a Yandex (comparable to Uber) to Lchaschen. I had replenished my supplies in Dilijan, so my backpack was quite heavy. After all, I was traveling completely independently for the next six days and had to bring everything with me.
The water supply was a bit of a concern for me in advance. I had read that while there are a few water sources and reservoirs in the spring, most of them dry up over the course of the summer, so when planning my journey, I expected to find a reliable water source—Akna Lich—only on the evening of the second day. I had about 4 liters of water with me, which should have been enough for the first two days. The destination of the first stage was based on this fact and was defined rather vaguely as “approximately halfway between Lchaschen and Akna Lich.”
After leaving the village behind me, and passing a kind of open-cast mine on the edge, the path on the first stage led steadily uphill and ran through open grassland. After a short while, the first snake slithered across the path in front of me, but otherwise, I didn’t encounter any other living creatures at first. I wasn’t particularly worried about snakes, even though there are some poisonous species in Armenia.
I was more afraid of the notorious German Shepherds, about which I had read a lot beforehand and heard from other travelers since arriving in Armenia; one or two encounters with them didn’t escape unscathed – but fortunately, never anything serious. My own first experience with these dogs was fortunately somewhat gentler: A good two-thirds of the way through the first day, the path took a sharp right turn, and I unexpectedly found myself in front of a stone house that looked more like an old bunker. I was greeted by the barking of two dogs, who were chained up, a fact I was quite pleased about given their rather sharp teeth and sheer size. Only one puppy was off-leash and came running toward me, but it obviously just wanted to play with me… I called out loudly to attract attention, and after a while, a young man came out of the building and silenced the dogs. Due to my lack of Russian or Armenian language skills, communication was limited to a simple “Hello” and “Thank you,” and I continued on my way.
Towards the afternoon, I encountered two more shepherds with their flock of sheep: an older man and a younger one, whose balaclava initially unsettled me, but this was completely unfounded. We took a few photos together, the older man proudly showed me his flock of sheep, and then I was alone again. The dogs protecting the flock were relatively uninterested in me. Shortly afterward, it was time to find a place to sleep. In the end, I simply set up my tent not far from the path and enjoyed the afternoon sun with a view of Lake Sevan in the distance.
Day 2
After a thoroughly restful first night, a leisurely breakfast, and packing my things, I continued toward Akna Lich. The lake (Lich means lake) was the destination for the second day and was particularly important as a water source – up to that point, I hadn’t seen a single stream, river, lake, or even a pool. The second day was relatively uneventful, with no encounters with shepherds or their dogs. The trail continued steadily uphill, so that after about ten kilometers, I reached the 3,000-meter mark. The landscape was characterized by barren, grassy steppe; I repeatedly passed extinct volcanic cones. After about 13 km, I finally reached the destination of the second stage, Akna Lich, and was initially pleased to see that it still had plenty of water. I set up my tent on the shore of the lake and immediately started filtering the water – a must, given the small red creatures in the water. After replenishing my water supplies, I began to explore the area a bit and then stretched my tired legs in the pleasantly warm afternoon sun.
To read about the rest of my journey through the Geghams, head over to my website!
