#BlazetheTCT Day 4: Martiros to Hors
Welcome to Day 4 of #BlazeTheTCT!
Today, we’re continuing our journey along the Transcaucasian Trail, following the 1500-kilometer North-South route that connects Armenia and Georgia. Each day, we’re highlighting a new 100-kilometer section of the trail and some of our favorite people and places along the way.
Bit by bit, we’re inching towards the Black Seat coast in Georgia – and towards our fundraising goal of $30,000 to Blaze the Transcaucasian Trail.
Today, we’re moving from the gentle hills of Martiros deep into the desert to try to spot some wildlife. Well, if we can make it all the way after being accosted by Armenian hospitality, that is…
Roll out of that beautiful campsite by the cave church, pack up your tent, and let’s get moving.
Happy trails,
Meagan
Day 4: Martiros to Hors
BAM! You’re now the guest of honor
Well, folks, it was bound to happen at some point. You’ve been adopted.
The lovely family who passed you on the road with a Zhiguli full of children and watermelons has now given you the insiders’ tour of Old Martiros’ Church of Surb Astvatsatsin (built 1866) and insisted– really, insisted– that you stay for the birthday party.
The “birthday party” turns out to be a full-on feast for 150 people, with dozens of watermelons cooling in spring water, piles of homemade gata, a ritual matagh slaughtering a sheep to thank God, skewers and skewers of khorovats, vodka toasts, and grandparents and children alike breaking it down to Armenian folk music.
And if there’s one key piece of advice we can give to TCT hikers, it’s this: When you get an invitation like this, throw out whatever hiking plans you had for the day and say yes.
No matter if it’s 10 in the morning. No matter if you had intended to make a certain amount of mileage that day.
This is the Caucasus, and the Caucasus laugh at your plans; the most important thing you can do is strap in for the ride.
Perhaps you feel overwhelmed by the hospitality– it’s easy to do– but here’s the thing: as a guest, you’re part of the entertainment now.
So have fun. Engage. Ask questions. Praise the food. Make a toast. Show pictures of your home, your family, your dog when people ask about where you come from. Eat your fill.
And– I will die on this hill– when the music turns up and people on the dance floor wave you over, do not shrink back into your chair. This is the time to DANCE.
It does not matter if you are a “bad dancer.” It does not matter if there is video evidence that you may or may not find three years later while combing through your archives (ahem).
What matters is that you’re part of the party, that you made the fumbling effort to learn a few Armenian dance moves, and that you’ve given the grandparents in attendance a good laugh and a good story in the process.
It’s safe to say you’re not hiking very far today. Enjoy.
Hike through Gnishik Canyon to Noravank Monastery
Okay, let’s try this again.
The next morning, you roll out of your hastily-pitched tent near Martiros’ church, make a quick coffee to clear your head, and set off on your journey through Vayots Dzor.
After a long stretch of rolling hills, you watch the landscape change in a matter of minutes from gentle forests to the dramatic red rock canyons of Arpa Protected Landscape.
You’ve reached Gnishik Canyon, where the trail winds through the dizzying red cliffsides.
As you climb up from the bottom of the gorge on an unreasonably steep hillside following the path of a water pipe, you’ll follow some switchbacks we built back in 2018 as part of our efforts to open this section.
Just to be clear, it’s still steep– but at least you can look at the near-vertical hillside around you and be glad you’re not trying to walk straight up THAT.
After a tough climb, you’re greeted with a spectacular break spot at Noravank Monastery, ringed by the same striking red cliffs. Perched above the Gnishik River Gorge, this 13th-century masterpiece is a sight to behold.
You climb the distinctive narrow steps leading up to the second-story entrance of the monastery’s main church, Surb Astvatsatsin, dodging selfie-takers along the way. It’s a busy site, especially on weekends, but as you step inside the cool, dimly lit interior, the bustle fades away.
Watch for bezoar goats in Arpa Protected Landscape
As you leave Noravank behind, you’re entering wild terrain again– and one of the region’s biggest wildlife hotspots.
You’re in Arpa Protected Landscape, a community-managed protected area founded in 2008. The region was designated to protect biodiversity and encourage ecotourism– a mission TCT is proud to support.
The area is an important habitat for the wild ibex subspecies Capra aegagrus aegagrus, better known locally as the bezoar goat. And as you hike among the cliffs from Noravank to Yeghegnadzor, you get lucky– you spy a whole herd of them clambering over the rocks below.
The elusive bezoar goats. Photo from Wikicommons, Alexander Malkhasyan.
Cool off in the desert
After your brief respite in the forest, it’s back to being sun-baked.
The trail takes you through a long stretch of exposed hillside, but luckily there are some caves to duck into along the way. The nearby Bears’ Cave system– the most extensive found in Armenia, with a length of 3.3km and a vertical range of 145m– is currently closed to visitors for archaeological research, but you find several shallower caves to huddle in a bit of shade for lunch.
Soon you approach another much-loved rest spot: Crossway Camping, a hiker’s haven nestled in the valley of Yeghegnadzor. This family-run campsite has become a legendary pit stop for TCT hikers, with its shady garden, swimming pool, and friendly atmosphere.
It’s been 350 kilometers on the trail and you decide that you deserve a little treat– we agree, for the record– and so you take a rest day and hop over to the nearby village of Areni to sample some Armenian wine.
You wouldn’t expect many of the country’s best wineries to be so close to the desert terrain you’ve just hiked through, but Armenia’s surprised you before. You take a break at the absolutely delightful Momik Wines, hosted by Nver and Narine, where the tasting platters are delightful, the wines are even better, and the company has them all beat.
Traverse the Bear Corridor to Hors
You’re in the last stretch of the desert now– climbing your way through another round of the cliffside monasteries, some active, some long-abandoned.
As you make your way to the village of Hors and the terrain turns more scrub-like, make some noise and keep an eye out for bears.
Anyone who’s hiked in the Caucasus might be familiar with the warnings of “Why would you go out there? There are bears!!” And in most cases, although there are indeed bears in the Caucasus, you’ll almost never see them. They prefer to stay high up in the mountains, far away from humans who might hunt them.
But for whatever reason, this area between Shatin and Hors has proven to be one of the few places on the TCT where hikers have reported actually seeing bears– hence our nickname of the “bear corridor.” It’s a good time to remember that this land is home to lots of animals, and you’re just passing through.
So you’re alert and on your game. You keep your eyes peeled for signs of these majestic creatures: footprints in the mud, scat, or– was that a rustle in the bushes?! Nope, just your backpack snagging on a branch.
But on the other hand… maybe you’re quiet, and maybe you’re lucky, and maybe (like one hiker last year) you see a bear cub scurrying up the ridge 100m above you, and you’re one of a small number of people to see a brown bear in the wild in the Caucasus.
Brown bear in Armenia (Wikicommons, Alexander Malkhasyan)
You arrive in the village of Hors, happy to have traversed the bear corridor. And perhaps also happy to be staying the night in one of the town’s charming new guesthouses instead of camping among the trees tonight.
And that’s 400km down on the TCT.
After the few days you’ve just had, it’s hard to imagine that in the next section, you’ll be shivering on a 3000m plateau. But that’s where we’re headed: Those big mountains just to the north.
Stay tuned… and we’ll see you on the TCT tomorrow as we climb into the Geghams!
We hope you’re enjoying coming with us on the trail and meeting some of the people and places behind it. Over our 15 days of hiking the TCT, we’re aiming to raise $30,000 to blaze new sections of the trail and to continue our work to make these spectacular areas accessible.
Parts of this section have been maintained and blazed, but other parts need work.
If you’ve enjoyed the trail in the past or are dreaming of hiking it someday, please join us to make these efforts possible. Donate $15 or more and share with 15 friends today to blaze the TCT.
Thanks for all your support, and happy trails – we’ll see you back on the TCT tomorrow!
Meagan & the TCT team
