Armenia's North-West Border: Lake Arpi - Gyumri Cultural City bike route

Biking trail description
This trail starts from the north-west border of Armenia, Bavra, covering the Shirak region. At this border, many tourists cross the border with a bicycle with an individual route program of visits. We hope this bike route will become part of your program.
After half an hour driving, the route will take you to Arpi Lake. The road from Armenia to the lake mostly goes down. It is interesting to drive through rural streets and through small houses.
It is possible to ride to the "Lake Arpi" National Park, relax on the lake, get acquainted with the flora and fauna. The same route should be 18 km long and join the main route, then go to Gyumri. The route ends at the central square in Gyumri, near the churches. Gyumri is usually called the capital of culture, so we advise you to visit museums (eg Aslamazian sisters), churches, and forges. The overnight stay can be organized in Gyumri, where a tourist information center is located.

Monuments description:
Lake Arpi National Park was founded in 2009. It is located in the Amasia and Ashotsk regions, on the eastern slopes of Yegnakhar and Javakh Ridge, marz Shirak. The National Park occupies an area of 25,000 hectares.
The National Park has been founded to preserve the unique biodiversity of Javakhk-Shirak Plateau. You can find Armenian mews and unique type of pelicans that reside only in Armenia. The height of the reservoir is 10 m, the length is 80 m. The reservoir-lake length is 7.3 km, the width is 4.3 km, the surface is 20 sq. M. km, depth is 8 m, water volume is 30 m³. The reservoir is quiet noisy. During the winter it is usually frozen. There is a possibility for canoeing. The water is used for irrigation and electricity. Succeeding in its waters, the spider and the crab are growing successfully. Ducks and other birds have settled in the vicinity of the lake.
From 1946 to 1951, the lake was artificially expanded to accumulate water resources. Thus, the surface of Arpi Lake-reservoir has increased from 4.5 km² to 22 km². The volume has reached up to 100 million cubic meters.
The longest river in Armenia, Akhuryan, starts from Arpi lake.

Flora
Arpi Lake Drainage Basin's cultivated landscapes are composed primarily from grain and pine forest fields.
There are about 670 high-quality plants in the area, which grow in the Arpi Lake National Park (orchids, gladiolus, gyrick, poppy, lily).
About 25 varieties of plants are included in the Red Book of Armenia such as Iris Siberian, Armenian Ribes, Gladiolus and others.

Fauna
There are more than 100 species of birds live near the lake, 22 of which are endemic species. There are 30 species of mammals in the National Park (European watermelon, sneeze). Some of them are included in the Red Book.
In the lake area of the waterfowl birds there is a small plume (Tachybaptus ruficollis), white stork (Ciconia ciconia), dwarf duck (A. platyrhynchos), redhead syrup (Aythia ferina), black cumin snail (A. fuligula), red duck (Tadorna ferruginea) and so on.
Red birds include waterfowl pelicans (Pelekanus crispus), black stork (Ciconia nigra), Tadorna tadorna, Grus.

Safety and Security
From the border of Bavra, all types of telecom connections are available during the bike ride from Lake Arpi to Gyumri. In case of accidents, 911 emergency phone number is functioning.

Technical Description
Best period: from May to October
Biking trail length: 82.5 km
Ride duration: 6 hours (Please note this time-frame - not calculated by the GPS device).
Altitude from the sea level: 2120-2005-1500 meters
100% of the road is covered with asphalt.
Take bottle of water with you.

How to get to the route
The above-mentioned mountain biking route is the best while traveling from Georgia to Armenia via the Bavra border or in the opposite direction.