Geghadzor, Aragats North Lake (3,450m)

Mountain Biking Trail Description
Mount Aragats is situated on the border of the Aragatsotn and Shirak provinces. The North Lake of Aragats is the target of this trail. The trail begins from the village of Geghadzor, in Aragatsotn province. The local residents and tourists mainly climb Mount Aragats from the south, near Stone Lake. The beginning of the trail is marked at the main road for the village of Geghadzor (1-2 km of a paved road). The road from the village up to the foot of Mount Aragats is gravel and is covered with sandstones. In spring and summer, this trail is a perfect place for lovers of active recreation activities. The Aragats mountain slopes are extremely rich with volcanic stones, that seem to describe the nature of the mountain. The biking trail ends near a lowland lake, at an altitude of 3,010 m, but continue walking up to the North Lake (3,450 m), which is the end of the trail.

Monuments description
Mount Aragats is considered the highest peak in Armenia (4,096 m). It has four peaks and covers an area of over 4,000 sq. km. There are frosty lakes on the slopes of the mountain. You will be able to admire the alpine meadows, variegated flowers and purling streams. It is an isolated shield-like massif of about 200 km in circumference. Aragats used to be one of the world’s largest volcanos. It has a gigantic 400 m-deep crater, 3 km in diameter, and 4 peaks. The highest is the North Summit- 4,090 m; the West Summit is second at 3,995.3 m and is followed by the East-3,908.2 m and South Summits-3,887.8 m. The Aragats crater is a large drainage basin. The Gegharot River, the affluent of the Kasagh, outflows from the crater. Aragats is famous for its water sources, which together with snowmelt waters and glaciers are the headwaters of a number of rivers and streams (Gegharot, Amberd, Mantash, Getadzor, Tsaghkahovit, and more).

Flora
The semi-desert, dry mountain grasslands and alpine zones follow each other along the slopes of Mt. Aragats. Rivers, flowing through beautiful gorges and valleys covered will low grasses, create waterfalls in some spots. There are lots of fragrant flowers in the meadows - forget-me-nots, alpine violets, wild lilies, poppies, bellflowers, among others. Variegated ‘alpine carpets’ and snow-vegetation are well-spread in the high mountain zone (2,800-3,400m).

Fauna
Animals are rather rare in this territory because of severe weather conditions. One may come across a bear, wolf, fox, rabbit, lizard, or sometimes turtles and snakes and lots of birds.

Safety and Security
The Viva Cell-MTS network is partially available on the way up to the North Lake of Aragats. Beware of thunderstorms during rainy periods in spring and summer. Please, avoid climbing up the mountain in gloomy and rainy days. In case of emergency, call 911, a service available throughout Armenia. Beware of dogs guarding flocks of sheep.

Technical parameters
best period: July – September
Distance: 81 km from Yerevan is 81 km
Duration: 1 hour and 25 minutes,
Biking trail length: 24 km.
Ride duration: 5-6 hours.
Altitude from sea level: 2,232-3,454 m
95% of the road is covered by sandstone, and the other 5% is paved.
The best drink to have on hand is bottled water.

How to Reach the Trail
To reach the above-mentioned trail, you need to get to the village of Geghadzor from Yerevan. It is most convenient to travel by taxi. Taxi services are quite affordable throughout Armenia. We recommend taking a cab with a taximeter.