Day 31. Tuesday, 21st July, 2026 (Dennis’s Birthday) From Sevan to Goris.

Lake Sevan and Sevan Town

I had a good night, but Dennis said it took him ages to get to sleep. It was a sunny morning and a dry night, so for a change we packed up a nice dry tent. We drove into Sevan, which was not as I imagined, a pretty lakeside town, but a very soviet, mucky place, a bit away from the lake.

We continued south driving beside Lake Stevan for over 50 kms.

Crazy Driving

We had gone less than 25 kilometres and in this short distance had come across two lots of police cars, flashing lights and smashed up cars. The standard of driving is appalling. Overtaking is crazy. Later in the afternoon, we came across another smash. No wonder insurance is compulsory here. I have now changed my mind, the Georgian drivers are not the worst drivers. This accolade goes to the Armenians.

Climbing into the Mountains

As we left the lake we started to climb. We had no idea what to expect from today’s drive, but it was very scenic and for most of the time there was little traffic. Later in the day it became busier with more trucks. We continued to climb and were surrounded by mountains with smatterings of snow. It was a bit like doing another Transfagarasan. We gradually climbed higher and then descended though many hairpins.

As we started to descend the road surface, which had been good, disintegrated into a potholed mess. The meant crawling down the mountainside. Fortunately, it didn’t last for too long. We continued along the valley, before repeating the process over another mountain.

Farming

We have to share the road with farmers transporting their hay bales and herders with their cattle.

The Wings of Tatev

Shortly before Goris we turned off to the village of Halidzor and the Wings of Tatev. The Wings of Tatev is is 5.7 km aerial tramway connecting Halidzor with the medieval Tatev Monastery. It. Holds the Guinness Book of Records for the longest non-stop double-track cable car. It provides a breathtaking ride across the Vorotan River Gorge, reaching a maximum height of 320 meters. We went to buy tickets, only to be told there was an hour and a half wait for the next free cable car. We decided to book for the first cable car tomorrow morning at 10.00.

We are down to the south of Armenia near Tatev.

Proceeding to the hotel I had booked in Goris, once again it’s a bit quirky, but has a private courtyard to park Poki. The staff speak no English, but called the lady owner, who does, and we managed to communicate that we would like dinner. We have an enormous room and had a typical Armenian dinner in the garden.

After dinner we went for a walk around the old town, which is a very pleasant place. It is surrounded by the most amazing rock and cave formations.

Tomorrow we have breakfast in the garden and then we’ll head for the Wings of Tatev. After this we make our way to the capital, Yerevan.

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