Tandzaver
Tandzaver is a small village in Southern Armenia, famous as the first land-art museum in Armenia. There is a beautiful forest where the community built land art pieces that are collectively referred to as Magic Forest.
Understand
[edit]Tandzaver is located on a road that before 2021 was not in a good shape and the village enjoyed few visitors. However as of August 2021 the road is undergoing a major renovation and getting wider to become the main road from Goris to Kapan.
The nearest mountain to Tandzaver is Mount Ashkharates (2063 meters), which is kind of a symbol for the locals.
Get in
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You can take a taxi from the village of Tatev. There are also numerous trails you can hike to the village by.
Get around
[edit]You can walk from one edge of the village to the other in 20 minutes.
See
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- 1 St. Hripsime Church. Quite well preserved, built in 1705.
- Ruined Church (just above the newer one). It dates to the 5th-6th century. Only two walls remain of it. During the Soviet times, as everywhere in its territory, this church was also used as a storage place and as locals said it was also reportedly damaged adding to what was already a ruined church.
Do
[edit]Hike, bike and horseback ride.
- 1 Hike the Magic Forest loop (just off the outskirts of the village), ☏ +374 34646913584 (WhatsApp), pegasustandzaver@gmail.com. It's a 5.5-km trail through a very beautiful forest with some interesting land art exhibits on the way. You can ask locals how to go, find the trail on HIKEArmenia free app or even take a guided tour with one of the organizers of this land art 'museum.' They also organized a land-art festival here in 2019 where several international artists created their lasting works of art that you can see today. Paloma speaks English and Spanish.
- 2 Hike to Andok Fortress (Vanand Fortress), ☏ +374 93022791 (Bagrat). There is a very hidden and half-ruined (or maybe just overgrown with vegetation and earth) fortress that you can explore in the area. Since it's a bit hard to find, it's perhaps better to take a local guide with you, especially that it's not far away from the border with Azerbaijan. You can also continue for a few kilometers in the same direction and reach a peaceful reservoir named after Davit Bek.
- Hike the Legends Trail and the Transcaucasian Trail. There are two trails that pass by Tandzaver. You can check their respective websites for more info.
Buy
[edit]There is one small shop in the village selling necessities.
Eat
[edit]You can buy some basic food from a small village shop or eat at local B&Bs.
Drink
[edit]There are local homemade fruit vodkas.
Sleep
[edit]- Eco Camp Tandzaver.
- Knarik B&B. Basic B&B where you can stay with the locals and order meals in advance.
- Hayk Tunyan B&B.