Monasteries of Northern Armenia | Drone

We visited a number of monasteries in the northern part of Armenia on a day trip from Tbilisi, Georgia. I organized the trip through a connection from a very informative Facebook group called Every Passport Stamp. We explored the options of renting a car or going through an organized tour, but we found hiring a car and driver to be cheaper and more flexible. We split the cost with a Korean couple we met in a hot tub at Rooms Hotel in Kazbegi, which made the trip really affordable. It also helped that all restaurants ended up being closed for the New Year so we didn't spend any money on food other than some snacks at a random convenience store we found.

Our driver picked us up before the morning's first light and drove us over the border and to Akhtala Monastery. It was locked up and appeared abandoned so we found a "side entrance" over a stone wall. It turns out the place wasn't abandoned and was only locked up for the night. The guy that ran the place was very upset with us when he showed up to open the place and we were already on the grounds. Oops. We made up and he ended up being very friendly and offered us pomegranates; the national fruit of Armenia. We felt pretty awful at this point. We didn't get any drone footage because we were too nervous to ask, but this place was beautiful. Our next two stops were Haghpat and Sanahin monasteries; both UNESCO World Heritage Sites and the focus of this video. We then drove through Dilijan and Haghartsin Monastery and finished with a beautiful drive through the mountains skirting the border with Azerbaijan.

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