Explore tranquil village life with the Basen Hotel’s owner and manager, Hasmik Azoyan. On this hike from Ltsen to Tatev, you will visit cultural landmarks, fields of wildflowers, and a number of remote villages.
Ride in a Soviet-era Jeep to Ltsen, a small village deep in the Syunik landscape, and experience on the way a dramatic change in ecosystems from grass-covered hills to forested mountains. You will also see two important sites, the Vorotnavank Monastery and Shamb Reservoir.
Start the hike at the village of Ltsen (1,800 meters) and slowly ascend to 2,200 meters above sea level before descending to Tatev village and monastery. The hike’s total length is 18 kilometers, with a picnic lunch along the way. Hasmik will help you pick herbs for the lunchtime tea. Your final destination is the Tatev Monastery Complex, an important medieval religious institution and defensive feature with a commanding position on the Silk Road. Spend some time exploring the area before riding the world’s longest aerial tramway—5.7 kilometers from Tatev to Halidzor.
At the end of the tramway, a car will return you to the hotel. If desired, additional short hikes can be organized along the way. Whatever your itinerary, the Basen Hotel’s 31 newly renovated guestrooms can serve as a hospitable home base for your travels.
Meet your host
Hasmik Azoyan, the founder of Basen Hotel and Tours, named her business after an area in Eastern Anatolia, in the region of Erzrum, where her grandparents lived until 1915. Basen offers tours with local guides of historic areas in Sisian, as well as nature hikes in the surrounding mountains and through Sisian's more modern architectural and stone-art sites.
