Armenia is home to medieval monasteries. One of which includes the famous 9th-century Armenian Apostolic monastery located on a large basalt plateau near the Tatev village in Syunik Province in southeastern Armenia named Tatev Monastery (excerpt from Wikipedia).
How to Get to Tatev Monastery?
Coming from Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia, it took us 4 hours by private car to reach Halidzor where we rode the cable car/ aerial tramway popularly known as Wings of Tatev that took us to the monastery.
We purchased the cable car ticket upon arrival but due to a huge volume of tourists, the earliest available schedule we secured was 4pm so we spent 3 hours waiting for our turn.
TIP: If you are doing a DIY tour, I suggest you book online to avoid the queue and to get an earlier schedule. If you are going to prepare an itinerary, make sure visiting to Tatev Monastery doesn’t fall on Monday because Wings of Tatev (cable car station) is close on that day.You can also book this trip through a guided group tour in Armenia. I recommend you book with One Way Tour because they offer very reasonable prices and exciting packages that would suit your interest which includes winter tours, hiking tours, new year’s eve tours, star gazing tours, inter-country tours, cultural tours and many more! They are a direct tour operator in Armenia so can save more instead of paying an additional fee if you book through a travel agency. If you are coming from Dubai, you can contact +971 564700602 to get more details.
Wings of Tatev
We spent our luxurious 3 hours at Wings of Tatev relaxing, enjoying the breathtaking view of the mountains of Halidzor, savoring the delicious Armenian dish served at the restaurant while we wait for our schedule. They got a free (fast) wifi too.
Tatev Monastery
When we checked our ticket, it shows our schedule going back is at 7pm so that means we have 3 hours to spend exploring Tatev Monastery and nearby places.
Even up to now, they hold a mass in the monastery. I was lucky to attend a brief mass held outside the monastery and received a blessing from the priest.
Our experience with Armenian hospitality…
As we wandered outside the Tatev Monastery to see some shops, we came to notice a room filled with people smiling, laughing, dancing, and singing. Curious, we went closer and to our surprise they opened the door for us and invited us in. There was a birthday celebration and we were invited on the spot!
It was this little boy’s birthday!
At 7pm, we took the cable car going back to Wings of Tatev. It was already dark, cold and it started raining. We were worried if we’ll still be able to see our driver again and we cheered when we saw him waiting at the cable car station in the midst of rain and cold, like a father waiting for his children to arrive. From Wings of Tatev, he drove us to our next destination, Kapan.
For any comments, suggestions, or questions about our tour in Armenia or if you just want to share your experience and give some tips, feel free to leave a message at the comment box below or send us an email at diytrippers@yahoo.com.