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Devils Bridge
Located below Tatev Monastery, in the 500-meter gorge of the Vorotan River, is one of Armenias natural wonders – “Devils Bridge”. Over the millennia, wind and water have created this wonder of nature, polishing and piercing the petrified lava. The width of this natural bridge, along which runs the auto road to Tatev Monastery, is 60 m, the length 30 m. Close to the bridge it is possible to swim in the warm, salubrious springs, ringed by stalactites of marvelous colors. The most intrepid can descend to the river to see the secretive grottos below the springs.
TatevThe Tatev Monastery is a 9th-century Armenian Apostolic located in South-East Armenia, in the area of ancient Armenian Syunik, not far from the city of Goris and 280 km away from Yerevan. The Tatev plateau has been in use since pre-Christian times, hosting a pagan temple. The temple was replaced with a modest church following the Christianization of Armenia in the 4th century. According to tradition, Tatev Monastery is named after Eustateus, a disciple of St. Thaddeus the Apostle, who preached and was martyred in this region. His name has evolved to Tatev.
Popular etymology includes a legend telling of an event that is tied to the construction of the main church, where an apprentice secretly climbs to the top of its steeple intending to place a cross of his own design. However, the apprentice is spotted by his master during his descent. Shocked by his discovery, the apprentice loses his foothold and falls into the abyss as he calls upon God to grant him wings, which, in Armenian is “Ta Tev”. The fortified Tatev monastery consists of three churches; Sts. Paul and Peter, St. Gregory the Illuminator and St. Mary, a library, dining hall, belfry, mausoleum as well as other administrative and auxiliary buildings. The monastery is the "best-known site" in Syunik. Wings of Tatev, a cableway from Tatev to Halidzor village was opened in October 2010.It was included in the Guinness World Records as world s "longest non-stop double track cable car."
| Start | 08:00 |
|---|---|
| Destination | Tatev Monastery, Devil’s Bridge |
| Duration | 13-14 hrs |
* The unused portions of the itinerary are not refundable.
