Byurakan is a city in Armenia located on the volcano Aragats. It is a good place to sleep to then climb Mount Aragats.
Understand
Get in
By bus
The bus number #519 connects Yerevan to Byurakan. It leaves from Kilikia bus station at 10:30, 13:00, 14:25, 15:50, 17:40 and 19:55. The cost is 400 dram (as 2022). To go back to Yerevan, you can take the bus in Byurakan at 7:30, 9:00, 12:00, 14:30, 16:00 and 18:30. Sometimes the bus will not show (and you don't know why). In this case, usually local people waiting for the bus will share a taxi. You can try to go with them.
Get around
Within Byurakan, it is quite easy to get around on foot.
See
- Surp Hovhannes Church. Tucked away behind some houses, it is marked with the old Christian cross used before the Armenian cross design came into use.
Do
- Climb Mount Aragats. The Mount Aragats is the top summit of Armenia. In reality it consists of 4 summits (North, South, West and East). The simplest to climb is the South summit. The highest (4095 m) and hardest one to climb is the North summit. If you are a good hiker, you can climb two to three summits in one day. If you want to climb the four summits, it is better to come with your tent and to sleep one night in the volcano.
To climb the mounts, start at Kari Lake, as before it is just a boring paved road.
If you want to go for a one day trip, you can hitchhike from Buyrakan to Kari lake (try to start early, around 06:00 or 06:30 as there are not a lot of cars going there. If you are lucky you will find a tourist car going there and you will be on the lake 1 hour after. If you are less lucky you will still meet local shepherds living on the volcano who will be happy to take you, but who will probably not go to the lake so you will have to wait for another car or have to walk a little bit on the road).
The climb of the South Summit is not really hard, except if you are not used of the altitude (it is around 3900m high). The West Summit (4080m) can be a little bit dangerous, especially on the way down, so try to find people going with you if you are a solo traveler. Hiking poles are recommended. The North Summit is the treaky one, especially the way between the False North and North Summits. 2022-08-22
- Byurakan Observatory, +374 91 195903. You can observe stars and planets from one of the Byurakan Observatory telescopes. Tours are organized everyday at 21:00, 22:00 and 23:00. You will join a group of about 20 to 30 people and observe one or two stars and one or two planets. As the group can be quite large, you will unfortunately not have a lot of time per person to observe the sky through the telescope. Moreover, as there is a lot a light pollution due to the cities on the bottom of the volcano, the sky is not as dark as it used to be probably at the construction of the observatory. However, it is still a good experience if you have never observed stars through a telescope. It is recommended to book in advance the tour by phone but if you are a solo traveler, you can just show yourself at 21:00 and ask to join the group. 1000 dram for Armenians, 3000 dram for foreigners 2022-08-22
Buy
There are several mini markets in the city where you can buy basic food (fruits, pasta...).
Eat
Drink
Sleep
Go next