Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) travel guide

Amaras monestery is one of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world. Established by the same guy who converted Armenia to Christianity (St. Gregory the Illuminator) in the beginning of the 4th century. A century later, a school was established here at the monastery, being the first school to use the newly invented Armenian script. Today, you can still see the Armenian letters that were plastered on the ceiling as educational decoration in the building next to the church. The fine white church you see today is a result of 19th century restoration, since the original church was severely damaged from various wars through time. The gatekeeper's house, that is part of the surrounding wall, has what looks like a handful of bullet holes, probably from the latest war in the 1990s.

Askeran (also known as Mayraberd) was a huge medieval fortress consisting of towers connected by defense walls. The North-South highway runs straight through the ruin with towers on both sides of the road. Originally, the fortress ran 1.5 km across the valley; you can still see whole wall sections on the hill in the distance.

The hills above the village of Azokh have a string of caves. Apparently, the caves are connected through tunnels and can be explored with a good torch. But when we were there, the cave we visited had a fence and barbwire, but it might be different with the other caves. Go exploring, but beware of snakes and bats.

The road from Stepanakert to Martakert goes close to the old front line. Here, you can still see relics from the war, like demolished houses and the occasional burned tank standing in a field of wildflowers that eventually turns into Azerbaijan in the distance.

Gandzasar monastery is the main historical/religious site in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). It's from the 10-13th century, well cared for with a mighty fine collection of cross stones, so-called khachkars, in the walled garden. The walls inside of the cathedral is covered with fine Armenian inscriptions and the ornamentation is considered to be exquisite. Gandzasar is perched above the touristy village of Vank (you might wonder how a village in Artsakh can be touristy, but you will see) at 1,267 m with splendid views over the forest covered mountains.

The locals call the giant plane tree near the Skhtorashen village Tnjri. It is huge, about 54 m tall (note the car to the right), and considered to be more than 2000 years old. The tree is hollow and big enough for an alter - some have apparently measured the inside to 44 sq m. It can seem surprising that the tree still stands, since the inner is sooty from centuries of fires, but maybe the natural spring next to it has something to do with its longevity.

Right outside Shushi town, the meadow breaks off into a canyon. There are beautiful views over much of the neighbouring hills, Stepanakert below and central Artsakh. If the summer heat is burning hot, it is a great place to catch a fresh breeze while you enjoy your lunch pack under a shady tree.

Don't step on them!!!

No seriously, both Armenian and Azerbaijan forces mined the East front of Artsakh heavily in the 1991-1994 conflict. Many areas have since been cleared, but there are still a lot of land that is mined. The safe areas are those with a blue HALO Trust sign saying "cleared", while you want to stay clear of the areas with the red mine sign.

Martakert is the northernmost town in Artsakh. It is not far from the front line and it took some serious damage during the war, which you can still sense today. There is not much to see here in terms of sights, but the little market town has a rough frontier feel. If the mountainous northern route to Armenia through Kelbajar and Zod pass opens up for foreigners, Martakert might be the place to start that adventure from.

Along the North-South highway, you will see several ancient cemeteries with tombstones sticking up over the high grass. The tombstones have inscriptions on them, some in Armenian and some in Arabic. We don't know the story behind them, sorry.