Old friends of the mountains meet in Armenia

Written by Dmitry Freitor and Aleksandr Telpov
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Created: 18 April 2026

“Amazing Armenia” – this was the title of a big article published in the “Rock & Ice” magazine in the US in 2010.

 The photos were indeed amazing. I was hooked. In April of this year I finally managed to turn into reality that long time dream: I recruited few of my climbing friends to come to Armenia with me and experience the unique blend of climbing and local culture that only this country can offer.

Climbing in Armenia is truly world class. This is especially true of the Noravank and Hell Canyons. The limestone walls and the routes here rival such destinations as Kalymnos and Arco. The routes range from beginner level cragging, to hard sport climbs, to multi-pitch adventures, and there are both bolted and trad lines. Both areas are easily accessible from the village of Areni, which serves as a perfect basecamp for a multi-day outing. We really enjoyed climbing here.

We’ve also got a chance to climb on the basalt cliffs of Kasakh Canyon. Due to high water in the river we could access only one area, but the climbing was still very good and varied.

And, of course, we could not pass up climbing in the Hrazdan gorge. While the basalt cliffs here are not very tall, they offer a good variety of sport climbs within the borders of Yerevan. This was a perfect opportunity to get a good morning session and still enjoy the city in the second half of the day. We had very good time climbing here.

Our trip would not have been possible without the expert services of our guide Mkhitar Mkhitaryan. Mkhitar is one of the very few Armenian climbers who put up many of the climbs, so he has very intimate knowledge of the places where we climbed. He also took care of all the logistics, from transportation to accommodations, to cliff snacks. All of us are very grateful for his help on this trip.

I am looking forward to more climbing in Armenia on my future visits here.

By Dmitry Freitor

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I have been to Armenia many times and truly love its capital Yerevan, its magnificent ancient churches and monasteries, the paintings of Martiros Saryan, Armenian cuisine, and of course its hospitable people!

 

I’ve often gone hiking in the local mountains with my Armenian friends, but I had never climbed on the rocks there before. And yet, I love climbing - I started rock climbing and mountaineering more than 45 years ago. I’ve done many ascents in Crimea, the Caucasus, the Pamirs, and the Tien Shan, took part in establishing new big wall routes in the Fany Mountains and Karavshin, and climbed in Yosemite - the Nose route on El Capitan.

So when my friend Dmitry suggested going to Armenia for climbing, I happily agreed. I thought we’d climb for a couple of days and mostly spend time enjoying delicious Armenian food and wine. But out of the 7 days of our trip, only one day was spent sightseeing in Geghard - we climbed every other day!

It turned out that Armenia has a lot of rock climbing areas, all diverse and interesting. I especially liked Noravank and Hell Canyon. Beautiful limestone routes with good bolting. But if you’re into trad climbing, bring a set of camalots - there are excellent crack routes waiting for you.

There’s no good comprehensive climbing guidebook for Armenia yet, so without a local guide it would be difficult. I think that, apart from Noravank, we wouldn’t even have found the right sectors on our own. There are also no well-marked trails or signs like you might be used to in Europe.

Our guide, Mkhitar Mkhitaryan, organized everything perfectly and drove us everywhere. He also took fantastic photos! Many thanks to him! And a big thanks to all the Armenian climbers who bolted these wonderful routes!

By Alexander Telpov

View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://www.uptherocks.com/index.php/rock-climbing-in-armenia/280-old-friends-of-the-mountains-meet-in-armenia#sigProIdaa075ab5c0

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Armenian Alpine Club

8/38 Margaryan str., 0036 Yerevan, Republic of Armenia

Tel: +374-93-337-937, +374-93-318-006. 

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