From GEGHARD to GARNI

Biking trail description
This trail starts from Geghardavank and ends at the Garni Temple. The most famous tourist centers of Armenia, the Garni pagan temple and Geghardavank are in the Kotayk region of Armenia, and the mountain skiing route passes through Khosrov State Reserve. Starting from the village of Geghard, the horizons of the mountains open in front of you. You will see the mountains of Eranus with beautiful nuances; white top of the Mount Ararat; the cones of the Mount Aragats. From the East Geghama Mountains with four peaks and from the south - Khosrov Park Reserve with its unique flora and fauna are visible. The mountain biking route passes down the slopes of Goght village gorge, reaches the valley of Goght River taking to the Garni pagan temple, and this is where the route ends.

Description of the monuments:
Geghard Monastery (Geghard Village)
The distance from Yerevan is 35 km. It is located on the right bank of Azat River, in historic Geghardadzor. The monastery complex, surrounded by rocks, consists of the main temple, two courtyards, two churches, number of cells and tombs. Entrance to the rocky building, interior walls and pillars are decorated with beautiful sculptures. The tropical cliffs surrounding the monastery are of a unique beauty and majesty.
Geghard Monastery was founded in the early years of Armenian adopting christianity as a state religion (beginning of the 4th century). The foundation of the monastery was attributed to Grigor Lusavorich. Geghardavank was one of the spiritual and cultural centers of medieval Armenia. Many Armenian manuscripts have been reached, some of which are kept in Matenadaran after M. Mashtots. The monastery was repeatedly exposed to raiding, but it was inaccessible to capture the enemy. The building has been recognized as part of UNESCO's World Heritage and is considered one of the most visited sights of Armenia.
Garni Temple
The Pagan temple of Garni is located in Kotayk region, on the right bank of the Azat River. It was founded the grandson of Hayk Nahapet Gegham, and it was named after his grandson Garnik. The architectural style of the temple is Hellenistic, it was built by King Trdat in 76 AD. 77 AD by Wikipedia, on a triangular high cape. During the centuries the temple of Garni was destroyed several centuries. It was reconstructed by the Armenian Kings converting it to a summer residence, a meeting place for the army and a resident for bishops.
During the archeological expeditions late Bronze Age tombs and other archeological materials were found. Armenian Urartian ceramics and cuneiform inscriptions also were discovered, which was performed by King Argishti. In front of the temple there used to be a citylike residence traces of which were surrounded by medieval and modern buildings. In the north hillside of the village there is a medieval grave surrounded by unique cross-stone and inscribed gravestones. The temple is open to public all year round, throughout all the seasons. At night, the temple is illuminated.
Flora
From Garni Temple to Geghard you will see an interesting and varied plants, trees and flowers that change depending on the climate. On the lower slopes, the semi-desert landscape is dominant. The forest vegetation is spread in the form of islands at the average altitude and is composed of juniper forests and oak trees. There are also broad-leaved Ilene, grocodile, arazene, caucasian chickpea. A bit higher there is a mountainous vegetation, where you can find a chicory, white chamomile, sage, carnivorous, cornflower, healing nectar, tongue white, lithelium and many other herbs. Thyme and mint are used as tea and are good to lower a high blood pressure.
Fauna
The mountain biking route is safe in terms of meeting wild animals. The Khosrov Reserve Park is located to the east from the Garni region, where you actually can see wild animals. The Armenian mouflon (wild sheep) and Bezoar goat live mainly there. There are also leopard, brown bear, boar, fox, rabbit, lilac, blackberries, wolves, whirlwinds and other wild animals. It is particularly rich in bird world; there are black cats, herring, white vulture, eagle, wild pigeon, and so on. There are many reptiles, particularly poisonous gyroscope. Since 1954 a dessert deer is being adopted to the climate of the park.

Safety and Security
From Geghardavand to Garni mountain biking route all types of telecom connections are available. In case of accidents 911 emergency phone number is functioning. Beware of dogs without leash in the villages.
Technical description
Best time: from May to November
Distance: Geghard is 40 km from Yerevan and lasts 1 hour
Taxi fee is AMD 4000
Entrance fee: AMD1200
Length: 28 km
Duration: 4 hours
Altitude from the sea level: 1700 to 2100-1400 m
20% of the road is covered by asphalt, 80% by landlocked.
Take a water with you

How to get to the route
To get to the above mentioned mountain biking route, is possible by taxi. The return is from Garni Temple.