Bird Watching in Armenia

Arrival in Yerevan.
Meeting with the guide and driver at the airport.
Transfer from the airport to the hotel /check-in/.
Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Yerevan.

Meeting with the guide and driver at the reception of the hotel.
Yerevan is one of the world’s oldest cities, 29 years older than Rome.
Yerevan City Tour by bus: Republic Square, Parliament, City Hall, Opera House,
National Academy of Sciences, Presidential Palace, Lovers Park, etc.
Visit to History Museum of Armenia which is the national museum of Armenia founded in 1919 as Ethnographic-Anthropological Museum-Library. It is located on the Republic square in Yerevan.
13:30 Lunch in Yerevan.
Visit to the Genocide museum and memorial dedicated to the victims of the Armenian genocide 1915.
Panoramic view of Yerevan from Victory park.
– Bird watching inside Yerevan without ornithologists.
Back to the hotel.
Leisure time.
Dinner at the restaurant.
Overnight at hotel in Yerevan.

Breakfast
Way to Armash.
For Bird watching in Armash special shoes are required in case of rain and mud.
Armash fish farm is one of the Caucasus’ richest ornithological hotspots and the only place that boasts the largest concentration and variety of birdlife in Armenia.
Birdwatching in Armash.
Birds in this area: Pygmy Cormorant, Greylag Goose, Ferruginous Duck, Gadwall and Northern Shoveler, White-tailed Lapwing, Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Glossy Ibis, Osprey and European Roller, Blue-cheeked bee-eater , Marbled Teal and White-headed Duck. The site is an Important Bird Area of global significance.
Picnic lunch.
Optional: Visit to Khor Virap Monastery, the most famous pilgrimage site with stunning views of Mount Ararat.
Continue to Vayots Dzor region.
– Bird watching in Vedi canyon.
This area with its semi-desert vegetation and rocky slopes hold rarities such as Egyptian vulture, Long-legged buzzard, Short toed snake eagle, Grey-necked Bunting, Mongolian and Trumpeter Finches, Pale rock-finch, Eurasian nuthatch, Roller, Blue rock-thrush, Black-eared and Finsch’s wheatears.
Way to Eghegnadzor or Vayk. Hotel Check-in.
Dinner at the hotel.
Overnight at hotel in Eghegnadzor.

Breakfast
Visit to Monastery of Noravank, one of the five major tourist attractions in Armenia. The monastery, perched at 1,550m, is dominated by high mountains featuring exceptional beauty. The monastery is famous for its ideal constructive and sculptural work.
Proceed to Gorayk.
– Bird watching in Gorayk and on the road.
Drive from Noravank across the Sisian plateau to Gorayk Important Bird Area (IBA), where we will see the breeding colony of Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni) in Armenia.
Way to Syunik region. Visit to Zorats karer named also Karahunge=Armenian Stonehenge-the age of which has been estimated to be 7,500 years or perhaps older (sixth millennium BC). Scientists believe that there is a tight connection between the observatory in Armenia and Stonehenge in Britain, since the latter is much younger (about 4,000 years old).
Picnic lunch.
Visit to Tatev monastery (9th c.), one of the largest and the most famous monasteries in Armenia by “Wings of Tatev” ropeway, world’s longest cable car. The Guinness Book of World Records representative Karim Valerio officially declared “Tatev’s Wings,” opened on October 23, 2010, the world’s longest ropeway.
Way to Goris. En route from Gorayk to Goris we can see Long-legged Buzzard, Common Kestrels, Cuckoo, Common rosefinch, Common stonechat, Whinchat, Black-headed bunting and Red-backed shrike.
Hotel Check-in.
Dinner at the hotel. Overnight at hotel in Goris.

Breakfast
Shikahogh State Preserve is Armenia’s second largest forest reserve. Shikahogh occupies the northern macro-slope of the Meghri Ridge within the Tsav and Shikahogh riversides and includes the peaks of the Mt. Shakhbuz (2372 m), Gyumarants (2366 m), Mazra (2198 m) and Bartas (2186 m). It is home to unique species considered to be the wealth of not only Armenia but the whole world as well.
– Bird watching in Shikahogh and Meghri.
Birds in this area: Black Woodpecker, Common Buzzard, Black Kite, Short-toed Snake-eagle, Eurasian sparrowhawk, Egyptian Vulture, Spotted, Semi-colored and Red-breasted flycatchers.
In Meghri we will see: Bearded and Egyptian vultures, Levant sparrowhawk, Sombre tit and Rufous-tailed wheatear.
Picnic lunch.
Hotel check-in.
Dinner at the guesthouse. Overnight at at hotel in Agarak.

Breakfast
– Bird watching in Meghri on the mountain.
Early in morning we will make a start to look for our target species Caspian snowcock in Meghri region (Meghri mountain chain). We will spend much of the time up in the high mountains to see Caspian snowcock and also may see Alpine swift, Eurasian skylark, Meadow pipit, Alpine accentor and Chukar. We may be lucky to spot also Wild goats.
Meghri is a beautiful city in the southern Armenia, located in the Syunik region, near the border with Iran. Meghri weather is much milder than the rest of Armenia and can be a nice escape from the cooler mountains.
For bird watching in Meghri on the mountain special shoes are required
Picnic lunch.
Way to Goris.
Hotel Check-in.
Dinner at the hotel.
Overnight at hotel in Goris.

Breakfast
Proceed to Sevan by Selim pass.
Stop at Selim caravanserai (13th century). Part of Silk Road in Armenia. The caravanserai of Selim is the best-preserved caravanserai in the entire country.
– Bird watching near Selim.
This is an interesting spot for Ortolan Bunting, Hoopoe, Common Rosefinch, Red-backed Shrike, Lammergeier, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Long-legged Buzzard, Common Buzzard and many other raptors, as well as White-throated Robin and Chukar, Linnets and Twites.
Way to Norashen and Litchk.
– Bird watching in Norashen, Litchk.
Lake Sevan plays host to an impressive wealth of species. Breeding birds are rather limited, but the area does hold a substantial colony of Armenian Gulls (mainly along the northwestern shore).
Birds in this area: you may see large numbers of herons, Acrocephalus warblers, Glossy Ibis, Osprey, Hen, Montagu’s and Pallid harriers, Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Common Coot, Common Pochard, Red-crested Pochard, Common Moorhen, Common Black-headed Gull, Common Kingfisher, Cetti’s Warbler, Common Snipe and Green Sandpiper.
Picnic lunch.
Visit to lake Sevan, largest alpine lake in Armenia and Caucasus. The lake is at an altitude of 1,950 m above sea level. Sevan is famous for its different kinds of fish, particular for ishkhan, meaning “princely fish.”
Visit to Sevanavank monastery.
Way to Yerevan. Hotel check-in.
Dinner at the hotel. Overnight at hotel in Yerevan.

Breakfast
Way to Mt. Aragats which lies to the north-west of Yerevan.
Visit to Armenian Alphabet Park. Armenian Alphabet Park is on the road to the east of Mt. Aragats. This monument was erected in 2005 to celebrate the 1600th anniversary of the Armenian alphabet’s creation. Take a photo with your favorite Armenian letter.
– Bird watching in Aragats near lake Kari.
Lake Kari, mostly formed by ice and snow, is located in the slopes of Mt. Aragats in the Aragatsotn region. It is situated 3,190 meters above sea level. On the eastern side of the lake is a meteorological station.
Birds in this area: It is an excellent area for mountainous species such as Alpine Accentor, Snowfinch, Skylark and Crimson-winged Finch, Red-billed Chough are all common in the upper boulder field zones. Raptors are impressive and include Short-toed, Booted and Lesser Spotted Eagles and Long-legged Buzzard, Ring Ouzel, Rufous-Tailed Rock-thrush, Bluethroat, Horned Lark. Wallcreeper can be found on the precipitous peaks surrounding the crater.
Picnic lunch.
Visit to Amberd fortress, located 2,300 meters above sea level, on the slopes of Mt. Aragats. The name means “fortress in the clouds” in Armenian. The ruins of the fortress, including the walls, church, bathroom and other sections, were preserved.
Return to Yerevan.
Dinner at the restaurant.
Overnight at hotel in Yerevan.

Transfer to the airport.
Departure.