Visit 4th century monasteries in the Caucasus region

What was I thinking having only one experience on my list about the region, focusing just in the Caucasus monasteries? I’m so happy I decided to spend a month going around all 3 countries of the region –Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, enjoying wine, mountains and monasteries!

Basic facts: which countries and territories make up the Caucasus?

What’s the Caucasus, you ask? This little region trapped between Europe and Asia, is, at the same time, part of both and of neither. Because of its strategic position, surrounded by Turkey, Russia and Iran, it has always been seen as a place to conquer. Passed around from Persians, to Ottomans, to the Russian empire, it finally reached independence, as 3 countries of the 15 successors of the USSR (plus a few disputed territories).

What I find fascinating is that the identities and cultures of each of these countries survived throughout all the invasions. Each of them has its own language, religion, traditions, cuisine, art… and they are completely different from the other ones. Another thing that amazed me was the geographical diversity. You can’t believe you’re in the same country when in a few hours you can go from tea plantations to over 5000 meters peaks.

But logistics are a nightmare when you start planning a trip around the region. There’s no crossing between Armenia and Azerbaijan due to historical territorial disputes. During my visit, the Azerbaijani province of Nagorno-Karabakh, although self-proclaimed independent with the name of Artsakh, it was under Armenian control, and people could only enter through Armenia, from the city of Goris to Stepanakerk. Today Azerbaijan controls it, but rivalries are still latent, which means you might have issues getting in the country if you visit Armenia first.

Another complicated territory is the Autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan. It’s an exclave of Azerbaijan, meaning it’s part of the country but geographically disconnected from it. As a clause of the ceasefire that ended the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020, the Zangezur Corridor was opened in Armenian territory to connect Nakhchivan with the rest of Azerbaijan. However, to visit it, you must fly from Baku or Ganja, or you can travel overland from Iran or Türkiye.

There’re two territories in Georgia that are disputed with Russia, although both declared a de facto independence. Abkhazia you can visit, from both Georgia and Russia (even though the Georgian border was closed when I tried to go), but you can’t exit through a different country than the one you entered from. The other one is South Ossetia, whose borders have been closed to tourism for years (although I know of people who were willing to bribe Russian border control to enter).

So, to put it simply, the most logical route for me was Azerbaijan –> Georgia –> Armenia (+ NK). I knew I’d be arriving overland from Tabriz in Iran to Baku, and departing from Yerevan. The rest was a mystery: Me, my backpack, and 30 days to explore. My advice today would still be to start in Azerbaijan, including Nakhchivan, then cross into Georgia, including a stop in Akhazia (if the border is open), and finish the tour in Armenia.

A month is way too much for one blog post (especially with the crazy number of photos I take), so I wrote one per country. Here you can go through the journal of my 30 days journey in the stunning Caucasus region:

Caucasus monasteries

As my aim was to visit the monasteries of the Caucasus –and although I got carried away with the mountains and wine– I’ll leave you a photo essay of the ones you cannot miss! I should have included more of the region on the list, but I can assure you that the monasteries were not a mistake. Only seeing some of them was well worth the trip!

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