The road south twists and turns over mountains passes and through the depths of valleys. Eventually, a major junction comes into view. Here the road from Yerevan splits south to Iran and further east to Karabagh. But instead of hopping on yet another mini-bus, I decided to stay to check out the town.
The town of Goris might seem like nothing more than a transportation hub, but it has a few
things of its own to offer. Wedged deep into a valley, the pace of life here is obviously slow. There is nothing touristy about the town. No tacky statues. Few cafes. But there is a growing B&B trend making it easy to find a place to stay in town. A couchsurfer I knew hooked me up with a nice B&B at a discounted rate (score!!) . I met up with him that night to partake in local fruit vodka (tuti oghi). Needless to say i don't remember most of the evenings conversation which I'm sure was intellectually stimulating. A short stumble back to my B&B, well into the evening, and it was time for bed.
But the simple town is not only notable for it's B&Bs, local vodka and drunken Peace Corps
Volunteers. Springing from the valley walls are dozens of strange spires. The rocky outcroppings are more than just ornamental or a natural oddity. They once housed the ancient population of Goris. And by ancient I mean as long ago as 20 years. The story goes that caves in the sides of the spires acted as houses, storerooms and stables. But once the Soviets moved in and installed gas, power and water into what is now New Goris, the settlers left their old caves and moved house for the modern conveniences. Brick by 
brick, table by table, the Old Cave city became abandoned. With the last know resident finally moving out in the '80s. There are still signs of life as grazing cattle in the hills still use the caves as rain shelter. Watch your step!! Look carefully and you might even find some carved shelves still in the walls of the former homes. But other than that, the actual city of Goris is just a place to chill out and try to expel the city air out of the lungs. Unfortunately, the expectant peace and quiet didn't work out for me as my B&B turned out to be rather noisy. Part of a string of unluckily noisy hotels i stayed at in Armenia :(
Having exhausted what little the town of Goris had to offer, I opted for a day trip to a "nearby" 
monastery. Yes, that's right, another church. Man, Armenia's full of them. While I am honestly not bothered to see so many, the problem is they tend to build them in the most scenic of areas. Tatev Monastery being a prime example. The hour+ drive in is absolutely spectacular. Good thing too. It distracts you form the fact that the driver is forced to swerve and weave around monstrous craters they refer to as "potholes". That in itself isn't too bad until you realize that there are no barrier preventing 
the Lada from plunging off the road and permanently becoming part of the scenery. There are a few worthy picturesque stops along the way. But it's the village of Tatev that is the destination. Dating back some 1,200 years, Tatev Monastery is centred around the main St. Peter & Paul church. There are plenty of little rooms to explore and there are no boundaries. You can even climb on the walls, delve into partially hidden caverns and, of course, enter the church itself. All free of charge. Free, that is, except for the cost of getting here. The public transport is inconvenient leaving Goris at around 3pm. Then leaving Tatev around 8 the next morning. Great if you plan to stay overnight, but in October, there wouldn't be much light to see the church. So i was forced to take a taxi, at a reasonable price of 8,000 Dram there, back, waiting and stopping at various sights. Of the half dozen churches and such i saw in Armenia, Tatev was hands down the best. Both in location and ornate-ness.
Overall, I give a trip to Goris 2 thumbs up, especially if you make the trip to Tatev Monastery. Mini-buses leave Yerevan from behind the Russian Cinema (Kino Rossiya) and cost 2,500 Dram for the 5 hour (or so) trip.
The town of Goris might seem like nothing more than a transportation hub, but it has a few
things of its own to offer. Wedged deep into a valley, the pace of life here is obviously slow. There is nothing touristy about the town. No tacky statues. Few cafes. But there is a growing B&B trend making it easy to find a place to stay in town. A couchsurfer I knew hooked me up with a nice B&B at a discounted rate (score!!) . I met up with him that night to partake in local fruit vodka (tuti oghi). Needless to say i don't remember most of the evenings conversation which I'm sure was intellectually stimulating. A short stumble back to my B&B, well into the evening, and it was time for bed.But the simple town is not only notable for it's B&Bs, local vodka and drunken Peace Corps
Volunteers. Springing from the valley walls are dozens of strange spires. The rocky outcroppings are more than just ornamental or a natural oddity. They once housed the ancient population of Goris. And by ancient I mean as long ago as 20 years. The story goes that caves in the sides of the spires acted as houses, storerooms and stables. But once the Soviets moved in and installed gas, power and water into what is now New Goris, the settlers left their old caves and moved house for the modern conveniences. Brick by 
brick, table by table, the Old Cave city became abandoned. With the last know resident finally moving out in the '80s. There are still signs of life as grazing cattle in the hills still use the caves as rain shelter. Watch your step!! Look carefully and you might even find some carved shelves still in the walls of the former homes. But other than that, the actual city of Goris is just a place to chill out and try to expel the city air out of the lungs. Unfortunately, the expectant peace and quiet didn't work out for me as my B&B turned out to be rather noisy. Part of a string of unluckily noisy hotels i stayed at in Armenia :(Having exhausted what little the town of Goris had to offer, I opted for a day trip to a "nearby" 
monastery. Yes, that's right, another church. Man, Armenia's full of them. While I am honestly not bothered to see so many, the problem is they tend to build them in the most scenic of areas. Tatev Monastery being a prime example. The hour+ drive in is absolutely spectacular. Good thing too. It distracts you form the fact that the driver is forced to swerve and weave around monstrous craters they refer to as "potholes". That in itself isn't too bad until you realize that there are no barrier preventing 
the Lada from plunging off the road and permanently becoming part of the scenery. There are a few worthy picturesque stops along the way. But it's the village of Tatev that is the destination. Dating back some 1,200 years, Tatev Monastery is centred around the main St. Peter & Paul church. There are plenty of little rooms to explore and there are no boundaries. You can even climb on the walls, delve into partially hidden caverns and, of course, enter the church itself. All free of charge. Free, that is, except for the cost of getting here. The public transport is inconvenient leaving Goris at around 3pm. Then leaving Tatev around 8 the next morning. Great if you plan to stay overnight, but in October, there wouldn't be much light to see the church. So i was forced to take a taxi, at a reasonable price of 8,000 Dram there, back, waiting and stopping at various sights. Of the half dozen churches and such i saw in Armenia, Tatev was hands down the best. Both in location and ornate-ness.Overall, I give a trip to Goris 2 thumbs up, especially if you make the trip to Tatev Monastery. Mini-buses leave Yerevan from behind the Russian Cinema (Kino Rossiya) and cost 2,500 Dram for the 5 hour (or so) trip.