Eco Lodge in the Caucasus Wildlife Refuge

In July, my friend and I spent a full day at the Caucasus Wildlife Refuge, about 1.5 hours drive from Yerevan. The main center and lodge is location in the desert mountains at 1,250m above sea level. We were greeted by 2 nice ladies who worked there and was served a delicious brunch, with vegetarian options available. Our jeep tour into the reserve was scheduled to start in the afternoon. While waiting, we spent a couple of hours walking around the area checking out the brown bears and horses, and then in the pool surrounded by amazing views of the mountains to cool off in the hot summer weather. Wifi is provided with very good connectivity. At 3pm, our guide and driver promptly arrived to start our jeep tour and I was so excited! On the way, he bought us ice cream and water. As we veered off from the main road into the mountains, we started climbing the dirt road, it was a real adventure and the views were nothing short of breathtaking.. we made a few stops to take in the landscape and finally after about an hour, we reached the top at about 2,300m elevation. We took a walk, it was very windy and pleasant but still hot nonetheless! On the way down, we stopped at a local family’s house who kindly offered us some snacks, fruits and coffee.. four generations of the family was there, who come to live in the mountains from May to October. They had chickens, horses, cows, dogs and rabbits, and also a superbly glorious vegetable farm that grows cucumber, tomato, pepper, chilli, basil, beans and melons to name a few. They also had a water source from the mountains which they divert to their house, for the animals and also the farm. There were also ruins from a really old village nearby, with Kachkars dating back to the 12th century. It was incredible and truly the highlight of the tour. Alas after almost an hour, it was time to leave, we bid our goodbyes to the sweet family and started our way back to the lodge through a different route down the mountains, which took about an hour. We spent the rest of the day back in the pool, enjoying the sunset and again, a scrumptious dinner. At night, the weather and blowing wind was extremely pleasant and peaceful, which we enjoyed watching the moon and stars, a perfect ending to a wonderful day.