Կարկտասար

Areguni Mountains

Length: 65 km

Highest summit: Mount Karktasar (2,750 m)

Coordinates: 40°36’19.14, 45°14’44.15

The Areguni Mountains are considered a continuation of the Pambak Mountains, stretching southeast from the Sevan Mountain Pass to the Kashatagh Mountain summit and extending to the edge of Lake Sevan from the northeast. Despite the high altitude of the Areguni Mountains, their south-facing position means that winter snows melt sooner here than elsewhere in the Sevan Basin.

Mount Putakar

Mount Putakar is one of the highest summits in the Areguni Mountain Range with an altitude of 2,743 m, located nearly 6 km south of Martuni village. The slopes of Mount Putakar are covered with stones and sub-alpine vegetation. Two streams (Khoradzor and Jrtakan) that join the Getk River begin on the eastern slope of the mountain, and an auxiliary stream of the Drakhtik River (the Gomaget stream) begins on its southern slope.

Mount Karktasar

Mount Karktasar is nearly 800 m from Mount Putakar, with maps showing an altitude of 2,740 m. Consequently, Mount Putakar is widely considered to be the highest summit of the Areguni Mountains. However, according to our own measurements, Mount Karktasar is about eight meters higher than Mount Putakar. We measured the altitude with several GPS devices, in the same climate and at intervals of 30 minutes. Given that consistently inaccurate readings from a GPS device are very unlikely, we believe it is safe to say that Mount Karktasar is the highest point of the Areguni Mountains.