Every journey to Ararat starts with a dream

When I first started hiking and heading into the mountains, it never even crossed my mind that one day I would stand on the summit of Ararat. During different hikes, I would often listen to fellow hikers share their stories of how they had climbed Ararat, what they had felt up there. Every time I saw Ararat in the distance, I would think to myself: how lucky they are, the ones who have walked along its slopes and stood on its peak. The idea of climbing Ararat was born on the slopes of Azhdahak, when one of the hikers was sharing their own ascent story. In that moment, I quietly asked myself, “What if next year… I try to climb Ararat too?”

When the Mountain Becomes a Companion

The true realization that I was about to climb Ararat came after my first night at base camp. At dawn, I stepped out of my tent and saw Dogubayazit faintly visible in the distance, while Ararat was slowly lighting up under the first rays of the rising sun. The day was just breaking.

The camp was still asleep. I had the rare gift of being alone with the mountain for a while. And in that silence, it felt like we had a long conversation. The emotions are impossible to put into words.

Perhaps the hardest part was the third day – the summit push. We began the ascent at 1 a.m., in the dark. The wind was strong, and the altitude was starting to take its toll on my body.

In that moment, Tatev’s steady guidance and Lilit’s encouraging words made all the difference. They grounded me, kept me moving. And then, as the first light began to break, Ararat itself seemed to help us slowly – revealing the summit ahead, as if reminding us what we were climbing for.

Emotions I Will Never Feel on Any Other Mountain

The first time I set foot on the summit, the wind was so fierce that I had to sit down. For a few minutes, I was in complete shock. Am I really on the summit? Did I actually do it? Then I saw the joy on my friends’ faces and Little Ararat rising proudly beside us from above. And in that moment, I finally told myself, “Yes. I did it”. Everything that followed was pure emotion – the kind I know, deep down, I will never experience on any other mountain again.

The most emotional moment was saying goodbye when we had already descended and reached the cars waiting for us. As we stood there, waiting for the rest of the group to arrive, we kept looking back at Ararat. We replayed every moment we had lived on that mountain and quietly thanked it for welcoming us. And somehow, Ararat seemed to look back at us with a touch of sadness as if waiting to hear us say, “We’ll come back.”

My Life Before the Summit and After

Standing on the summit of Ararat is, without a doubt, the line that divides my life into before the climb and after it. On the third day of the ascent, Ararat taught me something powerful to be persistent, yet patient at the same time. Because no matter how long the night feels, dawn always comes.

Ararat is not just another mountain. It is a journey of self-discovery, of indescribable emotions, of quiet glory. In the end, Ararat is the mountain we see every day – the one we admire from afar, until one day it changes us from within.

Hiking memoirs / Razmik Aharonyan

As our group guide Lilit used to say, “After you’ve stood on the summit, every time you see Ararat, it will make you smile.”I can confirm – it’s absolutely true.

I want to thank Armenian Geographic for introducing me to hiking culture and for all the emotions we experience on every journey together. And as for me and Ararat… I have a feeling our story isn’t over yet.