"The Mountainous Island" / 10 years in a book

A presentation of the “The Mountainous Island” book by Tigran Varag took place at the Elite Plaza business center on December 16, 2022. It was also summarizing the results of the 10-year activities of the Armenian Geographic project.

According to tradition, the opening speech was made by Suren Danielyan, the President of the Federation of Mountaineering and Mountain Tourism of Armenia. He summed up the year, spoke about the latest achievements and successes in the field of mountain hiking.

President of the Federation of Mountaineering and Mountain Tourism of Armenia Suren Danielyan

Members of the Armenian Geographic team shared their experiences and impressions at the meeting, as well as discussed a number of ascents to mountain peaks (Ararat, Kazbek, Sabalan, Damavand), which they have made over the past 10 years. Presentations on ArmGeo expeditionary campaigns in Armenia and Artsakh were given. In addition, guests of the event were provided with some details about tourist and mountain destinations that have become popular thanks to our team’s efforts.

“The Mountainous Island” book

“The Mountainous Island” is a unique bilingual (in Armenian and English) book that contains detailed information about the mountainous terrain of Armenia, as well as photographs and historical maps of the Armenian Highlands.

Tigran Varag, the author of the book “The Mountainous Island.”

7 big projects

A large number of projects was implemented in10 years, but we would like to especially highlight the following ones:

Geographical Project “Ours”

As part of the “Ours” project a series of ascents were made to the highest points of Armenia that are the tops of mountain ranges, chains and plateaus. Many of them were unknown and there was no information on the Internet, so our mountain hikes were also of a research nature

Tsovu Bolor

As part of this project, we climbed 6 peaks of the historically significant mountains that border Lake Van: Sipan (4058 m), Varag (3200 m), Artos (3550 m), Kaputkoh (Enzakisar) (3074 m), Grgur (2478 m) and Nemrut (2935 m). The project is given this name due to the fact that the areas around Lake Van, which were the provinces of Turuberan and Vaspurakan in the Middle Ages, were known as under the common name “Tsovu Bolor” (Around the sea).

Kids club

The Armenian Geographic children’s hiking club was created to organize leisure time and improve the health of children. During the existence of the club, tent camps were set up and mountain hikes were organized, thanks to which its little participants were able to learn something new and gain an initial understanding of the world around them.

ArmGeo Lori

Many people from Lori take part in the Armenian Geographic hikes so it was decided to create the “ArmGeo Lori” project. The project is dedicated to the development of mountain hike culture in Lori region.

SUP surfing

SUP surfing is a water sport that has recently become very popular and fashionable. Karen Sargsyan, a member of our team, coach and guide, was the first to go SUP surfing in Armenia.

Mountain guides’ training courses

As the popularity of mountain tourism increases annually, the need for mountain guides’ services increases too. Armenian Geographic has been organizing two-month training courses for mountain guides since 2022.

“Volcanic Seven Summits”

As part of this project, we plan to complete ascents to the highest volcanoes of each of the seven continents: Ojos del Salado (6893 m) in South America, Kilimanjaro (5895 m) in Africa, Elbrus (5642 m) in Europe, Orizaba (5636 m) in North America, Damavand (5610 m) in Asia, Giluwe (4368 m) in Australia, Sidley (4181 m) in Antarctica.

Additionally, on the evening of December 16, 2022:

the results over 10 years were summed up;
people who had completed ascents to Ararat, Damavand and Kazbek received their certificates;
every person who wished to take part in a mountain hike to Ararat and registered for it on December 16, got a discount card;
short films about the most notable ascents made by the Armenian Geographic team over 10 years were shown.

Ararat

The ascent to Ararat is the most significant result of ArmGeo’s work over the past years. Since 2014, people have been coming to us to make their dreams of the mountains come true, and 2022 has become an unprecedented year in terms of the number of new participants. More than 100 participants climbed to the top of Ararat with us, which became a unique achievement on the scale of Armenia.

Trekking tour to Ararat

Ascent to Ararat

Damavand and Sabalan

We climbed the peaks of Sabalan (4811 m) and Damavand (5610 m) in Iran. We are sure that these events will be the beginning of a new stage in the history of ArmGeo. Of course, we couldn’t help but climb Sabalan, the second highest peak of the Armenian Highlands, where the highest lake on this plateau is located.

Sabalan: the story of the ascent

After the ascent to Sabalan, we planned to climb Damavand, the highest volcano in Asia. You should remember that we completed the ascent to the top of Elbrus before, which was considered the highest volcano in Europe. The ascent to Damavand contributed to the promotion of our “Volcanic Seven Summits” project and determined plans and goals for the next 10 years.

Volcanic Seven Summits

“Volcanic Seven Summits” project

The ascents to Sabalan and Damavand are truly unforgettable events for the ArmGeo team. We completed the ascent to the top of Sabalan, the second highest among the mountains of the Armenian Highlands, and then to the top of Damavand, the highest volcano in Asia.

Damavand: Ascent of the Year

Damavand: Ascent of the Year

Georgia

We appreciate geographical diversity, so that’s the reason why we went to Georgia in 2022 to discover three new regions: Chaukhi, Tushet and Racha. We had already visited Svaneti, the Birtvisi canyon, completed the ascent to Mount Kazbek, as well as to Mets Abul and Samsar in Javakhk.

Chaukhi: a journey in the Caucasus Mountains

Chaukhi: a journey in the Caucasus Mountains

Artsakh

For 10 years we visited Artsakh several times, each time learning something new. Mountains Mets Kirs, Kusanac, Trasar and Tovmasar are simply beautiful. But unfortunately, these places have become inaccessible to visitors due to circumstances beyond our control.

Mount Kusanats / Artsakh

We had a good tradition of celebrating the New Year in Shushi, established during a hike along the Hunot gorge back in 2013.

To summarize, let’s say that over the 10 years of Armenian Geographic’s existence, we have acquired many friends, implemented a number of programs and projects, organized more than 10,000 expeditions and accompanied more than 15,000 participants.

The best achievement of Armenian Geographic is still the people, and the best summary is the book “The Mountainous Island”․

To purchase a book “The Mountainous Island”, write to us on Facebook or call 043 00 5165.

Photographer Sipan Grig