Old Khndzoresk

Khndzoresk was a village of caves: houses, byres and stores cut into the soft tuff on both walls of a gorge, occupied by thousands of people until the 1950s when the state moved everyone up to a new village on the plateau. The old settlement is now empty, with doorways and windows in the rock face and paths threading between them. In 2012 a suspension footbridge was strung across the gorge, a hundred and sixty metres long, and it is what most visitors come for.

Highlights

• The cave dwellings - houses and stores cut into the tuff on both gorge walls.
• The swinging bridge - a 160-metre suspension footbridge across the gorge.
• The abandoned village - paths and terraces through the empty settlement.
• The gorge - steep tuff walls with the stream at the bottom.

When to go

May to October is the season. The bridge closes in high wind. Autumn colour in the gorge is exceptional; winter access down the stairs is icy and difficult.

Good to know

The descent from the new village is a long flight of steps and the climb back is the hard part. The bridge moves considerably and is not for anyone uneasy with heights. There is little shade in the gorge.

Nearby

Goris is eight kilometres west, and Old Khot is further along the same range.