Trchkan Waterfall

Trchkan drops about twenty-three metres on the Chichkhan river and is generally counted as the tallest waterfall in Armenia. In 2011 a small hydroelectric plant was approved that would have diverted the water; activists camped at the site through the winter and the licence was revoked, which is why the fall still runs. It sits in a green gorge reached by a track and then a short walk down.

What you actually see

• The fall - a twenty-three-metre drop into a pool, the country's tallest.
• The gorge - green wooded slopes closing round the river below.
• The pool - a plunge pool at the base, cold in every season.
• The approach - a walk down through meadow and scrub to the river.

When to go

May to July is when the flow is strongest after snowmelt. Late summer reduces it considerably. Snow makes the track difficult from November to April.

Honest expectations

The last part of the road is rough and often needs a high-clearance vehicle. The path down is steep and slippery near the water. There are no facilities and no signage.

Nearby

Stepanavan is northwest, and Vanadzor is south.