Name: Stone Lake Ride
Rating: 5.0

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Dogs Unknown

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Family Friendly This biking trail promises magnificent nature sights.

The Viva Cell-MTS network is almost always available in the territory of the Armenian Alphabet Monument and from Stone Lake to Amberd. In case of emergency, call 911, a service available throughout Armenia. Beware of dogs guarding flocks of sheep.

Overview

Climb up a picturesque paved road from the Armenian Alphabet Monument to reach Stone Lake and the top of the Stone Lake Trail. On the way down riders will enjoy a fun doubletrack descent with a stop at the Amberd Fortress.

Need to Know

The start of the ride is most often reached by a taxi from Yerevan (about 45mins) that costs 4,000 AMD. If you're looking for less climbing, it's possible to have the drive take you to Stone Lake and begin your ride at the Sone Lake Trail instead.
Best ridden from May to Ocotober. The ride generally takes between seven and nine hours. Come prepared with ample water, food, tools, and a first aid kit.
At the end of the ride (as mapped) you can either hire a taxi back to Yerevan from the village, or continue biking on the paved roads for a long but easy extension.

Description

If you choose to pedal all the way up to Stone Lake (as mapped) begin your ride at the Armenian Alphabet Monument. Riders will follow 30 kilometers of winding paved road up the slope of Aragats Mountain. You'll have plenty of time to admire the beauty of the landscape, sparkling rivers, low mountains, small forests, gorges, and the occasional soaring eagle. The ample visual bounty will make the miles seem to fly by.

At the top of the road sits Stone Lake and the Aragats Research Station. Enjoy the views across the cool water before heading past the buildings to the start of the Stone Lake Trail.

This trail whisks down from the Aragats Research Station for about 900 meters towards the Amberd medieval fortress. The doubletrack offers broad picturesque views of the mountain surroundings along a steady (sometimes steeper) descent. The very short Amberd Fortress Connector takes riders to the parking area and a closer look. From there, the doubletrack turns to the west before before sweeping down to the Kasagh River. On the other side it continues through the gorge along a sandy/gravel road to end on the outskirts of Orgov Village, in Aragatsotn province.

Flora: The semi-desert, dry mountain grasslands and alpine zones follow each other along the slopes of Aragats, with rivers flowing through beautiful gorges and valleys covered with short grasses. People come here from different places to behold Aragats, enjoy the alpine zone of the mountain and the meadows, decorated with colorful flowers, such as blue forget-me-nots, alpine violets, wild lilies, poppies, bellflowers, and more.

Fauna: This biking trail is full of adventures, but rarely will you see dangerous animals here. More frequently, you may come across foxes and wolves, rodents and rabbits. During very hot days there are lots of reptiles (lizards, snakes), rarely turtles, in the territory of Amberd.