Armenia in Winter

I was lucky enough to go and visit a new country in December with some colleagues from the industry arranged by our preferred tour company. It was a bit of a whirlwind trip visiting lots of hotels so we could see what was offered by both the city of Yerevan and also the mountain destination of Tsaghkadzor. We travelling on FlyDubai direct from Dubai to Yerevan. These are great value flights and it was a comfortable trip of just 3hours. FlyDubai offers business class as well as economy service. We arrived to find it around 2degrees. Cold! There was snow on the ground in many areas and we were told that the main snowfall would land arrive in just a few weeks. Preparations for this were in progress particularly in the mountains for start of ski season. If you are after a winter holiday with guaranteed snow, Armenia is one to consider particularly in January.

Following the cold the very noticeable thing was how festive everywhere was. A huge Christmas tree was being erected in the main square and there was a small Christmas market. Every hotel had a lovely Christmas display and advertising Christmas menus. Interestingly we learned that the Armenians celebrate Christmas Day on January 6th as in history tells all Christian churches did until 4th century. Christian history is evident all over the city with a variety of churches, temples and monasteries which are all open to visitors and quite beautiful including Garni & The Temple of Garni, Garni Gorge and the Monastery of Gerghard. Even on the short journey to the city from the airport there were numerous historical monuments to take note of and revisit. One of the finest and most visible is the stairway of limestone 572 steps housing the Centre of Arts and there are some great pieces of art available to be viewed at the bottom to tempt visitors in. In Victory Park at the top of the Cascades we saw the 'Mother of Armenia' monument looking down and protecting the city. This park is in commemoration of Soviet Armenia's participation in 2nd World War and hold a museum to this. Also beautiful is Lake Sevan which is the largest lake in the country, at high altitude which great fishing opportunities and relaxing along shoreline beaches.

On the final day we visited the ski resort of Tsaghkadzor. Whilst we were there to see the region in ski season the mountains come alive in the summer with lots of outdoor, family activities. This is where the city dwellers go to spend their weekends and time off. It's just about 1dr drive from the airport so an easy destination from UAE. The resort has 27km of slopes on elevations of 1,800 - 2,800m for a variety of abilities.The types of accommodation here vary from self-catering style chalets to 5* hotels with all kinds of activity on offer for apres-ski with a bowling alley and a shooting range amongst the options along with heated swimming pools in most.

In all the areas we visited we found the food to be simple and delicious. Everything is locally sourced and if the fast food takeaway chains are your preference you will struggle to find them in Armenia giving way to locally grown vegetables. English is widely spoken so it is very easy to communicate with the very friendly people who are happy to have a growing tourism industry, very proud of their culture and keen to show off what they have to offer.