Wings of Tatev Cable Car

The Wings of Tatev (Տաթևի թևեր, Wings of Tatev) held the record as the world's longest reversible cable car according to the Guinness World Records for several years — since equalled by others — but the experience does not depend on that technical fact. What makes the journey worthwhile is the canyon it crosses: the Vorotan has carved over millennia a gorge of nearly vertical walls, with the river 320 metres below and the cable line stretched over the void for almost 5.7 kilometres in two sections, with a single intermediate tower set on the floor of the ravine.

The cabin, built by Austrian-Swiss company Doppelmayr/Garaventa, takes about twelve minutes to complete the journey from the upper station at Halidzor to the lower station by Tatev Monastery. There are two carriages with a capacity of 25 passengers each, which pass one another at the midpoint of the cable. The floor is not glass, but the wide windows give a clear sense of height that is not for every stomach. On the way down, the monastery gradually appears on the opposite ledge of the canyon, with its towers and domes outlined against the mountains of Syunik.

The cable car operates all year, but on days of strong winds (above 72 km/h it stops automatically) or fog it closes for safety. It is worth calling ahead if travelling from far away. Queues in summer can be long on Saturdays and Sundays, especially between eleven in the morning and two in the afternoon. The smell inside the cabins is slightly metallic, and the silence as you leave the station — when the cable tightens and the cabin lifts away over the void — becomes part of the memory.

The Tatev cable car was inaugurated on 16 October 2010 as part of the Tatev Revival project, a tourism and heritage recovery initiative driven by the National Research Foundation of Armenia and Armenian-Russian businessman Ruben Vardanyan. Before its construction, reaching Tatev Monastery required descending a gravel road with tight bends and steep gradients, which kept the complex relatively isolated. The project was privately funded at around 18 million dollars and was certified by the Guinness World Records as the world's longest reversible cable car at the time of its opening. The initiative dramatically increased visitor numbers to the Syunik region, which went from a few thousand to over one hundred thousand tourists per year.

• Cable car ride The 5,752 metres of cable over the Vorotan canyon are the main attraction. The descent from Halidzor takes about twelve minutes and the ascent from Tatev is slightly slower. Return ticket 6,000 dram (around 14 EUR), one-way 4,500 dram (10.5 EUR).
• Views over the Vorotan Canyon From the cabins you can see layers of sedimentary rock, basalt columns and, at the midpoint, the Devil's Bridge (Satani Kamurj), a natural arch over thermal springs at the bottom of the ravine.
• Tatev Monastery The cable car's destination: a 9th–14th-century medieval complex with three churches, a library, monastic cells and the gavazan, a 10th-century swinging column that, according to tradition, moved before earthquakes.
• Halidzor Station The departure point has a café with a terrace, toilets, a viewpoint over the canyon and the 17th-century church of Saint Minas just a few metres away.
• Tatev Village Next to the lower station there are guesthouses, stalls selling gata (local sweet cake) and jars of mountain honey produced on the slopes of Syunik; some families sell Armenian churchkhela and homemade dried apricots.

Photo gallery

The upper station at Halidzor is about 260 km south of Yerevan along the M-2 highway. From the central Kilikia station in Yerevan, marshrutkas run to Goris (4–5 hours, around 3,500 dram, 8 EUR), from where a taxi covers the 16 km to Halidzor (2,000–3,000 dram, 5–7 EUR). By private car the journey from Yerevan takes about four hours. The paved but winding road that leads directly to the monastery from the village of Tatev remains open as an alternative if the cable car closes due to wind.

The cable car operates all year except Tuesdays for maintenance, roughly from 10:00 to 18:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays in high season). The best conditions are from May to October. In spring the Vorotan canyon has green vegetation and clear days. Summer can bring weekend queues and strong sun at the open stations. September and October are pleasant, with the forests of Syunik in autumn colours and fewer visitors. In winter the snowy landscape is striking but closure due to wind is more likely. Check conditions before making the journey.