Horomayri Monastery
X - XIII AD - Lori Marz
Horomayri Monastery is an interesting complex, part of which is perched at the top of a cliff, and part of which is stuck up against the middle of the cliff.
To reach the monastery from below, you start on the main highway -- and a few km south of the Odzun turnoff you can just make out the monastery from the road if you look very very carefully.
To get to the monastery from above, go to the village of Odzun, which has bus service, and head about 2km south of the village (on the road parallel to the gorge), and you will see the small, three chambered chapel ruins perched between the road and the edge of the cliff. From the VERY edge of the cliff you can see the remainder of the well camoflauged monastery stuck to the cliffs below on the right.
You can climb up and down the cliff to both parts of the monastery, though it is not recommended in inclement weather.
To reach the path, starting at the bottom section of Horomayri and facing the cliff, walk along the cliff base to your right. The start of the path up the cliff is easily visible: there is a largish khatchkar at the base and a series of steps leading up. After that it gets a bit rougher, but never truly scary - there are metal loops set in the cliff face at the more difficult points - you come out to the right of the upper section of Horomayri and can backtrack easily enough to that.
It makes a nice enough day trip, and is relatively easy to access using only public transport - you just take morning transport out of Alaverdi and get them to drop you at the appropriate spot, hike up to Horomayri, go up the cliff and walk into Odzun and catch the afternoon bus back to Alaverdi.
