Parz Lich - towards Maymekh Lerr

Having been dismissed by foul weather on Azhdahak, we were recovering our spirits through a grand tour of Armenian Monasteries. Still, we wanted to do some hiking, but were lacking information for alternative lower-altitude hikes suitable for late October. Hiking maps are not yet common in Armenia. Google Earth images of this part of Armenia are of rather low resolution and not good enough to plan a hiking tour. We were in Dilijan, which is a sort of Davos for Armenia, with some tourist infrastucture.

 

Part of this infrastucture is a road to and modest facilites around Parz Lich (Parz Lake). We left our Lada Niva somewhere along the road to stretch our legs. As it turned out, we happened to follow a route that would lead up to the summit of Maymekh Lerr, the Hausberg of Dilijan. Maymekh Lerr is more than 2600 meter high and would be a good destination and hike. Having made a late start in the morning, without much expectation for good weather or even a summit, it was too late for an attempt. But we can attest that our short excursion is the right direction for hiking  Maymekh Lerr from the North.

 

Dilijan is a resort town, about 2 hours northeast from Yerevan. Parz Lich is signposted. The hike starts at the highest point of the Parz Lich road. We recommend the Tufenian Hotel in Dilijan.