CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
255 km from Tbilisi to Tbilisi, about 4 h 59 of riding. The stops in between: Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin, Monastery of Haghpat, Sanahin Bridge and Monastery of Sanahin. The highest point is about 1,700 m. It crosses from Georgia into Armenia - carry ID and check vignette or toll rules.
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 1 km this is Armenia Debed Canyon Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Tbilisi spreads along the Mtkvari river in a bowl of dry hills, and its first impression is of balconies. Old houses lean over narrow streets with carved wooden verandas, sulphur bathhouses sit under domes of brick in the Abanotubani district, and on the ridge above, the ruined Narikala fortress watches the city. The name Tbilisi comes from a Georgian word for warm, and the story says that a hunting king found hot springs here and decided to found a city.
Read the complete Near Tbilisi write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Tbilisi is where the day begins. Next is Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin.
Haghpat and Sanahin sit on the opposite edges of a deep canyon in northern Armenia, and between them they hold some of the finest medieval religious architecture in the Caucasus. The two monasteries, founded in the tenth century and expanded over the next three hundred years, stand on terraces above the Debed river, near the town of Alaverdi. They are built of dark basalt and pale tuff, with steep roofs, carved crosses and cool, dim interiors, and they are on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Read the complete Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin comes up about 111 km into the recorded legs. Next is Monastery of Haghpat.
Haghpat is a monastery on a ledge, and the ledge is steep. The road from Alaverdi climbs through a series of tight bends, up from the Debed canyon to a village of stone houses and orchards on the plateau, where the monastery stands behind a low wall, its dark domes and gabled roofs catching the light. It was founded in the late tenth century, under the patronage of the Kiurikid royal family, and its main church, dedicated to the Holy Cross, was finished in the early 990s.
Read the complete Monastery of Haghpat write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
At least about 112 km into the recorded legs you reach Monastery of Haghpat. Next is Sanahin Bridge.
The bridge at Sanahin is older than most of the countries in Europe. A single high arch of dark stone, it spans the Debed river just below the town of Alaverdi, a work of the twelfth century that has outlasted wars, floods and Soviet roadbuilding. It was built for the caravans that used the valley as a route between Tiflis and the Armenian highlands, and it is still sturdy enough to walk across, with a rough cobbled surface and a steep rise in the middle.
Read the complete Sanahin Bridge write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Sanahin Bridge, about halfway. Next is Monastery of Sanahin.
Monastery of Sanahin sits at 104 km, about halfway. Next is back through Sanahin Bridge.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sanahin Bridge write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Sanahin Bridge comes up about 134 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Monastery of Haghpat.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Monastery of Haghpat write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 142 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Monastery of Haghpat. Next is back through Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin, late in the day. Next is Tbilisi.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Near Tbilisi write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 255 km.
Tbilisi → Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin is 111 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Monastery of Haghpat → Sanahin Bridge is 8 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Sanahin Bridge → back through Monastery of Haghpat is 8 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin → Tbilisi is 111 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.