The unique cave settlement Khndzoresk is located 8 km from Goris, in the eastern part of the Syunik Province. It is not known when the settlement was founded, but the first written mentions date back to the 13th century. Yet, by that time it was already a large village paying tribute to the Tatev Monastery. There is also no exact interpretation of the name of the settlement. Some associate the name with the Armenian word “khndzor”, which means “apple”, explaining that there were too many apple trees growing in the vicinity. But there is another version, according to which the name comes from the expression “khor dzor”, which means “deep gorge”. Actually, the cave village is located on the slopes of a deep picturesque gorge. Over time, “Khor Dzor” was transformed into Khndzoresk.

Perhaps you are wondering why people settled in these caves, neglecting ordinary houses. The answer is obvious - because this territory had long been attacked by enemies and these caves served as a good shelter for the local population. Moreover, the caves are located on a steep slope and to enter their home, they had to climb up a rope or a rope ladder. When the enemies attacked, each such dwelling turned into an impregnable fortress.

The cave houses were equipped no worse than ordinary houses. People deepened the caves, separating food preparation rooms, sleeping quarters, etc. Such caves resembled two- or three-room apartments. Some caves even consisted of several tiers, resembling a multi-storey building. Moreover, people living on the so-called “second floor” of such a cave used the roof of the “first floor” as a courtyard or garden. Now, in the XXI century it seems surprising, sometimes impossible to live in such cave houses, but when in the 50s of the XX century the inhabitants of this cave village were resettled by the Soviet government to the new village of Khndzoresk, built on the other side of the gorge, a great number of old residents of the cave Khndzoresk resisted and fled back to their caves.

Imagine 8300 people living in this cave village in 1913, with 27 shops and 7 schools. The cave village at the beginning of the XX century was the largest in Eastern Armenia.
Today you can get to old Khndzoresk by a suspended swinging bridge stretched over a gorge 63 meters deep. The bridge is another attraction of Khndzoresk. It was built by the residents of Khndzoresk in 2012, and due to the relief it was impossible to use equipment, therefore all the work was done by hand. A titanic labour, but they are the descendants of those heroes who founded this cave settlement!
When you cross the bridge, do not rush to get to the other side of the gorge, look around - it takes your breath away from the beauty around. A mountain river is rustling below, both slopes of the gorge are covered with forests, the air is filled with an intoxicating aroma of flowering herbs, and in front of you is a mountain ridge dotted with grottoes. People lived here for centuries, created, fought for their independence. And if you stop in the middle of the bridge and look down, you can see the tombstone of Mkhitar Sparapet, the commander who led the liberation struggle of the Syunik people in the 18th century.&nbsp;

Reaching the cave settlement, start your excursion, listen to the silence in the grottoes, let your imagination travel back in time. You will hear the crying of children in the depths of the cave and the lullaby that the mother sings to her child, the men of the family are sitting at the hearth discussing the hunting or the sowing season, and in the corner an old nani (grandmother) is knitting warm socks for the baby or is weaving another carpet. There are weapons hanging on the wall.

It was present in every home and everyone knew how to fight here. On Sundays, the whole family would go along a dirt road deep into the forest, to St. Hripsime Church (17th century) or to St. Tadevos Church (17th century) for service. There is a feeling as if time has turned back.
You will get back along the same bridge which now, after the excursion, will seem to you not just a structure connecting the two banks of the gorge, but a kind of connecting link between the past and the present of Armenia.

Khndzoresk

The unique cave settlement Khndzoresk is located 8 km from Goris, in the eastern part of the Syunik Province. It is not known when the settlement was founded, but the first written mentions date back to the 13th century. Yet, by that time it was already a large village paying tribute to the Tatev Monastery. There is also no exact interpretation of the name of the settlement. Some associate the name with the Armenian word “khndzor”, which means “apple”, explaining that there were too many apple trees growing in the vicinity. But there is another version, according to which the name comes from the expression “khor dzor”, which means “deep gorge”. Actually, the cave village is located on the slopes of a deep picturesque gorge. Over time, “Khor Dzor” was transformed into Khndzoresk.

Khndzoresk

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