Once upon a time argued two sisters about their beauty. The one was proving that she’s the most beautiful creature in the world, the other was unbending confident in her superiority. They argued for a long time. No one was willing to make concessions to the other. Maruta Sar was vainly trying to restore piece between them, they were not yielding to her persuasion. And then, enraged, she cursed them both, and they were torn apart forever. One sister’s name was Masis*, the other’s – Aragats. And since those times and till now the foot of man has never stepped on Masis’s pick, and a lake of tears has been lying there, by the Aragats’ pick.
This is one of the Armenian legends about Aragats, the main mountain of the modern Armenia.
Aragats Mount is the 4th highest pick of the Armenian Highland and the highest pick of the modern Armenia. Aragats is an extinct volcano, one of the ancient in the world. It has 4 picks and a large crater, resulted from a big explosion by its eruption in prehistoric times. Aragats’ 4 picks are like petals of a quaterfoil. They stately rise above the deep crater, one higher than another. The highest pick, called “Northern”, is 4091 meters above the sea level.
The easiest pick is the “Southern” (on the photo). Anybody, but physically strong person, can climb it. The hardest one is obviously the “Northern“. One must have good lungs not to run out of breath, some simple climbing equipment and a guide.
The local guide is essential, since you first need to go down to the crater and then go up to the pick. The picks have very steep edges and their slopes are loose, due to volcanic origin of the rocks. This is why you must be guided by an experienced person, who knows the ways.
If you visit Armenia, you should definitely see this majestic mountain with breath-taking view on the crater!
*Masis is the Armenian name for Ararat
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