Janapar trail in Nagorno-Karabakh

[Pantalaimon]

When searching the net for international hiking trails, I found this remarkable trail: The Janapar in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Welcome to the Janapar (Ճանապար&#1392 project. Our goal is to provide the information necessary to allow you to freely explore the back country of Karabakh. Karabakh is an Armenian republic with high mountains, hills and valleys. Much of it is green and forested, and almost all of it is pristine. Few travelers make it to this remote area, only accessible via Armenia, meaning you'll likely have the trail to yourself much of the time, as you are one of the first to discover this area rich in history, culture and nature.

http://www.janapar.org/wiki/Main_Page

Janapar is the wandering marked trail through mountains, valleys and villages of Nagorno-Karabakh, with monasteries and fortresses along the way. The trail is broken into day hikes, which will bring you to a different village each night, where you can either stay with a village family or set up camp nearby. The paths have existed for centuries, but now are marked specifically for hikers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janapar

Artsakh is also rich with forests. They constitute more than 36% of the territory of the republic (395,200 acres). Jraberd, Khachen and Dizak regions are the most forested with oak, hornbeam, linden, ash, birch and other trees.

http://www.nkrusa.org/country_profile/geography.shtml

It made me dream about hiking in an unknown country in the South Caucasus, and I would like to share this 'discovery' with you.


One note: I read that it's considered to be one of the most heavily mined regions of the former Soviet Union.

 

[BOD]

It looks great.

I love mountains with forests in the valleys.

Here it is all forest till you get over 2000m