Discover Goris: Caves, Museums and Stone Forest

Those wishing to view historical traces and rocky landscapes side by side in Goris can explore the place from several perspectives through its culture, nature and cuisine.

Culture and History

Old Goris, also known as Kyores, is a historic complex of cave dwellings east of the modern city. The cave dwellings preserve traces of local life, protection and adaptation to the rocky environment. Goris was founded in 1870 as the center of the Zangezur district in Elisabethpol Province. Modern Goris features a grid-like architectural layout and two-storey public buildings. The Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator was built in 1903 in traditional architecture. For context, you can consider the history of the place chronologically and through its architectural forms; a fixed order is not necessary for this. The cave dwellings and the two-storey public buildings represent different architectural forms within the same place: the former are located east of the modern city in the historic complex, while the latter characterize modern Goris.

The Goris Local Lore Museum is located near the main square and the city's administrative buildings. It contains more than 5,300 exhibits; guided tours are offered in Armenian, Russian and English. On display are artefacts from the Early Bronze Age to the present day, as well as from the Soviet era. The collection also includes a five-faced idol dated to the 2nd millennium BC. Archaeological excavations in Goris uncovered jewellery, daggers, spears, amulets and pottery from the 3rd–2nd. When contextualizing the collections, the time span, individual objects and material groups can be distinguished. This arrangement makes different historical levels comparable without reducing the holdings to a single era or type of object. In the museum, pieces from widely separated periods can be viewed alongside one another, as can different groups of objects; the collection therefore ranges from archaeological finds to later regional evidence.

The Goris Museum of Regional Studies displays region-specific carpets, metalwork, ceramics and other artefacts.

Landscape

The “Stone Forest” of Goris consists of natural rock pillars rising from the slopes. Gregory the Illuminator offers views of the Stone Forest. The natural landscape of Goris includes towers, fortresses, pyramids and caves. This places natural formations, built history and a specific visual connection side by side for comparison. You can assign separate weight to these focal points and consider the different landscape forms individually. In addition to the rock pillars, towers, fortresses, pyramids and caves are also part of the described landscape; the view from the church is explicitly directed toward the Stone Forest.

Regional Cuisine

Goris gata is prepared as a thick, round pastry with a walnut filling. The Goris region also has a variety of tolma wrapped in bean leaves. The dishes can therefore be distinguished as pastry and a preparation wrapped in leaves.

For a hotel in Goris, travel dates, room category and cancellation conditions can be considered as separate practical criteria alongside the details of the place. This keeps the information about a possible stay separate from the described cultural, landscape and culinary topics.

Location

Goris is located on the Yerevan–Stepanakert highway.

Other Places

Ashotavan, Meghri, Halidzor, Sissian, Tatev, Kapan, Agarak

For the higher-level travel overview: Syunik.