OLD KHNDZORESK
A Historic Settlement Shaped among the Cliffs
Old Khndzoresk is located in Armenia’s Syunik Province, approximately 13 kilometres southeast of Goris. The settlement extends across the steep slopes of a deep gorge, where natural caves, human-made dwellings and stone buildings gradually formed a distinctive living environment. Nature was not merely the setting of the village; it became the foundation of its residential space, defensive system and community life.
The caves of Khndzoresk were used as homes, storage rooms, workshops and shelters for livestock. Some were located high above the ground and could be reached by ropes, wooden ladders and narrow paths. This arrangement allowed the inhabitants to use the limited terrain efficiently while also protecting the settlement during periods of danger. Stone houses were later constructed in front of the caves and arranged in terraces along the slopes. In some places, the courtyard or floor of one house served as the roof of the building below it.
Between the 17th and 19th centuries, Khndzoresk developed into one of Syunik’s largest and most active settlements. At the beginning of the 20th century, it had a population of more than eight thousand people, as well as schools, shops, workshops, mills and churches. Old Khndzoresk was therefore not an isolated cave village, but a developed community with its own economic, educational and spiritual life.
The settlement played an important role in the 18th-century liberation struggle of Syunik. Khndzoresk was associated with the movement led by Davit Bek, while his companion and successor, Mkhitar Sparapet, operated here between 1728 and 1730. The commander’s tomb is preserved in the gorge of Old Khndzoresk and remains an important place of remembrance connected with the Armenian national liberation movement.
The spiritual life of the settlement is represented by the churches of Saint Hripsime, Saint Thaddeus and other religious structures. They were more than places of worship, as the ritual and social life of the community was organised around them. Together, the caves, ruined houses, cemeteries and churches preserve traces of the generations that lived in Khndzoresk.
In the mid-20th century, the inhabitants gradually moved to a new village constructed outside the gorge. The old settlement became deserted but did not lose its historical importance. In 2012, a 160-metre suspension bridge was built across the gorge, connecting its two sides and making the historic settlement more accessible to visitors.
In 2024, Old Khndzoresk officially received the status of a historical and cultural reserve. Today it is recognised not only as a visitor attraction but also as an exceptional example of Armenian settlement culture. The importance of Old Khndzoresk does not lie solely in its individual caves or buildings. It is a complete historical environment where human ingenuity, community life, the memory of liberation struggles and the landscape of Syunik have become part of a single, inseparable heritage.