Flora Spring 
             7 Day Itinerary in Ararat, Sevan and Siunik 
            TourArmenia - 
            This sample Itinerary shows the type of flowers that should be in season late May to mid June. While no one can guarantee that all flowers listed will be in bloom at this exact time period (mother nature follows her own rhythms), the majority of these listed are the most likely to be found.  
This itinerary also requires you know botany or have an expert guide--it requires driving into remote areas of the central and Northern regions of the country and a great deal of slogging through terrain. Without expert guidance, your chances to see many of these flowers is severely limited 
Guides: Nora Gabrillian, Professor at the Botanical Institute and internationally recognized scholar, is the most renowned botanical specialist in Armenia, and is can guide or find guides for serious botanical groups. Her personal guidance is must be arranged well in advance. If unavailable, she will point you to equally qualified persons. Her e-mail is botany@freenet.am. She normally is out of the country from December - March of each year.  
Also contact Ori Fragman at ofragman@about.com. Ori works hand in hand with Nora on Armenia Botanical tours, as well as guiding tours himself to Israeli flora (East Mediterranean) in the Spring time. Shinwa Tours, the largest botanical and bird watching association in Japan, always combine the two for an extraordinary flower watching tour. 
1: YEREVAN-GARNI-GEGHARD-YEREVAN  Garni-Geghard Gorges 
  
In-Season Flowers: Terrain up to 1650 m alt. 
  
Between Yerevan and Garni along the road in mountainous sagebrush steppe: Gladiolus atroviolaceus, Nigella oxypetala, Actynolema macrolema, Gundelia tournefort, Verbascum saccatum, Lallemanita iberica, Roemeria retracta, Scabiosa argentea, Scorronera paposa, Muscari beglecta, Stchys inflata, Astragalus distyophysus, A. kochianus, Achillea tenuifolia, Helichrysum rubicundum, Silena spergulifolia.   
Garni, Azat River Canyon, 1350 m. alt.  Alkanna orientalis, Cerasus incana, Prus, salicifolia, Cerasus mahaleb, Amygdalus ferzlinia, Spirala crenata, Saxifraga cymbalaria.  
Geghard Canyon (Monastery), 1650 m alt.  Linaria armeniaca, Acantholimon bracteatum, Illium akana, Tulipa julia, Corydalis augustifolius, Orni-thogalum mountanum, O. gussonei, Campanula choziatorskyi, Bellevalia longystila, Muscari neglecta, Lotus goebelia, Astragalus strictifolius, Serratula serratuloides, Tomanthea aucheri, Malus oreientalis, Prunus divaricata, Sorbus graeca, S. persica, S. aucuparia, Crataegus orientalis, C. lacimiata.   
2: YEREVAN - Mt. ARAGATS - YEREVAN 
In-Season Flowers: Terrain up to 3200 m alt.  
Mt. Aragats, Amberd fortress and canyon, 2100-2200 m alt. Mt. Aragats, near Kari Lich, alpine meadow 3200 m alt.  Merendera trigyna, M. raddeana, colchiam bifolium, Purdminia scilloides, Scilla armenia, S. siberica, Tulipa julia, Iris caucasia, Muscari caucasicum, Bellevalia pycnantha, Ornithogalum schelkovnikovii, O. brachystachys, O. hyastanum, Fritillaria caucasia, Nectarosordum tripedale, Osp of gagea, Myosotis alpestre, Amenone caucasia, Orchis coriophora, Gladiolus tenuis.  
3: YEREVAN - MEGHRI  
Flora at Meghri Mountainous Region:  Tulipa florensvyi, T. confusa: f. pink, f. red, f. yellow, Iris grossheimii, I. Paradoxa, I. Caucasica, I. Pseudocaucasica, I. Atropatana, Mesendera candissima, Colchicum zangezurum, Hyacintella atropatana, Fritillaria kurdica, F. armena, Orchis simma, O. schelvcornikovii, O. stvenii, O. coriphora, Steveniella satyroides, Cephalanthera epipactoides, Epipactis latifolia, Acantholimon fedorovii, Reseda globulosa, Cercis griffithii, Gladiolus szovitsii, G. atroviolaceus, G. italicus, Punica granatum (wild), Tournefortia siberia, Calendula persica.  
4: MEGHRI - KAPAN GORGE 
Flora of Northern Meghri & Kapan Region:  Iris imbricata, Tulipa sosnovskyi, Fritillaria pinardii, F. armenia, Colchicum ninae, C. Szovitsii, Merendera raddeana, Crocus asamii, Corydalis persica, Ornithogalum sigmoideum, O. transcaucasicum, Genista transcaucasica, Mespilus germanica, Scilla mistscheukoana.  
5: KAPAN - VOROTAN GORGE - GORIS 
Flora of Kapan and Vorotan River Gorge:  Iris lineolata, I. Paradoxa, I. Caucasica, Allium stamineum, Bellevalia paradoxa, B. longystila, Muscari atropatana, M. sosnovskyi, Tulipa Sosnovskyi, Punica granatum, Vinca Vitis sylvestris, Ficus carica (wild).  
6: GORIS - SISSIAN - YEREVAN 
Flora of Sissian and Goris Region:  Iris lineolata, I. Caucasica, Merendera mirzoeval, Colchicum Szoritsii, Gagea ssp., Puschkinia scilloides, Draba ssp., Lallemautia caneseeus, Ranunculus ssp., Myosotis alpestris, Pedicularis ssp., Trifolium ssp., Gladiolus kotschyanus, Silene ssp. 
Flora of Noravank Canyon:  Clematis orientalis, C. vitalba, Reichardia dichotoma, Vitis sylvestris, Pistacia mutica, Noaea minuta, Mixauxsia laevigata, Leus orientalis, Serratula serratuloides, Yurinea arachnoidea, Y. pulchella, Silene megeri.  
7: YEREVAN - SEVAN PASS - YEREVAN 
Flora of Sevan Pass:  Iris furcata, Anemone fasciculata, A. raminculoides, Primula ruprechtii, P. macrocalyx, Trollius patulus, Caltha polypetala, Veratium lobelianum, Palsatilla armena, Corydalis persica, Fritillaria caucasica, Betonica grandiflora, Prunus spinosa, Sedum pilosum, Sempervivum transcaucasicum, Malus orientalis, Pyrus caucasicus. 
Flora of Sevan Shore:  Prangos ferulacea, Eremurus spectabilis, Tulipa julia, Iris paradoxa, iris caucasica, Scutellaxia orientalis, Crambe orientalis, Cleome ornithovodioides, Gypsophila elegans, Senecio vernalis, Silene chlorantha, Reichardia dichotoma, Srophularia olgae, S. armeniaca, S. grossheimii, Artemisia absinthium, Spiraea crenata.  
              
                
                
              LINKS 
               
               
               Eco 
              Center 
              Bird Checklist 
             
             
              Armenian 
              Botanical Society  
              EcoCenter 
                
              Ecotourism.com 
              (currently down, but try in case)  
              Protected Areas of Armenia 
              Map 
              of Sevan National Park 
              Map 
              of Endangered Species in Armenia 
             INDIVIDUAL 
              TRIP REPORTS 
               Individual 
              - September 2000  
               Individual 
              - July 1998 
              Ramsar 
              Field Trip on Armenia's Wetlands (1998) 
               
            GUIDES 
              / TOURS 
               
              Birds of Armenia (Luba and Levon) 
              @ Zoological 
              Institute [+ (3741) 28-15-02 ] 
              Armenian 
              EcoTour (site down, but try in case) 
              Avarayr  
              DenaLine 
               
             
            Adventure, 
              Eco Tour Groups in Armenia 
             
                
                 
              
              write TourArmenia - 
               
                
              Top 
              
           |