Caravanistan

With the 2020 war completely reorganising the control over Karabakh, I have decided to delete the guide articles on visas and border crossings (no longer relevant) and mash up several forum topics together to form this one.

All questions, news and reports on how to visit Karabakh, either from the Armenian side or the Azeri side, please let us know below!

The road across the Sotk pass is now paved, so it is no longer necessary to travel through Goris to get to Stepanakert. This road is very scenic and cuts time by about an hour. Hence, there are now two official roads with checkpoints in and out of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabagh).

Latchin is now controlled by azerbaidjani army. In december 2022, for more than 5 days, they let a "protest" block Latchin corridor, i.e. the road between Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh. This intermittent blockade has already caused several deaths (patients who needed a transfer to Erevan hospital).

// update 9 january 2023 : Latchin corridor still blocked for the 4-th week

Nagornyi Karabagh still blocked, there is now an Azerbaijani military check-point on the road between Armenia and Lachin. On the other hand, for the moment, in the north-east of Armenia, absolutely no problem on the M4 road Noyemberian - Ijevan, even in the Voskepar - Kirants zone, where a few 100 m of armenian road passes on azerbaijani land. I passed there by bike a few days ago. Of course I strongly recommend you avoid going off this transit road towards Azerbaijan, even if you see a beautiful bivouac spot. And I recommend to remain discreete if you take photos of the border zone

Further south, in the Syunik region, I went from Yeghegnadzor to Tatev, a touristic "must" in Armenia. My hosts in Yeghegnadzor (Shushan B&B, very pleasant) insisted I don't go there by bicycle. Although I usually disregard this type of advice when given by non-cyclists, since I was tired and weather forecast was not so good, I went there by taxi, and well... I was happy not to be on my bike or trike : there was a relatively heavy transit traffic on the Tatev road, with many iranian trucks. In the section near Tatev, the road is difficult (huge potholes and some mud, relatively narrow section, slope 12% or higher on the inner side of "serpentini"), if you add up the truck traffic, it turns it into a nightmare for cyclist...

I don't yet know if this is related to Nagorno-Karabagh blockade by Azerbaijan : probably part (major part?) of the transit between Iran and Erevan used to be on the other route via Kapan. But this section of M2 road is so close to the border that it actually is in Azerbaijan over a few 100m or km, and there are occasionnally some military shots close to the border near Goris or Kapan. Military bases and camps (armenian + russian) are also installed near Sisian. The reason is easy to understand if you watch a map : there could be the shortest and most convienient road between Azerbaijan and Nahkichevan...

If you want to visit Tatev, a good option to skip this really tough part of the road is the cable-car "Tatev wings", between the monaster and upper Halidzor village. When it is not crowded, it should be possible to take a bike in the cable-car (I did not ask though, since I did not need it)

just a small update : in the little "vulkanisatsia" workshop where I stopped today because of a puncture, they confirmed me that Azerbaijani army controls the main road M2 between Erevan and Iran somewhere south of Goris : this road is closed since several months. And this is the reason why there is a heavy traffic through Tatev, on a mountain road which was obviously not designed for such a quantity of big trucks...

For your information: For azerbaijanis Nagorno Karabagh became just a geographical toponym since 90s. Anyway, after the known war in 2020 it became possible to travel to that area from inside of Azerbaijan, but you should receive a permit from relevant authorities. After September 20 2023, Azerbaijan gained full control of Armenia-Azerbaijan border crossing, so entry procedures for third country citizens will be according to current legislation of Azerbaijan, it will also strongly depend on military and security situation in that area. It is better to double check before entering from Armenia.

Hey there!
Wondering if it is possible to travel to Nagorno Karabakh nowadays. Obviously travelling from Baku. Do I need and special permit?

No.

You will need a PERMIT to enter that area, it is not called Nagorno Karabagh though. There are certain routes where you can travel because the area has not been completely cleared of mines. https://yolumuzqarabaga.az/ this website is for permits and travels, but no idea how it works.