Janapar

From Janapar

Welcome to the Janapar (Ճանապարհ) 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.

The project is preparing maps, marking trails, and locating homestays, and enriching this website, along with you. This website is a wiki, so feel free to click on the "edit" tab on top of most pages and add your experiences, knowledge and pictures as well!

History of the trail

The Janapar is a joint project of Birthright Armenia and the Armenia Tree Project. It was conceived in 2006 as a natural way to connect many historic paths from villages to other villages and monasteries in Karabakh, connecting them into longer stretches and providing the tools necessary for individual travelers to explore them independently. The website was launched in early 2007, and trails began to be marked at the same time. By the end of the year, marking of the backbone trail will be complete.

Janapar is headed by Raffi Kojian, with support from the Birthright Armenia office. The basic trail was decided upon in 2006, when scouting of the trails began as well and continued into 2007. By summer 2007, the backbone trail and the Yerits Mankants trails were scouted and set, and marking had begun.

In July, 2007 the Zuar to Dadivank to Vaghuhas sections were marked by a team including Birthright Armenia volunteers Areg Maghakian and Raffi Wartanian.

The logo

The Janapar logo is an outline of the Soviet enclave of Karabakh, with circles/ovals added to the top, representing toes. The effect is of a footprint.