LAKE KARI

The small Kari Lake, also known as the Black Lake (Sev litch) or Stone Lake, is located at an altitude of 3,250 meters, so it is only accessible in late spring and its shores remain partly covered with snow until early summer. When the weather is fine, the entire Ararat plain can be seen from its southern shore. Its steep northern banks lead to the four-fold peak of the Arakadz. Because of its accessibility by road, it is a popular place for walking for the people of Yerevan, and besides the beauty of the landscape, folklore is often present. At such an altitude, don't be surprised to see the unusual sight of city dwellers parking their cars under the snow and preparing their picnics, grilling their skewers on the grass or cooling their watermelons in the always cool water of the lake. In the absence of a real mountain culture, this site is for the locals more of a walking objective than a mountaineering Mecca, so the children do not hesitate to swim in the lake as in a vulgar basin. This good-natured atmosphere should not make you forget that you are at a very high altitude; people prone to mountain sickness should take this into account, in addition to the usual precautions such as sunglasses. Mountain people can taste the exhilaration of the peaks, and even prepare themselves for a long expedition to the heights and depths of the Arakadz by stopping at the weather station that serves as a refuge on the flat shore of the lake