Armenia Cave
Areni-1 cave complex
14 °C inside, all year.
Pinhasi R, Gasparian B, Areshian G, Zardaryan D, Smith A, et al. (authors of source articl · CC BY 2.5
The descent
The entrance, at 1,054 m.
The real relief above Areni-1 cave complex, measured on the Copernicus model every 30 m, and the cave going down at the same vertical scale.
The depth is the one published by those who explored it; the shape of the galleries is a sketch, not a survey. No depth has been published for this cave yet.
1,054m
Entrance altitude
from the 30 m relief model
14°C
Inside, all year
the yearly average outside, at the entrance
308m
Rock above
the highest point within 1.5 km
Inside and outside
14 °C inside, all year.
Deep inside, a cave keeps the average temperature of the year outside: about 14 °C here, in January and in August. In July the afternoon reaches 35 °C at the entrance, 21 °C warmer than inside: take a jacket. The best months to escape the heat are from June to September. The wettest months are from April to May: water rises fast underground, so never go in without a guide after heavy rain.
- 5°-4°Jan
- 8°-2°Feb
- 14°2°Mar
- 20°6°Apr
- 25°12°May
- 32°16°Jun
- 35°20°Jul
- 35°19°Aug
- 30°15°Sep
- 22°9°Oct
- 13°2°Nov
- 7°-3°Dec
Outside: afternoon and night averages for 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the entrance. Inside: the yearly average, which deep parts of a cave keep. Near the entrance it follows the weather a little.
Neolithic site in Armenia
Areni-1 cave complex is a cave in Armenia. The entrance is at 1,054 m. It has an underground river and several entrances and long galleries.
Getting there.
- Wild cave: only with caving equipmentNo paths or lights inside. Go only with a caving club or a qualified guide.
- Areninearest town · 2.0 km in a straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.5 km from the entrance
- Nakhchivan International Airport (NAJ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 64 km in a straight lineCar hire at EVN airport (Yerevan)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
Guided tours, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
The water
The the river runs highest from April to May.
The the river carries about 6.0 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from April to May. It is lowest from July to January.
- 1.4 m³/sJan
- 7.8 m³/sFeb
- 21 m³/sMar
- 32 m³/sApr
- 35 m³/sMay
- 20 m³/sJun
- 6.8 m³/sJul
- 1.1 m³/sAug
- 0.8 m³/sSep
- 5.5 m³/sOct
- 5.4 m³/sNov
- 2.1 m³/sDec
From about 0.81 m³/s in the lowest month to 35 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 1,896 km².
Follow the Arpa River from source to mouth on Riveryas
Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.
From above.
The ground above the cave, with the relief shaded, the line of the section and what people have mapped around the entrance.
N
1.5 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6.0 × 6.0 km, north up. The line is the section above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the entrance.
- 2other cave entrances within 3 kmԱրենիի քարանձավ, Մագելանի քարանձավ
- 2viewpoints within 3 km
- 2marked hiking routes within 3 kmArpi – Noravank, Mozrov – Noravank
- 2climbing crags within 3 kmClimbing area "Noravank Canyon" northern part
- 5car parks within 2 km
- 2bus stops within 2 km
- 7campsites within 8 km
- 10hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmAreni Wine Art Homestay, Park-Hotel Khoren's Lake, ARSEN`S HOUSE ARENI and 7 more
- 13restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- springs within 2 km
- sinkholes within 3 km
- caving clubs and spots within 15 km
- named waterfalls within 4 km
- information boards and visitor centres within 3 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the entrance. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Towns nearby
- Areni2.0 km in a straight line
- Rind4.0 km in a straight line
- Arpi5.5 km in a straight line
- Aghavnadzor6.0 km in a straight line
- Getap9.7 km in a straight line
- Yeghegnadzor12 km in a straight line
- Yelpin12 km in a straight line
- Agarakadzor13 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Areni-1 cave complex.
The river at the entrance, the waterfalls, the lakes, the mountains and volcanoes above, the canyons, beaches and islands nearby — from our other atlases.
Lakeyas1 lakes within 10 km
Peakyas12 mountains within 10 kmFigures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Month by month
The weather outside, at the entrance.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon | 5 | 8 | 14 | 20 | 25 | 32 | 35 | 35 | 30 | 22 | 13 | 7 |
| Afternoon | 5 | 8 | 14 | 20 | 25 | 32 | 35 | 35 | 30 | 22 | 13 | 7 |
| Night | -4 | -2 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 19 | 15 | 9 | 2 | -3 |
| Rain (mm) | 15 | 14 | 28 | 42 | 53 | 35 | 19 | 14 | 16 | 28 | 20 | 15 |
| Rainy days | 3 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| Sun hours/day | 5.5 | 6.3 | 5.5 | 6.3 | 8.7 | 11.6 | 11.8 | 11.3 | 9.9 | 6.9 | 5.2 | 4.4 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 17 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 14 |
| Afternoon | Afternoon | Night | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5 | 5 | -4 | 15 | 5.5 |
| Feb | 8 | 8 | -2 | 14 | 6.3 |
| Mar | 14 | 14 | 2 | 28 | 5.5 |
| Apr | 20 | 20 | 6 | 42 | 6.3 |
| May | 25 | 25 | 12 | 53 | 8.7 |
| Jun | 32 | 32 | 16 | 35 | 11.6 |
| Jul | 35 | 35 | 20 | 19 | 11.8 |
| Aug | 35 | 35 | 19 | 14 | 11.3 |
| Sep | 30 | 30 | 15 | 16 | 9.9 |
| Oct | 22 | 22 | 9 | 28 | 6.9 |
| Nov | 13 | 13 | 2 | 20 | 5.2 |
| Dec | 7 | 7 | -3 | 15 | 4.4 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the altitude of the entrance (1,054 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
Photographs
Inside and around.
Recent years
Wet years, dry years.
Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 62% | 123% | 119% | 188% | 112% | 84% | 187% | 242% | 35% | 73% | 82% | 146% |
| 2021 | 125% | 103% | 183% | 59% | 91% | 8% | 126% | 171% | 57% | 86% | 71% | 58% |
| 2022 | 104% | 51% | 123% | 45% | 166% | 97% | 30% | 52% | 20% | 76% | 68% | 38% |
| 2023 | 34% | 97% | 119% | 114% | 129% | 224% | 130% | 73% | 133% | 168% | 68% | 125% |
| 2024 | 325% | 36% | 187% | 72% | 168% | 139% | 228% | 62% | 172% | 163% | 145% | 62% |
| 2025 | 8% | 158% | 68% | 163% | 72% | 46% | 82% | 18% | 200% | 63% | 8% | 170% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Caves nearby.
Areni-1 cave complex
Armenia
- —Depth
- —Galleries
- 1,054 mEntrance altitude
- 14 °CInside, all year
Magellan cave
Armenia · 1 km
- —Depth
- —Galleries
- 1,143 mEntrance altitude
- 14 °CInside, all year
Mozrov Cave
Armenia · 9 km
- 30 mDepth
- —Galleries
- 2,208 mEntrance altitude
- 7 °CInside, all year
Ashabi-Kahf in Nakhchivan
Azerbaijan · 66 km
- —Depth
- —Galleries
- 1,317 mEntrance altitude
- 12 °CInside, all year
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length, visitors | Wikidata (Q1007510) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The relief above, the entrance altitude, the section and the 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| River flow and basin | HydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 |
| Entrances, springs, sinkholes, opening hours and what is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Rivers, waterfalls, lakes, mountains, canyons, beaches and islands nearby | Coastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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