Chasing Sunrise on Mount Khustup

There are some mornings when waking up at 3am feels entirely reasonable.

This was one of them.

It was still completely dark when the car arrived to pick me up. Kapan was quiet, the streets almost empty, and there was little indication that in a few hours I would be standing above one of the most dramatic landscapes in southern Armenia.

The destination was Mount Khustup, rising to 3,201 metres above sea level in Armenia’s Syunik Province. The mountain is the highest summit of the Khustup-Katar range and rises dramatically above Kapan. Its slopes combine forests, alpine meadows, rocky ridges and volcanic landscapes, making the ascent feel like a journey through several different environments in a single morning.

The first part of the journey was by car, but calling it simply a “transfer” would be misleading. We were heading into increasingly remote terrain, alternating between paved road and rough off-road tracks. The further we travelled from Kapan, the more the landscape opened up, and the less there was to suggest that we were anywhere near a city.

The final stretch was by jeep, climbing along a rough mountain track towards the Nzhdeh monument. A proper 4WD is essential for this section, particularly where the track becomes steep, deeply rutted or uneven.

We arrived at around 5:30am.

There was still an hour before sunrise.

And suddenly the early wake-up made sense.

The mountains were barely visible in the darkness. Everything was quiet except for the occasional sound of the vehicle and the wind moving across the slopes. There is something strangely peaceful about arriving at a mountain before the day has begun. You have the feeling that the landscape belongs to you for a moment.

Then the horizon began to change.

The first light appeared slowly, turning the sky from deep blue to pale gold. One ridge emerged, then another, and gradually the surrounding mountains became visible. The landscape around Syunik is enormous from this height—long ridges, deep valleys and layers of mountains stretching towards the horizon.

Khustup itself is part of a rugged mountain system with alpine meadows on its upper slopes and forest on parts of its north-eastern side. Snowmelt feeds numerous streams descending from the mountain, while the slopes are marked by rocky outcrops, cliffs and caves.

Once the sun was properly above the horizon, it was time to start walking.

The trek from the jeep-accessible section to the summit is not a technical climb. You do not need ropes or specialist mountaineering experience, but the terrain becomes increasingly rocky as you approach the upper sections. Some parts require careful footing, and there are sections where you naturally slow down and use your hands for balance.

For this particular ascent, the walking itself took roughly 30–45 minutes from where we were dropped off. Good trekking shoes are strongly recommended, particularly because sections of the terrain can be loose or slippery.

At first, the excitement of the sunrise carries you upwards. Then you start to notice the altitude.

At 3,201 metres, even a relatively short climb can feel different from walking at lower elevations. You may notice mild symptoms such as dizziness, shortness of breath, or simply the need to pause more frequently. That does not mean you need to be an experienced mountaineer to enjoy Khustup, but it is important to listen to your body, take your time, drink water, and avoid treating the final ascent as a race.

And then, almost unexpectedly, you are there.

The summit does not arrive with a dramatic announcement. There is simply a moment when you realise that there is nowhere higher immediately around you, and that everything you have been looking at from below is now beneath your feet.

The feeling is difficult to describe.

Part of it is the view. Part of it is the silence. But there is also the knowledge that only a few hours earlier you were in a dark car, wondering whether getting up at 3am was really necessary.

It was.

From the summit, the mountains of Syunik unfold in every direction. The Zangezur range dominates the surrounding landscape, with ridges and valleys disappearing into the distance. On clear days, the scale of southern Armenia becomes particularly striking: there is almost no sense of a city, road, or modern world from up there.

There is also a strong historical dimension to Khustup. The mountain is closely associated with Garegin Nzhdeh, the Armenian military and political figure who played a prominent role in the defence of Syunik in the early 20th century. A monument dedicated to him stands on the mountain route, and the area has long held significance for visitors making the ascent.

But perhaps what stays with you most is the landscape itself.

The higher you climb, the more the colours change. Forest gives way to open grassland, then to rock. In summer, alpine meadows can be covered with wildflowers, while the volcanic terrain gives the upper mountain a raw, almost otherworldly character. The contrast between soft green slopes and dark rocky ridges makes Khustup particularly rewarding for photographers.

And then there is the silence.

Not the silence of an empty room, but the vast silence of being surrounded by mountains.

We stayed at the top for about an hour, long enough to take in the views, breathe, take photographs, and simply sit there without feeling the need to do anything else.

Eventually, we started back down.

The descent felt completely different from the climb. The nervous concentration of the ascent was gone, replaced by the relaxed feeling that comes after reaching your goal. Once back near the vehicle, we stopped for a picnic among the mountains.

After spending the morning looking down at the landscape from above, sitting on the grass with food and a view of the peaks felt like the perfect ending.

By then, the sun was high, the mountains were fully illuminated, and the same landscape that had appeared mysterious in the pre-dawn darkness looked completely transformed.

That is perhaps what makes Khustup special. It is not simply a mountain you climb and tick off a list.

It is a full experience: leaving Kapan before dawn, travelling into the mountains by jeep, watching the first light appear over Syunik, walking through changing landscapes, feeling the altitude beneath your feet, and eventually sitting down for a picnic surrounded by some of the most dramatic scenery in all of Armenia.

You leave tired, a little sunburned perhaps, and with legs that will remind you of the climb the next day.

But you also leave with the feeling that you have seen Armenia from a completely different perspective.

And suddenly, that 3am wake-up doesn’t seem unreasonable at all.

Wake up early and see Armenia from above. Walk the country’s high trails on our Armenia Trekking & Hiking Tour: 8 Days, spend a day in the mountains with our Hiking Experience in Armenia, ride a rough mountain track on the Armenia Dimats Mountain Jeep Tour, or catch sunrise from the air with Hot Air Ballooning over Armenia. Read more on About Armenia.