The cave settlement of Khndzoresk is one of the interesting sights in the vicinity of Goris. The local rocks are not composed of basalt, as in the vicinity of Yerevan, but of soft tuff. In numerous canyons, water and wind have been creating "stone pillars" for thousands of years. In ancient times, the inhabitants cut down caves in them.
There are two versions of the origin of the word "Khondzoresk". Khondzoresk means "Apple tree" in Armenian. Perhaps there used to be a lot of apple trees in these parts. According to another version, the name came from the words "Khor Dzor", which means "Deep gorge". Indeed, the cave city is separated from the road between Goris and Nagorno-Karabakh by a large gorge.
The most famous cave settlement in the world is Cappadocia in Turkey; however, there are similar settlements in many places where the mountains consist of tuff. The caves of Khndzoresk allowed local residents to hide from the numerous military detachments that came to Armenia from the south. Such houses did not need to be rebuilt after each raid, they could not be destroyed.
Later, stone houses began to be built near the caves, and by the beginning of the 20th century, more than 8 thousand people lived here. Only after the WWII, the local authorities adopted a program of resettlement of residents of Khndzoresk to Goris. Most of the houses were dismantled into stone blocks, which became the building material for houses in the new location. Because of this, the Cave settlement of Khndzoresk has been preserved in its medieval appearance to this day. But this only adds to the attractiveness for tourists. Of the large buildings in Khndzoresk, only the Church of St. Rapsime (1668) remains. It has fallen into disrepair, but church services are still held in it.
Previously, travelers could get to the cave settlement of Khndzoresk only by following the path around the gorge. It was necessary to walk several kilometers, but in 2012 the locals built a suspension bridge over the gorge. Its length is 160 meters. At the deepest point, the bridge passes at a height of 63 meters above the gorge. It perfectly fits into the landscape of the gorge, and now Khondzoresk has become accessible to tourists.
