Mount Hatis – Extinct Volcanic Cone Above the Kotayk Plateau

Roughly 27 kilometers east of Yerevan, Hatis (Հատիս) stands as a freestanding cone above the open highlands of Kotayk. Steep ravines cut its flanks, interspersed with alpine meadows. At the summit sits, barely visible from a distance, the ruin of a basalt fortress. The mountain is part of the Gegham range, an extensive Quaternary volcanic field stretching between the Ararat Plain and the Sevan basin. Hatis formed approximately 700,000 years ago; its obsidian deposits originated roughly 480,000 years before present. The volcanic rock—Paleocene lavas, perlites, and rhyolitic obsidian inclusions—makes it geologically unique within the Kotayk region.

At a glance

Height: 2528 m. Region: Kotayk. Nearest settlements: Nor Geghi; ascent trailheads typically start from Kaputan village (ca. 2.5 km northwest) or Kotayk village. Route length from Kotayk: ca. 11 km, elevation gain ca. 1000 m. Rock types: Paleocene lavas, perlites, rhyolitic obsidian. Obsidian deposits: confirmed, with evidence of prehistoric working; trade routes reached Mesopotamia and the Aegean (archaeologically documented, distances up to 1620 km). South-facing slope: Karasunakn Springs (Armenian: «stork springs»), the original water source for Yerevan's first water supply—the aqueduct was built in 1912. Protected status: designated national nature reserve since 2008. Coordinates: 40.3083 N, 44.7266 E.

History

Atop Hatis's summit plateau stand the ruins of the so-called Shamiram Fortress (also called Hatis Castle). The walls, built from roughly hewn basalt blocks, measure 2 to 4.5 meters thick with surviving heights of 1 to 3 meters; on the eastern side, a roughly 3-meter-wide gateway with flanking wall projections remains intact. An Armenian-Italian archaeological team led by Artur Petrosyan and Roberto Dan began systematic excavations on the summit in 2023. Artifacts recovered to date—Bronze Age obsidian arrowheads, an iron lance, bronze and iron jewelry, a cylinder seal (probably 5th century BCE) and a silver coin bearing Alexander's portrait—document occupation from the Early Bronze Age through antiquity into the medieval period. Obsidian from Hatis was extracted on a large scale in prehistory and distributed through long-distance trade networks; archaeological evidence traces Armenian volcanic glass from the Kotayk region as far as Troy and southern Iran.

Legend: Semiramis and the Assyrian-Armenian Tradition

According to tradition, Hatis bears its alternate name—Shamiram or Shamirama—from the Assyrian queen Semiramis (Armenian: Շամիրամ). In Armenian mythology, as recorded by Moses of Chorene in the 5th century, the Armenian king Ara the Handsome positioned his troops at the foot of the opposite Ara mountain; Queen Semiramis took station with her Assyrian forces on the heights of Hatis to overlook the battlefield. Ara fell in combat, though Semiramis was said to have ordered his capture alive. The connection of «Hatis» with the Phrygian god Attis—deity of death and rebirth—is interpreted by scholars as parallel to Armenian Ara mythology: both represent the same archetype of a dying and reviving vegetation god. Whether the summit fortress holds genuine ritual significance rooted in these traditions remains archaeologically unconfirmed.

Why come here

Hatis is one of few Armenian volcanic cones where three layers converge simultaneously: a prehistoric resource economy (obsidian), a multi-phase fortress complex (Bronze Age through medieval), and a geologically distinctive substrate of perlites and rhyolite. On clear days, the summit view extends to the Ararat Plain. On the south-facing slope lie the Karasunakn Springs—historically Yerevan's first water source, developed by aqueduct in 1912. These are not mere backdrop; they represent documented connections between landscape and city history. The combination of demanding road access, a scree and rock scramble, and concentrated archaeological remains on minimal space gives Hatis genuine substance.

Practical Information

Best season: May through October; in spring (May), summit snowfall remains possible. Starting point: Kaputan village (ca. 2.5 km northwest of summit) or Kotayk village (route distance ca. 11 km, 1000 m elevation). Vehicle: 4x4 with low-range gearing, minimum 22 cm clearance, aggressive tread tires recommended; tire-pressure regulation useful. Hike from alpine zone: 2–3 hours to summit. Equipment: sturdy footwear for scree, sufficient water (no supplies at summit), sun protection (high alpine UV exposure). Entry: free, no advance booking required. Cell reception: limited at altitude; download offline map (e.g. Maps.me, OSMAnd). Weather: afternoon squalls possible; early start advised.