.png)
Magil Cave is located in Vayots Dzor region, 112kms away from Yerevan. The region of Vayots Dzor is rich in ancient historical monuments and natural sites. Magil Cave is located just 3kms away from the village of Areni; the oldest winemaking center. It was in the nearby caves here that the most ancient traces of winemaking in the world were found, such as jugs (called “karas” in Armenian) and grape bones with traces of fermentation. Here is situated another pearl of ancient Armenian architecture – the monastery of Noravank, dated back to 13th-century.
Magil Cave is named after the hunter nicknamed Magel (full name Magellan Arakelian) who discovered it in 1980. It is one of the largest and most unexplored caves not only in the territory of Armenia but also in all over the world. Despite its huge size, only a small part of it, nearly 1.7 km is explored and mapped. The cave was formed as a result of the movement of underground plates thousands of years ago. Now it is a labyrinth of underground chambers and tunnels. The largest cavities reach several tens of meters in width and about 15 meters in height. The only entrance to this cave is a narrow hole and the further road is divided into several tunnels. Locals say that there are a lot of “dead tunnels” that lead directly into the abyss.