
View from Ararat Mountain near by Armash village.
Have you ever come up with a bright idea while travelling? A simple idea that could contribute to the local community or to the protection of a remote place? This is how we felt when visiting the fishponds next to the villages of Armash, Surenavan and Yeraskh in Armenia.
A bus stop in the middle of nowhere, a chat with the fishmonger, a fish meal at the local restaurant, a visit to the fish harvesting, a trek through the fishponds. And amazingly it was not all about fish. A more valuable source of income has been totally underestimated – birdwatching tourism. In just a few hours we saw the most amazing variety of rare birds – marbled teals, ferruginous ducks, greater flamingos, pygmy cormorants, Armenian gulls, herons, storks, waders… And not a single birdwatcher, nor visitor facilities, nor places to stay.