Are you considering sitting a Vipassana retreat in Armenia? Been there, done that, let me explain to you how to get there and what to expect.
Vipassana retreat in Armeniaa at Tsitsernak
The Vipassana courses in Armenia take place in the Tsitsernak camp near Vanadzor. The location is a former Soviet Pioneers camp, a communist scout program, and locals still refer to it like that.
Accordingly, the location is rather dilapidated, with most of the building infrastructure being extremely spartan and borderline abandoned.
The course takes place in a 3-story building surrounded by sports courts and a smallish green area.
The meditation hall handles about 30 to 50 people in total, and I think most courses are a total of about 20 men and 20 women.
Notably, all toilets in the building are squat toilets, and showers are only hot during certain periods of the day (during the 11h, 17h, and 21h breaks).
Accommodation at the Tsitsernak camp
The Vipassana retreat in Armenia is on the spartan side, compared to fancier locations in Europe.
The first floor is basically the main canteen and kitchen area, as well as the reception/check-in point on the first day.
The second floor is reserved for servers, and also for discourses in languages other than English.
The third floor features the meditation area as well as the residential quarters. This floor has plenty of toilets. Remember that all toilets are squat toilets, and showers are located only on the first floor.
Some final tips
- Bring warm clothing, especially in the beginning and end of the season. The building is NOT heated, so it’s freezing cold at dark and especially the first few days.
- Toilet paper is recycled one-layer paper, so bring wet wipes or your toilet paper for a smoother experience.
- Food is rather basic, and protein is scarce. That’s usually the case anyway, but I found it here much more pronounced. Factor that in.
- Vanadzor is a bit hard to get to, unless you charter your shuttles or come by car. There’s an area for parking.
- The quality and safety of the tap water is questionable at best. The first few days, there were lots of traces in the water and dust. Beware if your stomach is sensitive to water quality, and bring your own.
Donations
As you certainly know at this point, Vipassana courses are 100% run by volunteers, and the budget is based on donations.
At the Vipassana retreat in Armenia, the donations are taken on the last day of the course, in cash, in a locked box. I am unsure whether a donation certificate can be arranged, but I’d say yes.
How to get to the Vipassana course at Tsitsernak
This location is quite near the city of Vanadzor, yet getting to Vanadzor is the hard part. Unless you’re ready to pay up for private transfers, you’ll most likely spend a fair amount of time on marshrutkas.
From Vanadzor
Very easy, any cab will take you for about 500 dram, or about 1.25 USD. The ride takes less than 15 minutes, and virtually any driver will know the location. They usually call it the pioneers’ camp. Use Yandex Go as a taxi app to book your taxi.
From Gyumri
From Gyumri, the second largest city in Armenia, a direct taxi via Yandex Go can cost you about 8500 dram (20 USD). The ride is about 2h. If you go by bus, the only way is via marshrutka (about 2 per day) or shared taxi. The marshrutka is 1000 dram or about 2.5 USD.
Gyumri, Armenia’s second city, has an international airport with direct flights to Moscow and other Russian cities. Some meditators came via this route.
From Yerevan
From Yerevan, it’s harder than it seems, and essentially, you need to get to Vanazdor first. The ‘direct’ marshrutkas from the Yerevan bus station do not work anymore, and you’ll need to jump on the Yerevan-Alaverdi one and ask the driver to drop you off in Vanadzor. The cost of that marshrutka is 1500 dram (about 3.5 USD). If you take a full taxi from the station, drivers will charge you about 15000 dram (about 39 USD), and about 16000 directly on the Yandex Go app.
Related: Specialty coffee in Yerevan (Armenia)
It’s possible to come to Vanadzor from Yerevan by train, but the train schedule is not particularly suitable.
From Tbilisi
From Tbilisi, the easiest way is certainly to charter your transportation with other meditators directly to the course location.
Alternatively, just buy a seat on the rather frequent shuttles from Tbilisi to Yerevan and ask the driver to drop you off at Vanadzor. That’s going to cost you about 20 USD.
What I did was take the overnight train from Tbilisi to Yerevan, then visit the city for a morning stroll, head to the bus station, and take the marshrutka to Vanadzor, and then take a cab to the course location.