Gutanasar

Gutanasar is an extinct volcano on the Kotayk plateau's edge of the Geghama range, and its lava fields are one of Armenia's known sources of obsidian — the black volcanic glass found across the country's archaeological sites. The summit sits at 2,300 meters, its cone cut flat rather than pointed, with a crater breached open on the south side. Slopes run 25 to 45 degrees. Look at it from a distance and the summit reads three-headed, a cluster of blunt ridges rather than one peak.

Argon dating on the lava flows puts the last eruption at around 200,000 years ago. Gutanasar is extinct. Its magma conduit connects to neighboring volcanoes in the same Geghama field, part of one shared underground system.

A small church, Surb Astvatsatsin (Holy Mother of God), sits on the lower slopes below the summit. The villages of Fantan and Alapars lie nearby. Access to the mountain usually runs through one of these two villages; road conditions are best checked locally.

Gutanasar rises in Kotayk province near Charentsavan, in the northwestern part of the Geghama range, roughly 26 km northeast of Yerevan as the crow flies. Fantan and Alapars sit closest to its base and serve as the usual reference points for reaching it; specific road conditions are best checked locally.

At 2,300 meters, weather can turn fast and snow may linger longer than at lower elevations — worth checking current conditions locally before heading up.