Berdashen
A high-altitude village on the edge of Lake Arpi

What is this place

Berdashen is a village in the Amasia Municipality of Shirak Province, northern Armenia, situated at an elevation of 2,020 metres above sea level. It lies near the Akhurian River and close to the eastern shore of Lake Arpi, approximately 38 kilometres northwest of Gyumri, the provincial capital. Set on the rugged high plateau of Shirak, Berdashen belongs to a landscape shaped by long winters, short green summers, and the vast open pastures that define the character of Armenia's northwestern borderlands.

The name Berdashen is transparently Armenian in origin: berd means fortress, and the suffix -ashen denotes a settlement or built place. The toponym points to a place associated with a fortified structure, a pattern common across the Shirak plateau, where successive rulers left behind military outposts over the centuries. The village was formerly known as Tapakoy; the modern form of the name was officially confirmed on August 8, 1991, during Armenia's transition to independence, when many settlements across the country had their historical Armenian names formally restored.

At 2,020 metres, Berdashen is among the highest-altitude villages in Shirak Province. The climate is harsh: winters bring heavy snowfall and can isolate the village for months, while the brief summer turns surrounding pastures an intense green. The Akhurian River, one of the main waterways of the Shirak region, flows nearby. Closer still is Lake Arpi, a shallow natural lake sitting above 2,000 metres and surrounded by wetland meadows. The lake and its environs were designated as Arpi Lich National Park in 2009, providing formal protection for a habitat that serves as an important resting and nesting ground for migratory waterbirds.

The economy of Berdashen has historically revolved around pastoralism and livestock herding, the activities best suited to the high-altitude terrain and climate. The wide summer pastures around the village support cattle and sheep, continuing a way of life that has persisted for generations. Intensive grain farming is limited by the altitude and short growing season, though fodder crops are grown and household kitchen gardens, along with dairy production including cheese, remain part of village life.

Berdashen's population history reflects the broader pattern of rural depopulation that has affected much of highland Armenia. Soviet-era census figures recorded a peak of 871 residents in 1979. By 2001 that figure had fallen to 218, and the 2011 census recorded 203 inhabitants. A 2018 estimate placed the population at around 215. Together with the neighbouring village of Paghakn, Berdashen formed the Berdashen community, now part of the larger Amasia Municipality. The village covers an administrative area of about 1.7 square kilometres.

Visitors to Arpi Lich National Park often include Berdashen's surroundings in their itinerary. The wetlands and open water of Lake Arpi attract migratory birds in spring and autumn: swans, ducks, waders, and other waterbirds make seasonal use of this high plateau refuge. Around the village, the ruins of an old church and a cyclopean fort survive as reminders of the area's early history. The road from Gyumri to the Amasia district allows a combined visit to Lake Arpi and the medieval heritage sites of the Shirak highlands, including the monastery of Marmashen to the east and the ruins scattered across the Anipemza plateau.

Berdashen is a quiet, high-altitude village whose identity is bound up with the stark plateau landscape of northwestern Armenia. Its proximity to Arpi Lich National Park and the Akhurian River, combined with its honest small-village character, makes it an unassuming but genuine part of the Shirak mosaic.