Agarak, Meghri

Agarak (Armenian: Ագարակ) is a village in the Meghri Municipality of the Syunik Province in southern Armenia, founded in 1949.

[2] Modern-day Agarak is located in the Arevik canton of the historic province of Syunik of Greater Armenia.

[5] The Geographical and Statistical Dictionary of the Russian Empire, mentions that the village of Agarak, as of 1861, was located in the Ordubad uezd of the Erivan Governorate.

[8] However, as a result of the 2016 administrative reforms, Agarak was downgraded from town to village, thus becoming a rural settlement within the Meghri Municipality.

[7] Agarak is located in a semi-desert zone and is surrounded by rocky mountains with high cliffs and deep canyons with an average altitude of 660m.

[10] The vicinity of the village is designated as a Prime Butterfly Area, having a number of rare and endangered species of butterflies, such as Gegenes nostrodamus, Zegris eupheme, Pieris krueperi, Chazara briseis, Cupido argiades, Pseudophilotes vicrama, and others.

[12] The Meghri custom house and the border checkpoint with Iran are situated in the territory of Agarak.

Agarak town sign
Agarak landscape
Soviet-era buildings in Agarak
Iran-Armenia border checkpoint in Agarak