The tree of Tundcheri

Not far from the village of Skhtorashen, 37 kilometers north of Stepanakert, there is a giant sycamore tree more than 2200 years old. 

According to tradition, the tree was planted by Tigran the Great. The tree had 15 additional branches, which symbolized the historical states of Armenia, but all the branches except Artsakh have dried up. The height of the tree is 54 meters, the diameter is 27 meters. The shadow of the huge tree covers an area of 1400 square meters. The size of the leaves of the tree reaches up to 0,5 meters.

Dozens of people can easily fit in its trunk. It is considered the oldest and tallest tree not only in Armenia, but also in the former Soviet republics. It is taller than the trees growing on the island of Kos in the Aegean Sea or in the turquoise gorges of Ashgabat.

The tree received a title for the first time in 1900. At that time, the tree had a guardian who watched over the eternal darkness. In the Soviet years, the tree again received a title as the oldest and tallest tree growing on the territory of the USSR.