The story
-46C Winter Festival in Amasia in Amasia
A late-February winter festival in Amasia, Shirak region, named for the area's extreme record-cold temperatures, featuring traditional winter games, folk performances, hot regional food, and communal bonfire gatherings on the highland plateau. Visitors should come prepared for genuinely severe cold, since the highland setting and record-low temperatures are the festival's defining, self-aware feature.
Amasia, a highland district in Armenia's Shirak region, holds the distinction of recording some of the country's coldest temperatures, and the town leans directly into that reputation each February with the -46 Winter Festival, named for the extreme low readings the area has registered in harsh winters.