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April 12, 2026

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Haykaram Nahapetyan

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WASHINGTON — Before 2020, a trip to Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) was almost as easy as traveling to any region of Armenia. Following the 2020 war and a September 2023 Azerbaijani military operation that led to the displacement of the region’s ethnic Armenian population, access has become restricted.

A South Korean travel blogger who recently visited the region described largely empty settlements, limited access to Armenian landmarks and visible changes in the landscape.

YoungMin Skies Channel

YoungMin traveled to Stepanakert, NKR’s former administrative center, after Azerbaijani authorities eased some travel restrictions. He said he did not intend to take sides in the conflict and has previously visited other conflict zones, including Iraq.

YoungMin Skies Channel

“I planned the trip and then found out there was a permit system,” he said in an online interview.

The way the permit works, is that the visitor must submit his car information if planning to drive to Karabakh. As the car is supposed to be rented in Azerbaijan, the tourist cannot submit this data before arrival. After YoungMin got his rental vehicle in Baku, and tried to pursue the remaining paperwork, the system bounced back.

“They said there was no match. There was a glitch in the system no matter how much I tried,” he said. He ultimately joined a guided tour instead of traveling independently.

The visit was brief, lasting about 16 hours, including travel from Baku and back in a single day.

On the route to Stepanakert, the group passed through Aghdam, where large-scale construction is underway. “They are building a city for 100,000 people,” he said.

But in other areas, he described a different scene. “Very few people were living there, from what I could see, and I think they were mostly construction workers,” he said, referring to formerly Armenian-populated settlements of Artsakh.

In Stepanakert, he described the atmosphere as “eerie,” citing damaged buildings and blocked streets. YoungMin said he could not determine whether any Armenians remain in the region.

The group was shown the monument known as “We Are Our Mountains,” a prominent landmark associated with the region’s Armenian heritage.

The vandalized We Are Our Mountains statue of Stepanakert (courtesy YoungMin Skies YouTube Channel)

His first reaction, when he saw this prominent landmark was surprise: “That’s the main symbol of Artsakh, right? But I quickly found out its only there because the government wanted to look like that, they are preserving Armenian culture but behind it there was lots of erasure that’s happening.” He noted the presence of many Azerbaijani flags nearby and said the monument had been marked with graffiti.

The vandalized We Are Our Mountains statue of Stepanakert (courtesy YoungMin Skies YouTube Channel)

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“Every place that you can reach has been vandalized,” noted YoungMin.

“We asked to see more,” he said, referring to Armenian cultural and historical sites. “But we were denied.”He said the group also passed through the city’s Renaissance square, where the former parliament building once stood. “I was shocked to see that the parliament building was no longer there,” noted YoungMin said.

The tour did not include visits to major religious sites, including the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi and the main cathedral of Stepanakert. It’s unclear whether the latter exists or not and in what conditions. There was not enough time left to explore farther, and the guide’s message was “they do not approve the Armenian historical presence there.”

Months after he left Baku, YoungMin posted a video on his YouTube channel documenting his trip, which drew reactions online, including appreciation from Armenians and criticism from some Azerbaijani viewers. He rejected accusations of bias.

“I came in very objectively,” he said. “My goal is to support peace. Don’t forget the past but move forward.”

The following video segment brings together segments of the interview and videos that YoungMin recorded in Baku, on his way to Artsakh and in Artsakh itself.

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