Abovian and Parrot crossed the Arax River into the district of Surmali and headed to the Armenian village of Akhuri situated on the northern slope of Ararat above sea level. Following the advice of Harutiun Alamdarian of Tiflis, they set up base camp at the Monastery of St. Hakob some higher, at an elevation of . Abovian was one of the last travelers to visit Akhuri and the monastery before a disastrous earthquake completely buried both in May 1840. Their first attempt to climb the mountain, using the northeast slope, failed as a result of lack of warm clothing.