The hook
One of the largest high-altitude lakes in the world, a vast blue expanse in the Armenian highlands with a medieval monastery on a peninsula above it, and forested "Armenian Switzerland" a short drive away.
01Why it's worth it
Lake Sevan sits nearly two kilometres up in the highlands and is enormous, a defining feature of the country and its main summer escape, its shores lined with beaches, fish restaurants serving the local trout and crayfish, and, most memorably, the Sevanavank monastery, whose dark stone churches stand on a rise above the water with the whole blue sweep of the lake behind them. To the north, the town of Dilijan and its national park are a different world, green, forested valleys often called Armenia's Switzerland, hiding beautiful, moss-softened medieval monasteries like Haghartsin and Goshavank in the woods. Together the high lake and the forest monasteries show the gentler, greener side of a country better known for its stark stone highlands, and both are easy to reach from Yerevan.
02How to experience it
Climb to the Sevanavank monastery for the lake panorama and eat the local trout by the water. Continue to Dilijan for a forest walk and the hidden monasteries of Haghartsin and Goshavank. Summer is warmest, though the lake stays cool; a car makes linking it all simple.