While Yerevan is Armenia’s most popular tourist destination, there is still so much to see outside of the city’s limits that often gets overlooked by visitors.
From jaw-dropping natural features and landscapes to remnants of the country’s millennia’s of history, Armenia is filled with incredible sights that are absolutely worth exploring.
The only hitch is that Armenia has a fairly limited train network, which is even more restricted outside of the summer months, which can make it difficult to move around on your own.
Renting a car is a viable option, but you need to be an experienced driver to deal with the sometimes lacking road conditions (especially higher up in the mountains), as well as the very aggressive driving style that is unfortunately common in the whole region.
Still, we were super interested in seeing what lays outside of Yerevan, and that’s why we decided to go the Lake Sevan and Dilijan day trip and tour from Armenia’s capital. This is our experience spending a day on a tour organised by a local Armenian company, as well as our thoughts and recommendations.
Let’s get started!
We chose Hyur as our tour company
We stumbled upon Hyur Service while checking for available tours on GetYourGuide.
We immediately jumped over to their website and were really impressed with the wide range of options they had available, from day tours to multi-day trips and even private guides.
After browsing around, we settled on a day-trip that would bring us to the world-famous Lake Sevan and to three ancient Armenian Apostolic monasteries, Sevanavank, Goshavank and Haghartsin. The tour also included a stop in the small town of Dilijan, nicknamed the “Switzerland of the Caucasus”.
Booking with Hyur is easy, and can be done directly through their website. As we mentioned before, their offerings are also available on GetYourGuide, although they do seem to be a few bucks more expensive. Still, it’s worth checking both websites in case there are special discounts available.
All Hyur Service tours are bilingual; while on the bus Manya, our guide, first communicated with passengers in Russian and then repeated in English.
On site, Russian-speaking guests were led around first, while English speakers got some free time to explore on their own. Once the Russian tour finished, the English-speaking guests switched and followed the guide. We found it to be an efficient system that ensured everyone got the same experience, and that no one felt left behind.
Starting the tour and our first stop in Lake Sevan
The meeting point for the tours is in front of Hyur Service’s office in Yerevan, only a short walk away from Republic Square and its metro station.
We arrived bright and early and took our place in the bus. It’s worth mentioning that seats are not assigned, so it’s worth arriving with a little extra time so that you can sit where you prefer, since that will be your spot for the rest of the day.
Our tour started nicely on time, and we left Yerevan towards our first stop, Lake Sevan and the Sevanank , at around 10h00am. This massive natural lake is one of Armenia’s most famous sights, and the largest body of water in the Caucasus region. At 1900 meters, it’s also one of the largest high altitude lakes in Eurasia.
While on the road, we really enjoyed how the guide would provide us with fascinating facts about things we were passing, such as when she pointed out several strange mannequins placed on the side of the road.
She explained how these are traditionally used by fishermen from Sevan to show they have fresh fish to sell, without themselves having to stand on the edge of the road.
The practice has apparently been banned by the Armenian government, but that doesn’t seem to have stopped the locals from continuing with this curious tradition. Manya also explained to us how mismanagement of the lake during the Soviet era provoked a massive drop in the water level, and caused the island where the Sevanavank monastery is located to become a small peninsula.
While on the way to Lake Sevan, our guide passed around the bus to get our meal reservations. We had a choice of three options (vegetarian, fish or meat) that would be served in a typical Armenian restaurant where we would stop for lunch later in the day. The restaurant meal is optional, and not included in the initial reservation price. We’ll share more on our restaurant experience later in the post.
After an hour on the road we reached Lake Sevan. While the Russian-speaking guests were having their guided tour, we took some time to wander around the small town below the monastery. Due to this being a super popular destination among both tourists and locals, this area of the lake is quite built-up, which makes it a little difficult to enjoy the real beauty of the lake from near the shore. There were also many stalls with a few callers and hawkers, although they were all very friendly and not very insistent.
From the top of the hill where the monastery is located, however, we got the true scope of the size of Lake Sevan, and got to properly admire it in all its natural beauty. The view from there really is spectacular, the lake extending as far as the eye can see on one side while on the other is a mountain range that extends all the way to the border with Azerbaijan.
When it our turn came, we toured the main chapel with Manya and learned about its fascinating history, as well as some interesting facts about the Armenian Apostolic Church, its history and how it differs from other branches of Christianity. It was an overall extremely interesting dive into Armenia’s history and its close tie with religion.
Dilijan, the “Switzerland of the Caucasus”
Our tour continued to Dilijan, a small town in a national park just north of Lake Sevan.
The road to Dilijan led us deeper into the Caucasus mountains, where we started seeing a stark change in scenery, with the plains surrounding the lake quickly giving way to valleys and peaks covered in thick forests.
While on the way, Manya explained to us that the name of town is traditionally associated with a shepherd named Dili, who through one way or another became lost in the forest. His loved ones searched for him and called him repeatedly “Dili jan”. Jan is an affective term in Armenian, and it is said the two words eventually became combined to form the name of the town.
After reaching Dilijan, took some time walk through the town and visit a few local artisan shops. Contrary to many tours, we did appreciate that there was no pressure for us to buy something. Dilijan really charmed us, with its small-town vibe, traditional architecture and absolutely breath-taking scenery. We really enjoyed our time there, and would definitely consider coming back and staying a little longer to explore more of the region.
Breaking for lunch
After our visit to Dilijan, our tour took a lunch break at VAN Guest House, a traditional Armenian restaurant located just outside of town.
We were welcomed by the owner and the staff, all of whom were very friendly. We sat with the other guests, which was a good opportunity to socialise with our fellow travellers.
We wanted to try multiple dishes, so Ana had the vegetarian option, a vegetable stew with rice, and I had a baked trout with potatoes, a specialty in the region. There were also small tasty bites on the table to share, such as salads and cheese. The overall price for the meal was 8800 AMD price for two people (equivalent to 19.85 euros as of writing this), and included drinks and coffee.
Overall, we really enjoyed our experience at VAN Guest House. The food was very good, although it wasn’t one of the highlights of our trip. At the same time, we understand how having to cook for thirty people at once can pose some logistical challenges that can affect the overall quality of the dishes.
If you prefer, you can also skip the meal at VAN Guest House and bring your own food for lunch. If that’s the case, however, then it’s important you pack something for yourself, as there are no food establishments nearby.
Our visit to Goshavank and Haghartsin
Next, our tour proceeded to the Goshavank, an ancient monastery high up in the mountains.
There we learned more fascinating facts about the monastery’s founding, as well as the story of its khachkar (a typical Armenian cross-stone) that dates back to 1291. This monastery struck us with its fascinating architecture, about which you’ll learn a great deal during your visit, and its fascinating history dating back all the way to the 12th century AD.
There were are also some small stalls around selling tea leaves, souvenirs and other local products. The sellers can be a little insistent, however, and you might have to haggle a bit on prices if you want to buy something.
Our final stop of the tour was Haghartsin, the largest monasterial complex in the visit. Getting there involved a short uphill walk, since the bus was too large to make it all the way to the top. After about fifteen minutes we reached the monastery, and spent some time enjoying the breathtaking view.
The scenery surrounding Haghartsin, with its mountain peaks and vast forests covered in mist, was definitely one of the most hauntingly beautiful we saw during our visit to Armenia.
We were also fascinated by how, despite its relatively remote location and its centuries of history, the monastery is still being actively used for services and as a place of worship; we even saw a family gathered there for a baptism.
Time to head back to Yerevan
After an entire day on the road, it was time to head back.
We walked down towards the bus accompanied by an enormous shepherd dog, who almost seemed to want to show us the way back.
We packed back in the bus and started off for the almost two hour trip back towards Yerevan, and we’re not ashamed to say we (and several other people) dozed off for bit. We arrived back in Yerevan just over 19h00, a perfect time to grab a quick bite to eat and call it a day.
We had a super fun time spending a day travelling with Hyur Service.
We felt very privileged to have been able to see these ancient and often remote sites, which we know we likely would have never visited if not for this tour.
Overall, we really enjoyed ourselves and can’t wait to check out another Hyur tour and experience more of Armenia, and if you’re in Yerevan we highly recommend checking out their offers!
