Lake Sevan
Armenia · Gegharkunik · 1900 m
Description
Lake Sevan (Սևանա լիճ) covers a sixth of Armenia at nineteen hundred metres and is one of the largest high altitude freshwater lakes in the world, which for a landlocked country makes it the beach. Soviet irrigation schemes dropped the water by twenty metres and turned the island holding the ninth century Sevanavank monastery into a peninsula, so the two churches now sit at the top of a stairway above a car park. In summer the shore fills with Armenians on holiday, the water is cold enough to be startling, and the smoked ishkhan trout is the thing to eat.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 1 to 3 days (optimal 2 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: June – September
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Sevanavank Monastery on its peninsula
- Lake Sevan shore and its summer beaches (June - September)
- Smoked ishkhan trout and the lakeside kitchens
- Noratus khachkar cemetery
- Hayravank Monastery above the water
- Windsurfing and sailing on the open lake (June - September)
- Sevan Writers' House and its Soviet modernism
- Armenian gulls and the lake bird colonies
- Vanevan and the southern shore monasteries(Day trip)
- Selim caravanserai on the Vardenyats pass(Day trip)