Lake Sevan

Lake Sevan is the largest lake in the Caucasus, about 1,900 m above sea level and ringed by mountains, its colour shifting from deep blue to turquoise with the light. It is about an hour's drive from Yerevan.

On a peninsula in the north-west stands Sevanavank Monastery, with its two dark stone churches of the ninth century, reached by stone steps, with a view over the whole lake from the top. Along the shore are hotels and restaurants serving grilled Sevan fish.

Summer here is mild and the breeze cool even in August, so the lake suits a quiet night on the way from Yerevan to Dilijan, about half an hour further on.