Armenia Hiking Tour — 6-Day Highlands Trek | Aratta Tours
Home  /  Tours  /  Armenian Highlands Trek
Adventure Hiking & Adventure

Armenian Highlands Trek — 6 Days

⏰ 6
Days / 5 Nights
👥 10
Max Group
🏔 Moderate
Difficulty
Running since 2006
Tour Overview

Volcanic peaks, forest trails and hidden fortresses

Armenia is one of hiking’s best-kept secrets — a compact, mountainous country of extinct volcanoes, alpine lakes, wildflower meadows and deep canyon trails, almost all within a couple of hours of the capital. This six-day trek threads together the finest of them at a moderate, genuinely achievable pace.

You’ll climb the broad shoulder of Mount Aragats, Armenia’s highest peak, walk forested sections of the long-distance Transcaucasian Trail through Dilijan National Park, scramble beneath the basalt organ-pipes of the Symphony of Stones, and hike to the ridge-top fortress of Smbataberd. Every day rewards effort with a real sense of discovery — and views very few travellers ever see.

Nights are spent in comfortable, family-run mountain guesthouses with hearty home cooking, and you walk in the care of a licensed English-speaking mountain guide who knows every trail and reads the weather like a local. Transfers, national-park fees, picnic lunches and a support vehicle are all included, so you can focus purely on the walking. Suitable for reasonably fit travellers; no technical climbing is required.

Highlights
The slopes of Mount Aragats, Armenia’s highest peak
Forest sections of the Transcaucasian Trail in Dilijan
The basalt “Symphony of Stones” gorge on foot
Ridge-top hike to the ruined Smbataberd fortress
Alpine Kari Lake & the wildflower meadows of Yeghegis
Local mountain guesthouses & home-cooked Armenian food
Honest fit

Is this trip right for you?

You’ll love it if

  • You’re comfortable walking four to six hours over uneven ground
  • A village guesthouse appeals to you more than another city hotel
  • Empty trails matter more to you than famous landmarks
  • You want Aragats and the Transcaucasian Trail without technical climbing

Worth knowing first

  • Two days go above 3,000 m, and altitude affects some people regardless of fitness
  • Mountain weather can force a route change; your guide decides on the morning
  • Guesthouse rooms are simple and spotless, occasionally with a shared bathroom
Day by Day

Your 6-day itinerary

Your route, day by day — tap a numbered stop
Day 01
Arrival & gear check in Yerevan
Your guide meets you at the airport and transfers you to your hotel, where the day ends with a relaxed evening briefing over dinner. Your mountain guide walks you through the route day by day, checks your kit and answers every question, so you set off tomorrow fully prepared.
🏠Overnight in Yerevan
Day 02
Mount Aragats & Kari Lake
Drive up to the alpine plateau of Mount Aragats and lace up for a hike around glacial Kari Lake at 3,200 metres, with the option to push higher toward the southern summit for those with the energy. Expect enormous skies, whistling marmots and uninterrupted 360-degree highland views.
🏠Overnight in Dilijan
Day 03
Dilijan & the Transcaucasian Trail
Head into the green heart of Dilijan National Park for a forest day-hike along the Transcaucasian Trail, linking the ancient monasteries of Haghartsin and Goshavank through cool beech woodland to the tranquil waters of Parz Lake — a classic, restorative walk in Armenia’s most beautiful forest.
🏠Overnight in Dilijan
Day 04
Symphony of Stones & Garni gorge
Descend into the Garni gorge on foot, directly beneath the extraordinary hexagonal basalt columns of the Symphony of Stones — a natural cathedral of stone. Emerge at the hilltop temple of Garni for a well-earned riverside lunch and a gentler afternoon among the sights.
🏠Overnight in Yerevan
Day 05
Yeghegis Valley & Smbataberd
A rewarding ridge-line climb to the restored mountain fortress of Smbataberd, commanding the valley on every side, followed by the nearby cliff-set monastery of Tsakhats Kar, deep in the wildflower-strewn Yeghegis Valley — one of the country’s most peaceful and least-visited corners.
🏠Overnight in Yeghegis
Day 06
Departure
A gentle final morning to rest tired-but-happy legs before your guide transfers you to the airport — boots well and truly broken in, and a phone full of highland panoramas to prove it.
Where you stay

Hand-picked hotels, not a room-count

🏨
Yerevan
Ani Plaza Hotel
★★★★ · 2 nights
🏨
Dilijan
Tufenkian Old Dilijan Complex
★★★★ · 2 nights
🏨
Yeghegis
Family-run village guesthouse
★★★ · 1 night

Or a closely comparable property of the same standard — we confirm the exact hotels in writing before you pay anything, and we’ll happily swap in a favourite of yours or upgrade any night on request.

The Details

What’s included

  • 5 nights in comfortable guesthouses & hotels
  • Daily breakfast & three trail dinners
  • Private air-conditioned vehicle & transfers
  • Licensed English-speaking mountain guide
  • All national-park fees & entrance fees
  • Trail snacks & picnic lunches on hiking days
  • Airport pick-up & drop-off

Not included

  • International flights to/from Yerevan
  • Lunches & some dinners
  • Travel insurance (required)
  • Personal expenses & souvenirs
  • Tips for your guide & driver
Availability

Departs the day you choose

Private departures · any dateFrom 2 travellers

We don’t herd you onto someone else’s calendar. Every itinerary on this page runs as a private departure on the dates that suit you — your own guide, your own vehicle, your own pace. Tell us roughly when you’d like to travel and we’ll confirm availability, hotels and a firm price, usually the same day.

Pick your month

Armenia is a genuine four-season destination. The months below show when each part of this route is at its best — but the trip runs year-round, and winter has a quiet beauty of its own.

Who it suits

Travelling solo, as two, or as a family

🧍
Solo travellers

Very comfortable alone. You’re with an Armenian guide the whole way rather than adrift in a crowd, meals are shared and sociable, and we can pair you with another solo traveller to avoid the single supplement where the dates line up.

👫
Couples

This is the trip most couples book. Private vehicle, no fixed group to keep pace with, and enough unscheduled afternoons that you’re not permanently in each other’s itinerary. Say the word and we’ll arrange a quiet anniversary dinner or a room with the Ararat view.

👪
Families

Best for active families with teenagers — roughly age 14 and up. There are real walking days here. Younger siblings can join with a second guide and a lighter parallel programme; we’ll price that honestly rather than pretend it’s free.

👴
Older travellers

This one asks for real hill fitness — several hours of walking on uneven ground, at altitude. Plenty of travellers in their sixties and seventies do it very happily, but do talk to us first so we can be straight with you about the days.

Glimpses

On the trail

Kari Lake below the snow-streaked slopes of Mount AragatsParz Lake held in the forest of Dilijan National ParkThe hexagonal basalt columns of the Symphony of Stones in the Garni gorgeThe ridge-top walls of Smbataberd fortressA grassy ridge falling away into the valleys of Vayots DzorA group of walkers on a stony forest track among autumn foliage

Lace up for the Armenian highlands

Message us on WhatsApp for availability and a no-obligation quote — most travellers hear back within the hour.

Proceed Booking