Lake Sevan & Northern Armenia — 5 Days

Northern Armenia is the country’s greenest and gentlest corner — the vast blue mirror of Lake Sevan, the beech forests and spa air of Dilijan, and the deep Debed canyon where two UNESCO-listed monasteries have watched over the valley for a thousand years.

This five-day loop trades the arid south for cool highland air, forest walks and some of the most peaceful monasteries in the whole Caucasus. You’ll taste freshly caught lake trout on the shores of Sevan, wander a restored craftsmen’s street in old Dilijan, and stand in medieval scriptoria where manuscripts were once copied by candlelight.

It is an easy-paced, scenery-rich route that comes into its own in the warmer months, when Yerevan is hot and the north is at its most beautiful. You travel by private vehicle with a licensed Armenian guide, stay in hand-picked hotels and guesthouses, and have every entrance fee and the signature lakeside trout lunch included — with the option to run the trip privately or tailor it to your own pace.