Visiting Armenia and not going to Lake Sevan is like going to Paris and not seeing the Eiffel Tower. Lake Sevan is the largest freshwater lake in Armenia and is so beautiful that you can spend hours at a stretch at this place.

This lake is around 73 kms away from the city centre of Yerevan and can be seen on the way to Ijevan and Yenokovan. Yenokavan as you already know from my previous blog post, is famous for its Ziplining at the Yell Extreme Park. You can read about it in detail here.

How to Go:

Method 1

You can rent a car or taxi which would cost you 8-10k AMD.

Method 2

Join a group tour package which includes transportation and guide services and the cost starts from 15000 AMD.

Method 3

Go by public transportation and the round trip will cost you 2500-3000 AMD.

Using Method 3 to do the Day Trip:

Take bus 259 from the city centre of Yerevan which is either a green or purple colored bus and get down at Northern bus station. It takes 30 minutes to reach the station and involves more than 15 stops. Ask the driver to inform you when to get down.

Cost: 200 AMD

From the Northern bus station, take the marshrutka (private van used as a taxi) that either goes directly to Sevan, or goes to Ijevan. Sit in the marshrutka parked on the left most side (or the ones with most number of people inside) as that taxi is almost ready to go. The marshrutkas won’t leave until they fill up with passengers. They do try to depart every hour though.

Cost: 1000 AMD

The marshrutka drops you off near the highway road that leads to the Sevanayank Monastery. You can walk and trek all the way up to the Monastery for some good shots and views of the lake from the top.

What to Do and See:

1. Enter the Sevanayank Monastery: Climb all the way up to the Sevanayank Monastery. You can enter it and check out the interiors and details. Some quick info about the Monastery can be found in the pictures below.

The monastery that history enthusiasts come to see. I went for the lake, hehe.

They were returning back after a session

Enough walking area and ample picture taking opportunity

2. Pictures and pictures: Get some photos at the top or on the way up or down. Great place to make time lapse videos.

3. Swim: The cold water of Lake Sevan will make you forget all the roasting in the Sun that would have happened during the trek to Sevanayank. It is really chilly and even though I saw people swimming, I preferred to only dip my feet into it.

4. Jet skiing: You can go jet skiing even though I don’t recommend it. It is totally not worth the price of 5000 AMD for 5 minutes.

5. Buy some souvenirs: There are a lot of shops that sell magnets, stones, jewelery, plates and other things. Magnets cost 1000 AMD per piece and are slightly negotiable. I’d recommend not to buy from here though and visit Vernissage in Yerevan instead.

6. Eat and drink: There are many overpriced restaurants and cafés, Ashot Erat being the best one in terms of providing great views. You can bring your own food too and have a little picnic here. There are juice shops too but I didn’t like the taste.