Lake Sevan: The Largest Lake in the Caucasus 

One of the most important tour sites in Armenia in the summer time is Lake Sevan. Often considered the pearl of Armenia, this is the largest body of water inside of landlocked Armenia as well as the Caucuses. This is a wildly popular place to visit during the really hot summers and the only time of the year the water is warm enough to enter. My organization had a spiritual youth camp here and I was fortunate enough to be invited. Lake Sevan is located central east part of Armenia and part of the Gegharkunik Province.

Since my organization is associated with the Armenian Apostolic Church the place where we camped was actually on the grounds of the Vazgenyan Theological Academy located on the northern section of Lake Sevan. This area happens to be one of the best locations in Lake Sevan due to its public beaches, numerous resorts, camping grounds, and picnic areas. 90% of the fish and 80% of the crayfish come from Lake Sevan.

One other attraction in this area is what used to be called Sevan Island and is now a peninsula. “Sevan Island” is home to the Sevanavank Monastery and comprised of two churches that were built in the late 9th century. According to history, the monastery was built by the Armenian princess Mariam, the daughter of Ashot I, who later became the king of Armenia and the founder of the Bagratuni dynasty. The reason why Sevan Island is no longer is due to the fact that during the Stalin led Soviet era, water was drastically diverted for hydroelectric power. The size of the lake decreased drastically and lost nearly 60 feet of water thus turning that area into a peninsula. The Armenian government has been trying to restore the water levels back to its original glory but the area has been developed since and looks like it will remain as is.   

Although the spiritual youth camp had a strict schedule, I didn’t have to take part in all of it so I was able to go explore and do things on my own. There is plenty to do at Lake Sevan. The surrounding area of Lake Sevan is a National Park and there are many different types of wildlife there. Swimming, jet skiing, boats and ferries, sailing, and wind surfing are available. The resorts offer all the amenities you expect and the view is amazing.

On my free time I decided to hike to the top of the hill to get a birds eye view of the lake. The incline was steep but once I made it to the top the view of the surrounding lake was completely worth it. From the top you can see the city towards the west and looking south you can see the peninsula with Sevanavank Monastery at the very top. I didn’t have time to see the other highlights that Lake Sevan has to offer but much further south is a village called Noraduz and they have a cemetery full of khachkars (cross stones). There are said to be over 900 different types of khachkars styles.

One of the most unexpected surprised during the spiritual youth camp was that a young couple there got engaged and had their engagement ceremony at the Sevanavank Monastery. The entrance to the monastery is littered with vintage khachkars. I was fortunate enough to get in good position to take photos and witness the ceremony. The engagement ceremony lasted about 20 minutes and was really interesting to experience. The nicest thing after the engagement ceremony is the bride to be walks around with a flower bouquet and hands of a flower to anyone in the vicinity to take part in the celebration.

Lake Sevan is definitely a great place to visit and relax. It’s only 60 miles north of the capital, Yerevan, and the public transportation costs are very reasonable. If you’re traveling through Armenia during the summer this is a great spot to cool down from brutally hot summer heat. Wear your sunblock due to the higher elevation and prepare to enjoy the pearl of Armenia!

 Happy traveling.