Yerevan Private Tour: Lake Sevan, Sevanavank, Kecharis Monastery

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Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/17

Duration7h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · RU

PickupAt your hotel

Four stops in seven hours: medieval churches, a high-altitude lake, and a mountain view that reaches Mount Ararat on clear days.

A private tour from Yerevan visits Lake Sevan, Sevanavank monastery on its peninsula, the spa town of Tsaghkadzor and the medieval Kecharis monastery complex, with hotel pickup and a professional driver included. The tour runs seven hours and covers sites spanning from the 10th century to the present; a professional guide in English or Russian is available as an add-on. Infants can ride in specialized seats, and the itinerary suits all fitness levels.

Step-by-step itinerary

Visit Lake Sevan and Tsaghkadzor

Visit Lake Sevan
Explore Sevanavank Monastery
Ride Tsaghkadzor ropeway
Tour Kecharis Monastery

The Experience

The tour starts with hotel pickup in Yerevan and heads northeast 63 kilometers to Lake Sevan, the largest freshwater high-altitude lake in the Caucasus. Set at 1,900 meters above sea level and covering 1,240 square kilometers, the lake is ringed by mountain ranges. Sevanavank monastery sits on the lake's peninsula, founded in 305 by St. Gregory the Illuminator on the site of a pagan temple. The complex holds two churches built in 874—St. Arakeloc and St. Astvatcatcin—along with khachqars (carved cross-stones) scattered across the grounds. Wood-carved capitals from the churches are now housed in the Armenia State Museum of History and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

From the lake, the route moves to Tsaghkadzor, a spa town in Kotayk province known for skiing and its mountain climate. Here you visit Kecharis monastery, a medieval complex in the northwestern part of the city. Construction began during the Bagratuni dynasty and continued under the Pahlavuni dynasty over 220 years, with a 150-year interruption. The first church, St. Gregory the Illuminator with a domed hall, was built between 995 and 1003. The complex now includes three churches, two chapels and a courtyard, with structures arranged in a distinctive straight corner on their own pillars—a design unlike other Armenian monasteries.

The chairlift at Tsaghkadzor takes 32 minutes to climb from 1,966 to 2,819 meters above sea level. On clear days, the view reaches Mount Ararat; in any weather, the perspective spans across Armenia. The ropeway has operated since 1967 and was modernized in 2004 and again in 2017. An air-conditioned vehicle with WiFi on board and bottled water returns you to your Yerevan hotel after the day ends.

What’s included

Your tour includes private transportation with hotel pickup and drop-off in Yerevan.
an air-conditioned vehicle with WiFi on board.
bottled water throughout the day.
and a professional driver. A professional guide in English or Russian is available depending on your selected option.

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfant seats availableInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Jan Armenia Tours

Is this one for you?Choose the option with a guide if you want the history and architecture explained at each monastery and lake stop; without a guide, you move at your own pace through the sites. The chairlift ticket and any meals are booked separately, so you control those costs and timing.