Tsaghkadzor & Lake Sevan Tour: Ropeway, Monasteries, Trout

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/30

Duration7h–8h

GroupUp to 49

LanguagesEN · RU

Mobile ticketAccepted

Ride the ropeway over Tsaghkadzor's Valley of Flowers, then eat fresh trout at the lake.

This 7–8 hour group tour from Yerevan visits Tsaghkadzor, Kecharis monastery, Lake Sevan and Sevanavank monastery on the peninsula, with a cable car ride, monastery entry, lakeshore time and a trout barbecue included. The guide speaks English and Russian consecutively. Hotel pickup is not included; you'll meet the group at the starting point in Yerevan. Sevanavank requires climbing 200 steps to reach the churches.

7h–8h

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Tsaghkadzor and Lake Sevan

Start tour from Yerevan
Visit Tsaghkadzor city
Ride Tsaghkadzor cable car
Explore Kecharis monastery
Visit Sevanavank monastery
Relax and swim at Lake Sevan
Enjoy Sevan trout barbecue
Return to starting point

The Experience

Seven to eight hours takes you north from Yerevan into the Kotayk region, 60 km away, where Tsaghkadzor sits in a valley surrounded by alpine meadows and pine forest on the eastern slope of Teghenis Mountain. The cable car ride is the first stop—you ascend to see the whole landscape unfold below, which is why Tsaghkadzor earned its name: Valley of Flowers. The air-conditioned vehicle and professional guide (English and Russian) carry you through the day, with bottled water and pastries on board.

Kecharis monastery complex comes next, built between the 11th and 13th centuries in the northwestern part of Tsaghkadzor. Four churches and a half-destroyed mausoleum of Grigorius Pahlavuni, who financed the construction, stand there. Then the route turns toward Lake Sevan, one of the world's largest high-altitude freshwater lakes at 1,900 meters above sea level and surrounded by mountains that rise to 3,000 meters and higher. The water is volcanic in origin and the landscape draws people back year after year.

Sevanavank monastery sits on the peninsula jutting into the lake, built in 874 by order of Princess Mariam. The churches stand against the turquoise water and sky—the silhouette is what visitors remember. Reaching the complex means climbing 200 steps. Once there, you have time to rest on the lakeshore and, during summer, to swim if you want. The tour ends with a trout barbecue, the lake's signature dish, cooked fresh and served before the drive back to Yerevan.

What’s included

Air-conditioned vehicle with WiFi and bottled water.
admission tickets to Tsaghkadzor ropeway (one station), Kecharis and Sevanavank monasteries.
professional English and Russian-speaking guide.
pastries.
vehicle and passenger insurance.
and a trout barbecue meal at the end of the day.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Hyur Service

Is this one for you?The tour runs 7 to 8 hours with one 200-step climb at Sevanavank and lakeshore time built in, so you see four distinct sites without rushing between them—the ropeway, two monastery complexes and the lake itself all fit into a single day from Yerevan.