Exploring Armenia: Geghard, Garni, Hayravank, and Lake Sevan

After spending one full day sweating in the oven air of Yerevan, I knew I had to get out of the city while the sun was up.

Luckily Armenia is full of beautiful things to see, from its intricate monasteries to the startling blue Lake Sevan.

Geghard and Garni are two of the most famous sites in Armenia, and the girl at my hostel said that I ABSOLUTELY could not miss them—so I set off with some new friends to explore these Armenian highlights.

The two sites together are a common day trip; we caught a minibus from Yerevan to Geghard, and easily found a bus connecting Geghard and Garni. I was lucky, since one of my friends spoke Russian and could communicate much more readily than I, but even without Russian it is possible to navigate—Geghard and Garni are well-known and the names are easily recognized.

Geghard Monastery is nestled among cliffs and caves, and the churches extend into the mountain itself. Though outside was hot—even the short climb to Geghard left us sweating—inside the church was cool and quiet, with an understated reverence permeating the stones. People lit yellow candles and prayed as the monks quietly circled. There’s even a stream that runs directly through one of the rooms of the church, cooling the interior down even more.

Garni is a bit bizarre—it’s a Greek-style temple, plopped in the middle of the Armenian countryside. We paid an entrance fee of 1000 dram (or, $2.44), which isn’t a lot, but gets you pretty much nothing except entrance to the temple, which contains…nothing. Seriously. We all found the whole thing surreal and very funny; there wasn’t even any signage to tell us what we were looking at. Just a small, empty, incongruous Greek-style temple. I would recommend it for the surrounding scenery and the strangeness… but if you’re looking for something in depth, Garni won’t have it.

Garni

The next day, I went farther afield to the place in Armenia I was most looking forward to—glorious Lake Sevan.

Those plans were almost thwarted. I woke up in Yerevan to forecasts of rain around Sevan, but decided to take my chances anyway. Luckily, the clouds cleared before I got to the lake, though it was too cold to swim. No matter. Lake Sevan is expansively beautiful.

I met my friends at Hayravank Monastery, which is a photographer’s dream: perched precariously atop cliffs overlooking Lake Sevan, the views were divine and the whole scene was a picture just waiting to be taken.

Hayravank Monastery

Inside Hayravank Monastery

We clambered over rocks and explored the inside of the monastery and made friends with the woman who sells candles on site. Her dog took a shine to us and followed us relentlessly; eventually we decided to walk along the lake to a small town that was supposedly not so far away.

Perhaps our maps were slightly off, but we ended up wandering through the woods and fields of rural Armenia, with the Hayvarank dog determinedly tagging along. Civilization fell away and a strange quiet descended. Even though we saw no sites, nothing specifically touristy, it was wonderful—the hushed trees and wildflowers were so different from the city, and weaving through the underbrush with such delightful people was pure joy.

I never got to swim in Lake Sevan, but no matter- I wouldn’t trade our winding journey through the Armenian countryside for anything.