Day tour Armenia – Sevan Lake, Sevanavank monastery, Hiking to Lastiver

Lastiver is a cave complex with ancient rock paintings, located in the gorge of Khachaxbyur River, 3 km from Enokavan. The path to the caves lies through a thick and picturesque forest, where you will meet many waterfalls and enjoy fresh air and beautiful nature. The inhabitants of the region were hiding in the medieval caves during the Mongol invasion in the 13th-14th centuries. They had to build long ladder of logs located on each other to get to them. The construction looked like a dam, that’s why people began to call the terrain a “lastiver”, which means “up on the dam”. There are amazing bas-reliefs depicted on the walls of the caves and perfectly preserved to the present days. If the weather is good, those who wish can swim in Khachaxbyur. You can also (before or after the descent) ride a Zipline (it’s not included in the tour’s cost). Zipline are

Sevanavank is a monastic complex located on a peninsula at the northwestern shore of Lake Sevan in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia, not far from the town of Sevan. Initially the monastery was built at the southern shore of a small island. After the artificial draining of Lake Sevan, which started in the era of Joseph Stalin, the water level fell about 20 metres, and the island transformed into a peninsula. At the southern shore of this newly created peninsula, a guesthouse of the Armenian Writers’ Union was built. The eastern shore is occupied by the Armenian president’s summer residence, while the monastery’s still active seminary moved to newly constructed buildings at the northern shore of the peninsula. Due to easier accessibility (once it became a peninsula), good highway and railway connections with the Armenian capital Yerevan, a well-developed tourist industry in the nearby town of Sevan, and its picturesque

Lake Sevan has the only beaches in Armenia. They are a popular destination for the Armenians. Sevan’s beaches provide a unique experience within the landlocked country for Armenians. The beaches adjacent to hotels are usually privatized. Numerous beaches are located along the entire lake shore. The most popular of them is a 2.5-kilometre (1+1⁄2 mi) stretch on the northern shore, extending northwest from the peninsula. Resorts include Harsnaqar Hotel, Best Western Bohemian Resort, and numerous smaller facilities. Activities include swimming, sunbathing, jet skiing, windsurfing, and sailing. The area also includes numerous campgrounds and picnic areas for daytime use. A less-developed beach destination stretches along the eastern shore from Tsovagyugh to Shorzha, with numerous small cabins at Shorzha. The Avan Marak Tsapatagh Hotel, a Tufenkian Heritage Hotel, is a luxury resort on the undeveloped southeastern shore of the lake near Tsapatagh. The Armenian government pledged to “reduce the growing commercialization of