Tavush on foot: trails, lakes and caves in Armenia's greenest province

In almost all of Armenia you walk on rock and short grass; in Tavush you walk under trees. It is the north-eastern province, between Lake Sevan and the Georgian border, and the one with the most forest in the country: beech and oak covering the slopes of Dilijan national park and the Aghstev valley. That is why it is the place to do the walking part of the trip, even if only two hours, and why Armenians from Yerevan come up here to breathe.

Dilijan national park

Some 24,000 hectares of forest around the town of Dilijan, which the Soviets called "Armenian Switzerland" for its climate and wooden houses. There are bears, though they do not show themselves, wolves, roe deer and many birds. What you do see are the trails: a marked network running from one-hour walks to multi-day treks, with sections of the Transcaucasian Trail, the long-distance path that crosses the Caucasus.

The routes almost everyone does

• From Haghartsin to Goshavank, or the reverse, through the forest: about five hours between the two monasteries, with Gosh lake halfway. It is the classic Tavush walk.
• Lake Parz, 10 km from Dilijan: a small lake among trees, with boats, cafés and a path around it in an hour. Good for families.
• Lastiver, near Yenokavan, north of Ijevan: an hour and a half down through the forest to a river with waterfalls and a cave with medieval carvings. Above, the Yenokavan adventure park has zip lines across the canyon.
• From Dilijan, the short walks to the viewpoints above the town, an hour, for the first day.

Ijevan

The provincial capital is a small town on the Aghstev, with a wine and brandy factory you can visit, a market and few pretensions. It serves as a base for Lastiver and the northern monasteries, Makaravank and Arakelots, which see fewer people than those near Dilijan.

When and how

May to October; autumn is the season, when the beech woods turn orange. You need a car to move between the trailheads, and in Dilijan there are local guides for the long routes. Dilijan is an hour and a half from Yerevan and the Georgian border another hour and a half, so Tavush fits into any trip linking the two countries. To continue through the north, the province of Shirak, with Gyumri, is the counterpoint: high plain, black stone and open sky.

Frequently asked questions