Day trips from Yerevan by car: where to go in one day

Armenia is compact, and almost every well-known sight is within a day's reach of Yerevan. The nearest stops are 15–40 km out, Sevan and Dilijan are an hour or an hour and a half away, and Noravank and Areni take about two hours down the M2. The roads are mostly paved, and an ordinary sedan handles nearly every route below. There are two exceptions: the high slopes of Aragats and the descents into gorges after rain.

Below are eight routes you can realistically cover in daylight and still get back to the city, plus one that doesn't fit that format.

Garni, Symphony of Stones and Geghard

This is the most popular trip out of Yerevan and a good choice for your first day in the country. Garni Temple is 28 km and about 40 minutes east, through Nor Nork and Voghjaberd. The 1st-century pagan temple stands on the edge of the Azat gorge. Entry for foreigners is around 1,500 AMD, and cash is the safer bet.

Below the village, down in the gorge, is the Symphony of Stones, a wall of basalt columns tens of metres high. The road down to the river is about 2 km of mixed surface: concrete, patched asphalt and gravel. In dry weather a sedan makes it in first gear. After rain and in winter, leave the car at the top and walk down; the climb back up takes about 40 minutes.

Another 9 km or so along the same road brings you to Geghard Monastery, partly carved into the rock. Entry and parking are free. From Yerevan to Geghard it's about 40 km, 45–60 minutes if you skip Garni.

• Loop: about 85–90 km
• Time: 5–6 hours with sightseeing and lunch in Garni
• Car: a sedan is fine year-round to the temple and the monastery; drive down to the Symphony of Stones only when it's dry
• When to leave: before 9:00, the tour buses arrive at 10–11

On weekday mornings the traffic out of the city through the Nork districts is slow, so allow another twenty minutes. At weekends the road fills with wedding parties and families, and the entrance at Geghard can get crowded.

Khor Virap and the view of Ararat

Khor Virap is 40 km south of the city, 45–60 minutes along the M2. The monastery sits on a hill in the middle of the Ararat plain. Under one of the chapels is the pit where visitors climb down a vertical iron ladder. Entry is free.

Go early. Ararat is most often clear until 10 or 11 in the morning, and then the haze comes up. The visit itself takes about an hour, so Khor Virap usually opens a long day heading south (see the Noravank route below) or becomes a short morning trip with you back by lunch.

• Loop: about 80 km
• Time: 3–4 hours
• Car: any, the road is flat with no passes

The M2 has a dense network of speed cameras. The limit outside built-up areas is usually 90 km/h and 60 km/h in villages. More on that in the piece on traffic rules in Armenia.

Echmiadzin and Zvartnots

The shortest route on the list, handy for your arrival or departure day. The 7th-century ruins of Zvartnots Temple are 15 km from the centre, by the road to Vagharshapat, a 20–25 minute drive. Another 5–6 km, under ten minutes, and you're in Echmiadzin: the cathedral, the Catholicos's residence and the churches of St Hripsime and St Gayane.

Zvartnots Airport is on the same western road. With an evening flight, you can leave Echmiadzin for the last hours before you return the car; the practical details about the terminal are in the Yerevan airport guide. If you pick up and drop off the car at the airport, there's no need to go back into town before your flight.

• Loop: about 45–50 km
• Time: 3–4 hours
• Car: any; the streets in Vagharshapat are narrow, so keep small drams on hand for parking and candles

Sevan and Sevanavank

Lake Sevan is 65 km and about an hour away along the M4 via Abovyan and Hrazdan. Sevanavank Monastery stands on a peninsula, reached by a staircase from the car park, about ten minutes' climb. The lake surface is at roughly 1,900 m, so even in July it's 8–10 degrees cooler than Yerevan.

Sevanavank itself takes an hour. The rest of the day goes on the shore: beaches near the town of Sevan and along the western shore, fish restaurants serving ishkhan and sig. Swimming season runs from mid-July to the end of August, and the water is cold.

• Loop: about 130–140 km
• Time: half a day, a full day with the beach
• Car: a sedan; the M4 to Sevan is wide and gets cleared in winter

After nine in the morning, trucks start crawling up the climb to Sevan, so take care overtaking on the two-lane sections.

Dilijan via Sevan

Dilijan is 95 km from Yerevan, about an hour and a half on the M4 via Sevan and the Sevan Pass. Over the pass the climate changes: forested slopes, damper air and frequent fog. In town there's the old Sharambeyan Street, and around it the monasteries of Haghartsin (about 18 km from the centre) and Goshavank (about 21 km), plus Lake Parz.

The day falls together naturally like this: Sevanavank in the morning, Dilijan and Haghartsin after lunch. It's 65 km to Sevanavank and another 35 km from there to Dilijan through the pass and the tunnel.

• Loop: about 220 km, about 240 km with Haghartsin and Goshavank
• Time: 9–10 hours
• Car: a sedan; the asphalt to Haghartsin and Goshavank is fine, the last stretch to Lake Parz is narrow

In winter and the shoulder seasons the pass can bring fog and black ice. The tunnel is open all year, while the old road over the Semyonovka Pass closes in heavy snow. Winter tyres are required by law from 15 November to 31 March. Try to head back in daylight: in fog on the descent towards Sevan, visibility drops to a few dozen metres.

Tsaghkadzor and Kecharis

Tsaghkadzor is 55 km north, about an hour away, up to an hour and a half in snow. The resort sits at around 1,800 m: skiing in winter, and in summer the ropeway up the slope of Teghenis and walks in the forest. Kecharis Monastery, from the 11th–13th centuries, stands at the entrance to town.

Tsaghkadzor pairs well with Sevan: the lake is about 35 km from the resort via Hrazdan. That makes a 150–160 km loop you can do in a day without rushing.

• Loop: about 110 km (about 160 km with Sevan)
• Time: 5–7 hours
• Car: anything in summer; in winter you need winter tyres, and in heavy snow a crossover is more comfortable on the climb through town

For when Armenia requires winter tyres and what the roads to the resorts are like, see Armenia in winter.

Noravank and Areni: a long day south

Noravank stands in the Amaghu gorge about 122 km from Yerevan, around two hours on the M2. Turn into the canyon 1–2 km past the village of Areni, then follow about 8 km of narrow asphalt between red cliffs. The two-storey church of Surb Astvatsatsin, with stone stairs running up its facade, is the one you'll recognise from every postcard.

Areni is on the way back: wineries along the highway, tastings and the Areni-1 cave with its excavations. If nobody in the car is staying sober to drive, buy the wine to take away and open it back in Yerevan.

The easiest way to fit it into one day:

1. Leave Yerevan at 7:00
2. Khor Virap by 8:00, while Ararat is still clear
3. Noravank by 10:30–11:00
4. Lunch and wineries in Areni
5. Back in Yerevan by 18:00–19:00

• Loop: about 250 km
• Time: 8–9 hours with stops
• Car: a sedan; past Yeraskh the M2 crosses a pass into Vayots Dzor, which can be slippery in winter, and the road into the Amaghu gorge isn't always cleared right after snowfall

This is the longest route I'd still call a day trip. Further south comes the Vorotan Pass, and there's almost no time left for sightseeing.

Amberd and Lake Kari: summer only

A seasonal route up the slope of Aragats, Armenia's highest mountain. The 10th–13th-century Amberd Fortress stands at around 2,300 m, 50–55 km from Yerevan, a little over an hour's drive via Ashtarak and Byurakan. Most of the road is paved, but the last stretch can be broken up or turn to dirt.

Lake Kari is higher, at about 3,200 m, 60–70 km from the city and an hour and a half's drive. You can drive right up to the shore, where the buildings of the high-altitude cosmic ray station stand, and in season a small café sometimes opens. This is where the trail to the South Summit of Aragats starts: about 5 km and 700 m of ascent.

The road to Kari is open roughly from June to October, depending on snow. Both places are on the same road: you drive together as far as the fork and then choose which comes first.

• Loop: about 150–170 km with both stops
• Time: 6–8 hours, a full day if you climb to the summit
• Car: in dry summer weather a sedan usually copes if you go slowly and steer around the potholes. At the start and end of the season, after rain and on icy early mornings, a crossover with more ground clearance is easier

At 3,200 m it can be +5 °C with a strong wind even in August, and fog rolls in within ten minutes. Bring a jacket regardless.

Why Tatev isn't a day trip

Tatev is down south in Syunik, and it's worth the drive. But it's about 250 km each way, on the M2 via Vayk and the Vorotan Pass (about 2,340 m). That's 4–4.5 hours of pure driving there and as much back, plus the Wings of Tatev cable car, the queue for it and the monastery itself.

On paper you could squeeze it into 16–17 hours, but then the drive back falls in the dark: a mountain highway with trucks, fog on the pass and a driver who is tired by that point. It's easier to spend the night in Goris or Tatev and stop at Khor Virap, Areni and Noravank on the way south. That splits the trip into two reasonable days.

Summary table

Times are for daytime driving without traffic. Add 20–30 minutes each for leaving Yerevan in the morning rush hour and coming back in the evening.

How to build a week out of these trips

If you're based in Yerevan and don't want to move hotels with your luggage, these routes add up to five or six days without repeats: a day for Garni and Geghard, a day for Sevan and Dilijan, a long day south, and Echmiadzin on your arrival or departure day. Tsaghkadzor and Aragats depend on the season: the first is worth it in winter, the second only in summer. What's open when and what the weather is like where is laid out month by month in when to visit Armenia.

Individual stops and combinations are easy to lay out on the places map and in the route planner.

What to check before you set off

• Cash in drams. In Garni, at Khor Virap, near Sevanavank and in the villages down south there are almost no ATMs, and entry tickets, stalls and parking are often cash only
• Fuel. Petrol stations, including gas (LPG/CNG) ones, line all the highways. Before Amberd and Kari, fill up in Ashtarak; don't count on a station further up the slope
• Offline map. In the south and on the slope of Aragats the signal drops out in places
• Driving area in the contract. On asphalt you can usually drive anywhere in the country, but many rental companies forbid crossing the border, and most ban driving on dirt roads. If the last stretch to Amberd is unpaved this year, check that when you book. What usually goes into the contract is collected in car rental essentials in Armenia
• Car class. A sedan covers the whole list except Aragats in bad weather. If you plan mountain trips in the shoulder season or winter drives, see the guide to choosing a car

Almost every route on this list starts by getting onto one of three highways: the M2 south, the M4 northeast and the M5 west. Leave before eight and the city traffic will barely touch you.