Lake Sevan, located just northeast of Yerevan, is a popular tourist attraction among Armenians and Russians. Due to its vast size (covering 5% of the country) and pristine nature, people often come here to relax and enjoy their slow life by the lake. That was not exactly how it panned out for me though. Somehow, adventure found me even in this peaceful place.
The first day I arrived, I slept in a 9th Century Armenian Church. This is possibly one of the weirdest places I have ever slept in and boy was it uncomfortable, but well worth the experience. How did it happen? Well, I and a few travel friends were a little too adventurous as we were hitchhiking from one town to another all day. Before we knew it, we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere and without a place to sleep. We begged a few locals to host us but they were going to charge us a ridiculous price. As we were about to give up, we stumbled upon this Israeli millionaire (Yes, really!) who was on a vacation with his Armenian wife in Lake Sevan. He tipped us that we can sneak in and sleep in a church by the lake. I said yes immediately because.. who wouldn’t? The guy offered to drop us at the church and taught us how to sneak in unnoticed. It was one of the most random experiences I have ever experienced!
It was all fun and games until we realize what this monastery was. It was the famous Hayravank monastery, one of the most popular attractions in the area. We couldn’t have woken up and packed our things fast enough when we realized that in the morning!
How To Sleep In The Hayravank Monastery
To get here: The only viable way I could find is to hitchhike my way from Sevan city. It is quite easy if you stand on the main road heading south to the monastery. I heard some people are able to get a bus to this place, but I have no idea how. It might be best if you ask the Tourist Information once you get here.
To sleep here: In the parking lot, you will see an old lady selling trinkets. The story goes that she sometimes ask for money if she finds out you are sleeping in the church so what we did was we waited until dusk, walked around the church and enter from the side doors, hid our backpacks and went out like nothing happens. Waited until she left and snuck back in, locked the side doors and enjoyed our weird night in the church.
Be warned, it gets really cold at night since Lake Sevan is 2000m above sea level so prepare accordingly. Also, when I was sleeping, we occasionally heard bats flying around us so… yeah, that’s what you will experience when you are sleeping in a thousand years old church.
Daily Budget
This place is very inexpensive compare to all the other countries and you can expect to pay around USD per day per person and including accommodation and food.
Keep in mind that this is just a suggested daily budget based on my style of traveling, which is leaning more toward the budget side of things. If you want to stick to this budget, expect to sleep in dorms, eat out only a few times, and be comfortable using the lowest and most convenient way of transportation, which often times involves walking.
Visit Hayravank Monastery During The Day
The monastery is situated along the southwest shores on a quiet part of Lake Sevan. There were rarely people when I was there, probably due to the distance ones required to travel from the cities. This is a good place to lay back and immerse yourself with the view of the lake and the surrounding mountains.
Gaze At The Milky Way At The Hayravank Monastery
Due to its remote location, the monastery is also a good place to go star gazing without having light pollution blinding you from the flickering light of stars that travels millions of kilometers for you to see.
Visit The Largest Khachkar Cemetery In The World
This is the oldest and largest khachkar cemetery in the world date back to the after 10th century. It is located in Noratus, a small village south east of Sevan. The cemetery is spread over a seven hectare field holding almost a thousand khachkars all of which have its own unique ornamentation. It was quite a sight to behold.
Visit The Sevanavank Monastery
Another monastery which is located near Sevan city. This is a more popular monastery to visit than Hayravank due to its close proximity to the city. You can easily get a taxi from Sevan city to the monastery and hike up to the top of the peninsula where the church is located. The church also offers a great view of the lake.
Swim In The Lake
Even though, Lake Sevan is one of the highest lake of this size in the world and the water can be cold at times, during the summer, the lake is an awesome paradise for water sports like swimming and windsurfing. If you are there during July or August, don’t forget to swim in the lake.
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