Situated on the continental confluence of the Silk Road, Armenia is often overshadowed by its three large neighbours. This is good news for cultural travellers as it has remained somewhat untouched, especially in the rural towns and mountain villages. As a landlocked country, Armenia shares several aspects of religious and cultural heritage with each of its neighbours, although Orthodox Christian Georgia is looked upon more like a brother than the predominantly Islamic nations of Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Scattered across Armenia you’ll find epitaphs to Christianity with the world’s oldest cathedral, Etchmiadzin, and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Geghard Monastery, just two instances of how important the church is to the Armenian people. Aside from ecclesiastical examples it’s the landscapes that steal the show with Lake Sevan, the Lesser Caucasus and the dominating snow capped peaks of Mount Ararat creating iconic backdrops to accompany unique and exciting cultural heritage tours.
Read on in our Armenia travel guide.

Lake Sevan, an hour east of Yerevan, features Armenia’s only beaches as well as Sevanavank and Hayravank monasteries, the khachkars of Noratus and a 70km hiking trail that runs along the Gegham Ridge towards the Ararat plain. Wind your way through the Vardenis Mountains via the Vardenyats Pass and you’ll find a well preserved caravanserai from the Silk Road, whilst the artisan spa town of Dilijan promises hiking heaven accompanied by Haghartsin and Goshavank monasteries. Much further south, in Syunik province, sits Armenia’s answer to Stonehenge, Karahunj, whilst the disputed borders of Nagorno-Karabakh to the east and Mount Ararat to the west offer iconic scenes alongside political posturing.