Visit Jermuk; Known as the home of Jermuk mineral water, this upmarket spa town 2080m above sea level on the upper Arpa River is a popular vacation spot in summer due to its blissfully cool climate and in winter for its modest ski slopes. While here, many visitors take advantage of mineral-water treatments and hot springs- some of them very hot. The surrounding landscape is excellent for walks and hikes. The town is entered via a bridge spanning a deep gorge high above the Arpa River; turn left at the end of the bridge, and then right at the small lake to reach the Hyatt Place Jermuk hotel, Gallery of Waters, and Jermuk Armenia Hotel and Health Spa. The spa business gets most of its customers in the July and August holidays. Some of its sanatoriums have immersion pools and treatment areas. The spa attendants take their job seriously- in the old days' people would sign up for 18-days courses with medically supervised immersions in Jermuk's waters. The local action centres on the Gallery of Waters, a collonaded structure with a row of stone urns fed with mineral water by pipes set in the wall. The various waters are said to have different properties, good for curing stomach and liver problems, heart disease and cancer.

Visit Sisian; Sisian sits on a high plateau where it snows as late as March or April. The autumn ends early here too. It has a core of early-20th-century buildings and is divided into two districts by the wide Vorotan River. The region was inhabited long before the town was built, evidenced by nearby Neolithic observatories and animal petroglyphs. These days, the only compelling reason to visit is to see the petroglyphs at Zorats Karer and Ughtasar (Pilgrimage Mountain).

Visit Sisavan Church; Originally built in the 6th century, Sisavan Church was restored as recently as the 20th century. It combines an elegant square-cross floor with some striking sculptures of royal and ecclesiastical patrons inside and out.

Visit the Sisian History Museum; Townsfolk is very proud of their museum, which showcases a modest array of carpets, archaeological artefacts and ethnographic displays. It faces the sculpture park, making a visit to both an easy proposition.

Visit Sculpture Park; The sculpture park in town one block from Sisakan St displays stone carvings from different millennia, including sarcophagi, phallus stones, ram stones and megaliths. You can spot the evolution of the pagan khachkars to rough stones crosses and finally medieval Armenian khachkars. Two hundred and twenty upright basalt stones up to 3m high set along sweeping lines and loops, some punctured with sight holes aligned with stars, make up the ancient site of Zorats Karer (also know as Karahundj or Carahunge, which means 'speaking stones'). The site, situated on a rise above the river plains ringed by mountains, is dotted with tombs dated to 3000 BC. The astronomical design of Zorats Kares is most evident at the solstices and equinoxes. Lines of stones define an egg-shaped area with a burial tumulus in the centre, with a north arm stretching 170m and a southern alley 160m long. About 70 stones are pierced with finger-sized holes. The builders had a deep knowledge of astronomy, including the zodiac and the lunar phases, combined perhaps with the worship of stars such as Sirius. The site won't blow you away (there aren't any balancing stones like you'd see at Stonehenge) but the pleasant 45-minute walk here from town and excellent panoramas make it a worthwhile trip. Zorats Kares is 6km north of Sisian, signposted on the let about 700m before the main highway. The stones are in fields about 400m from the turn-off.

Visit Shaki Waterfall; The Shaki Waterfall lies about 4km from Sisian near the village of the same name. About 18m high, it sluices down a wide expanse of stones above the Shaki River. The water is used for Shaki's hydroelectric power station, so the waterfall isn't always 'on'.  About 6km down the Vorotan River from Sisian in Aghitu village is a distinctive 7th-century tower-tomb. There are dragon stones nearby from the 2nd to 3rd century BC. The road continues as the canyon deepens past Vaghatin to Vorotnavank, 12km from Sisian on the south side of the Vorotan. Vorotnavank is a striking 9th-to 11th -century fortress and church complex built by Queen Shahandukht and her son Sevada. The petroglyphs of Ughtasar (Pilgrimage Mountain) in the mountains north of Sisain are even older than Zorats Karer. They lie at an altitude of 3300m around a lake on Mt Tsghuk, accessible between June and September- and even then only if it's not a cold summer. Carvings of leaping, dancing animals and hunter adorns rocks and boulders everywhere around the small lake. It' a haunting place surrounded by isolated peaks, and you can only wonder why ancient people would hike to such an inhospitable place to leave their mark on the stone. The tracks are steep, rocky and hopeless without a 4WD and a guide. The ruins of Tanahati Vank are 17km southwest of Sisian past the Tolors Reservoir. Tanahat Monastery is on a high promontory by a gorge. The monks here were so pious and ascetic they refused soup, cheese and oil, eating only vegetables, hence the name Thanaht, meaning 'deprived of soup".