• Visit Tsaghkadzor; Back when Armenia was part of the USSR, Soviet athletes came to Tsaghkadzor (Gorge of Flowers) to train for the Winter Olympics and other sporting competitions. The ski centre on the slope of Mt Tegenis is still here, and during the ski season ( December to March) the village is hugely popular with wealthy Armenians keen to take to the slopes by the day and relax in one of the luxury hotels at night. In summer, Tsaghkadzor is delightfully cool and makes an excellent base for those wanting to explore Lake Sevan, which is only 25km away. From the Yerevan Hwy, the access road goes through the town of Hrazdan and continues up to the villages' central square. From the square, take Khachatur Kechavetis St uphill to the Kecharis Monastery, a complex comprising the Surp Grigor Church (1003), and attached 13th-century gavit, the small Surp Nishan chapel (1051) and a 13th-century katoghike (cathedral). The road straight up from the monastery leads to the ski base where you can take the ropeway up the mountain. The forests around the base of the mountain provide some nice walk, especially in late spring and early summer when the wildflowers are blooming.

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• Visit Lake Sevan; Set 1900m above sea level, the great blue expanse of Sevana Lich (Lake Sevan) covers 940 sq km and is 180km long by 30m at its widest. The largest lake in the Caucasus, it's also one of the largest freshwater high-altitude lakes in the world. its colours and shades change with the weather and by its own mysterious processes, from a dazzling azure to dark blue and a thousand shades in between. The lake supports a healthy fish population, including the endangered ishkhan (prince trout), named for a row of spots like a crown on its head. Other species include introduced crayfish and sig (white fish). The level of the lake fell when Sevan's outlet, the Hrazdan River, was tapped for hydroelectric plants and irrigation in the 1950s and it is now about 20m lower than its original natural level. Other Soviet plans to drain the lake down to one-sixth of its size thankfully went nowhere. The retreating waters uncovered forts, houses and artefacts dating back some 2000 years, and made Sevan Island a peninsula. The exposed land has been designated the Sevan National Park, although some of it is disappearing again as conservationists have convinced the government of the need to raise the level of the lake. Since 2002 it has risen more than 2m, an environmental achievement that has led to cleaner water and more fish. Though the natural landscape is beautiful, most of the man-made structures around it are badly maintained eyesores. Armenians with money head to the Georgian beaches for their summer vacations, leaving Lake Sevan to campers, groups of Russian package tourists and noisy day-trippers. The quality of the resorts on the western side of the lake is universally low, and it's difficult to reach the only quality resort on the eastern edge due to its potholed highway. Fortunately, the quality of the highway on the eastern edge is good.

• Visit Sevanavank; A pagan temple once occupied this elevated site overlooking the lake but was replaced by a now-ruined church in the 4th century. Two further churches, Surp Astvatsatsin and Surp Arakelots, were built in the 9th century. A gavit was added to Surp Astvatsatsin at a later date; now ruined, it is filled with handsome khachkars. Accessed via a long flight of steps, the monastery is one of Armenia's most popular tourist sites and is horrendously overcrowded in summer. 

• Visit Hayravank Monastery; About 30km south of Sevan is the typical tufa monastery of Hayravank- 1100 years old, sturdy as the day it was built, and with khachkars in the cemetery attesting to centuries of Armenian life. The monastery is clearly signed from the highway, and the promontory it stands on commands a fine view of Lake Sevan. Further south is one of the most extraordinary cultural sights in the country. Head to the agricultural village of Noratus (sometimes spelt Noraduz) and follow the 'khachkars' sign to the village's cemetery, which is home to hundreds of carved memorial stones dating from the medieval period.

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