About Armenia

Armenia is a compact mountainous country at the crossroads of Europe and Asia — with its own language, its own alphabet and traditions that go back thousands of years. This page collects the essentials: when to visit, what to see in 1–3 days, how the culture and cuisine work, and the practical side of flights and travel around the country.

  • Capital: Yerevan
  • Language: Armenian (Mashtots alphabet)
  • Religion: Armenian Apostolic Church — in 301 AD Armenia became the first country to adopt Christianity as its state religion
  • Currency: Armenian dram (AMD)
  • Time zone: UTC+4
  • Cities of Armenia Resorts in Armenia

  • Jermuk

    Armenia’s largest spa town — forty thermal springs at 2,100 m, a 1956 mineral-water gallery by Alexander Tamanyan’s son, and a 68-metre waterfall in the Arpa gorge.

  • Hankavan

    The high-altitude mineral-water village at 1,900 m — thermal baths open 24 hours a day, year-round, and one of Armenia’s last Greek communities.

  • Lastiver

    A 100-metre-deep canyon with 13th-century cave refuges, waterfalls, tree-house camping, and the country’s most photographed hiking trail — three kilometres below Yenokavan village.

  • Yenokavan

    Armenia’s first adventure park with 5 ziplines up to 750 m, an Alpine-style canyon, 13th-century cave shelters at Lastiver — and a 40-horse stable serving farm-to-table dinners.

  • Myler

    Armenia’s newest ski resort — designed by the team behind Whistler, opened 2024, with Doppelmayr lifts climbing to 2,850 m on the western slopes of Mount Teghenis.

  • Arzni

    The closest mineral-water resort to Yerevan — 24 km up the Hrazdan gorge, in a village that has been Armenian for two millennia and Assyrian for two centuries.

  • Aghveran

    A quiet climatic and balneological resort at 1,550 m in the Tsakhkunyats mountains — thermal springs, dense forest, and the Bjni Fortress fifteen minutes down the road.

  • Yerevan

    Armenia’s pink-tuff capital, founded in 782 BC as the Urartian fortress of Erebuni — 29 years older than Rome. The start of every route across the country.

  • Dilijan

    Armenia’s forested resort town in a Tavush valley — medieval monasteries in the woods, mountain lakes, and a fresh alpine climate an hour and a half from Yerevan.

  • Gyumri

    Armenia’s second-largest city and official cultural capital — a preserved 19th-century town of black-and-red tuff, still visibly shaped by the 1988 earthquake.

  • Ijevan

    The subtropical wine town of Tavush — quieter than Dilijan, warmer than the highlands, and home to Armenia’s only outdoor sculpture museum, a working 1939 winery, and 10,000-year-old cave dwellings.

  • Goris

    A small town in southern Syunik on the Vararakn River — half planned 19th-century grid, half prehistoric cave dwellings, and the natural base for reaching Tatev.

  • Echmiadzin

    Armenia’s spiritual capital and Mother See of the Armenian Apostolic Church — home to the world’s oldest state-built cathedral (303 AD) and four UNESCO monuments, 20 km from Yerevan

    • Explore Armenia with a Private Driver

    Discovering a new country is easier when you start with a well-planned route rather than a bus timetable. We help our guests get anywhere in Armenia and see the essentials without the rush.

    Arriving by air? Book an airport transfer from Zvartnots with a meet-and-greet at the exit. For trips across the country, a car with driver in Yerevan works well — your driver knows the roads, suggests where to stop, and you don't have to worry about parking or navigation.

    Prefer a guided classic route? Have a look at our day tours from Yerevan — from Garni and Geghard to Lake Sevan, Dilijan and Tatev. All tours run in comfortable private vehicles on a schedule that fits you.