A country · 100 places · 11 regions

Armenia, all of it.

100 curated places across 11 regions — photographed, mapped, and noted with the season each is best in.

Garni Temple · via Wikimedia Commons

The 4 biggest regions — Yerevan, Vayots Dzor Province, Aragatsotn Province and Syunik Province — read below as chapters, with 7 more waiting past them.

Chapter I · Yerevan · 25 places

Yerevan

The capital of Armenia, Yerevan is built largely of pink and orange tufa stone from local volcanic quarries, giving the city a distinctive warm hue that intensifies at sunset. The city center around Republic Square is a well-preserved Soviet-era ensemble of neoclassical tufa buildings, and on clear days Mount Ararat — the national symbol, located across the border in Turkey — dominates the southwestern horizon from multiple points in the city. The Cascade complex, a monumental stairway and sculptural installation climbing a hillside above the city center, offers a layered perspective on Yerevan's skyline.

Yerevan

Yerevan, Armenia

✦ April to June, September to November · $

Republic Square, Yerevan

Yerevan, Armenia

✦ May–June, September–October

Cascade Complex

Yerevan, Armenia

✦ April–October

All 25 places in Yerevan →

via Wikimedia Commons

Chapter II · Vayots Dzor Province · 11 places

Vayots Dzor Province

A highland spa resort known for mineral springs and a tall waterfall spilling over a wooded gorge. Bottled water from the town is famous across the region, and thermal galleries draw visitors year-round.

✦ June to September · $$

Meet Jermuk All 11 places in Vayots Dzor Province →

Chapter III · Aragatsotn Province · 10 places

Aragatsotn Province

A tenth-century Armenian fortress complex on the southern slopes of Mount Aragats at approximately 2,300 meters elevation, one of the best-preserved medieval fortifications in the country. The castle and adjoining church sit at the confluence of the Arkashen and Amberd rivers, protected on three sides by deep gorges. The panoramic view from the fortress walls takes in the entire Ararat plain to the south and the volcanic massif of Aragats rising to 4,090 meters immediately above, making it one of the more dramatic high-altitude fortress settings in the South Caucasus.

Amberd

Aragatsotn Province, Armenia

✦ May to October · $

Mount Aragats

Aragatsotn Province, Armenia

✦ July to September

Talin Cathedral

Aragatsotn Province, Armenia

✦ May–October

All 10 places in Aragatsotn Province →

via Wikimedia Commons

Chapter IV · Syunik Province · 7 places

Syunik Province

A ninth-century Armenian monastery complex perched on a basalt plateau above the Vorotan River gorge in southern Armenia's Syunik province. The monastery is reached via the Wings of Tatev, a reversible aerial tramway covering 5.7 kilometers — the world's longest non-stop double track cable car — which offers elevated views over the gorge and the surrounding mountain ranges. The monastery itself contains a series of churches, a library, and a famous oscillating column called the Gavazan that was designed as a seismic early-warning device.

✦ May to October · $

Meet Tatev Monastery All 7 places in Syunik Province →