Lake Sevan lies at about nineteen hundred metres above sea level, a vast sheet of blue in a ring of bare mountains, and it is the heart of Armenia in every sense. It is one of the largest high-altitude freshwater lakes in the world, and the water, clear and cold, changes colour with the sky, from slate grey to turquoise to deep blue. Little rain falls on the shores, and the hills are brown for most of the year, which makes the lake seem even bluer.
The lake has a troubled recent history. During the Soviet period its water was drained for hydroelectric power and irrigation through a long tunnel, and the level dropped by around twenty metres, leaving the island of Sevan joined to the shore and turning it into a peninsula. A programme in later decades, including a tunnel bringing water from another river, has helped to bring the level back up. On the peninsula, two small stone churches from the ninth century, Sevanavank, stand against the wind, reached by a climb of steps with a wide view over the lake. Sevan trout, ishkhan, prized for its flavour, has been overfished, but you will still find fish on menus in lakeside cafes.
For riders, the Selim Pass road is the highlight on the way. The road climbs to over two thousand four hundred metres, passing a stone caravanserai built in the fourteenth century, a rest house for traders on the old Silk Road, with a single vaulted hall and a carved doorway that is remarkably well preserved. The pass offers broad views of the mountain ranges, and the road over the top has long bends and steep sections. The surface is mostly good, but the weather can turn quickly, with cold wind, fog and sudden showers. On the lake shore, the wind is strong, particularly in the afternoon.
Fuel is available in the town of Sevan, and in the villages along the shore, but it is sensible to fill up before the pass. Summer is the swimming season, though the water is cold, and many Armenians come to the beaches in July and August. Winter brings snow to the pass.