Jermuk

Jermuk is a spa town in Southern Armenia.

Understand
Much of the country's mineral water comes from Jermuk. The town is full of Soviet hotels and sanatoriums, some of which have been renovated to high standards. The countryside at this very high elevation resort is worth the visit as well, with canyons, forest and wildlife to explore.

Get in
Marshutnis and buses depart from the Kilikia (southern) bus station in Yerevan, travel time is 2½ hr. Shared taxis from there, or regular taxis from anywhere will work as well of course, as well as renting a car or bicycling.

One bus per day to Yeghegnadzor (1 hr).

Get around
Visitors end up at the resort section of Jermuk, which is completely separate from the bigger town below, separated by a canyon. The resort area is small and manageable enough to handle on foot. In fact, the whole area has a lot of trees, open spaces, views, interesting old sanatoriums and is really nice to wander around on foot.

See

 * Jermuk Lake - just below Jermuk is a large reservoir lake
 * Gndevank Monastery - under the cliffs of Gndevaz village is the fortified monastery of Gndevank. You can hike or bike down the picturesque old canyon road to it as well as scale down the cliffs from the village. The fortifications have a few levels of chambers and passages, the church and gavit are very nice, and there are some cool carvings, khachkars and picnic area.

Eat
Many of the sanatoriums include meals with your room, but in case you want to try one of the limited choices in town, they're easy to spot.