Tavush is the greenest corner of Armenia. There is none of the stony severity of the south here: the slopes are covered with beech and oak forests, the Aghstev, Tavush and Akhum run along the bottoms of the gorges, and the air smells of conifers and mineral water. For this gentle, almost alpine beauty the region has long been nicknamed the Armenian Switzerland.
The heart of the province is Dilijan, a resort town within the national park of the same name. People come here for the clean air, trout from the mountain streams and the trails to Lake Parz. Around it, in the folds of the wooded mountains, ancient monasteries are hidden: Haghartsin and Goshavank near Dilijan, Makaravank above Achajur — each with its khachkars and 11th–13th-century carving.
Ijevan is the provincial centre and a hub of roads: from here the highway leaves for Tbilisi, here they weave carpets and bottle wine. Further east stretch the border villages — Berd, Noyemberyan, Ayrum — living right by the line with Azerbaijan, with vineyards and orchards on the narrow terraces of the Tavush valley.
«In Tavush the mountains do not press down, they shelter. The forest here is both a fortress and a cradle.»
On this page — the province's settlements (with weather on click), the main monuments, routes and chronicle. Haghartsin, Goshavank, the Dilijan forest, Lake Parz — each with its own time and its own character.
