Hiking the Dilijan trails

Dilijan national park is what happens when the Caucasus decides to be gentle: beech forests, mossy chapels, meadows with nobody in them.

We hike sections of the Transcaucasian Trail between guesthouses — no camping required, 10 to 18 kilometres a day, packs carried ahead. Evenings mean soup, tan (yogurt drink) and wood-stove warmth.

1. Dilijan old town — gear check, warm-up walk to the amphitheatre viewpoint.
2. Parz lake to Gosh — forest trail, Goshavank monastery, guesthouse in the village.
3. Gosh to Khachardzan — ridgeline day, the hardest and most beautiful stage.
4. Haghartsin valley — descent to the monastery through the beech woods.
5. Apaga valley — horses, last picnic, transfer back to Yerevan.