Dilijan is a very picturesque town that has preserved some buildings of the traditional local architecture: houses with wooden balconies and gabled roofs reminiscent of a more alpine style of construction. It is surrounded by forests, fast-moving waters, and mountains which remain covered with snow during a great part of the year.

It is located in the heart of the Dilijan Natural Park, and the weather here is much more humid and milder than in the rest of the country. The Aghstev River divides it in two. On the right bank sits the ‘Old Dilijan’, which climbs the hillsides with their typical wooden houses that give it that bucolic touch. On the left, on the contrary, is the area of the large spa hotels.

The surroundings of the city offer many paths for hiking, like the one which connects the Hagharstsin Monastery with the small village of Shamakhyan (10 kilometers), the route that connects the Parz Lich Lake with Goshavank (8 kilometers) or the route going from Haghartsin to Abeghakar peak (11 kilometers).

Many of these trails are not well signposted and you should go with a guide or prepare thoroughly for the tour. You can ask the staff of the tourist office for advice. Dilijan is located 62 miles from the capital and the forest that surrounds it forms one of the natural gems of Hayastan. There is a local saying that describes the beauty of this region accurately: “if Paradise exists, it must look a lot like Dilijan”.