Sevan National Park

Sevan National Park exists to protect Lake Sevan and the land around its shores in Gegharkunik region. It was founded in 1978, making it one of four national parks in Armenia. The Ministry of Environment runs it.

The scale is mostly water. The park's total area comes to roughly 150,100 hectares, but only about 24,800 hectares of that is dry land — the rest is the lake itself, its surface folded into the park boundary. A wider protection zone extends beyond that core, covering close to 343,000 hectares of land and water uses that touch the lake indirectly.

A research center within the park studies Lake Sevan's ecosystems and carries out conservation work. That's the mandate. Fishing on the lake requires a license, and the park authority regulates it — one of the more visible ways the protected-area status shapes daily use of the lake.

The park lies in Gegharkunik region, wrapped around Lake Sevan about 60 km east-northeast of Yerevan.

Water levels and conditions on the lake shift through the year, so it's worth checking locally before you plan a visit around the shoreline.