The Selim Caravanserai

Built in 1332 by a prince of the Orbelian family, the Selim caravanserai sits just below a pass at around two thousand four hundred metres on the old route between the Armenian highlands and the lake, and it survives more completely than any other on this stretch of the Silk Road. It is a single long basalt hall with a barrel-vaulted roof, lit only by openings in the ceiling, divided into aisles where animals were tethered on either side while merchants slept in the middle, with the whole building half sunk into the slope for warmth. A carved inscription over the door records who built it and when, and stone animal reliefs flank the entrance. Walking into the dim, cold hall from a mountain pass, it is immediately obvious what it was for.

What you actually see

• The vaulted hall - the long dim interior with its tethering aisles.
• The carved entrance - the inscription and stone animal reliefs over the door.
• The pass setting - the road climbing to 2,400 metres over the mountains.
• The views - down into Vayots Dzor on one side and towards Sevan on the other.

When to go

June to October, as snow closes the pass for much of the year and the road is one of the first to shut; even in early summer there can be drifts. The light inside is best around midday when the roof openings let a little down. The visit takes half an hour.

Honest expectations

It is a single building on a mountain pass with no facilities, so this is a stop rather than a destination, and it only makes sense as part of a drive between Yeghegnadzor and Lake Sevan. The pass road is high and closes in winter, sometimes early. The interior is dark, so a torch helps.

Nearby

Noravank and the Areni wine caves are down in Vayots Dzor; Lake Sevan lies over the pass.