Stand-Up Paddleboarding
Not one motorboat runs on these mountain lakes.
At a glance
- Duration
- 2–3 hrs
- Season
- June to September
- Region
- Lakes Rapi, Akna, Gosh and Tsakkar, Azat reservoir
- Group
- 1–8
- Swimming
- yes
- Wetsuit
- no
- Price
- on request
Every route is put together differently — we work out the price once you ask.
Fitness
Basic: two hours of paddling on your feet, keeping balance, climbing back onto the board if needed.
Why these months
From October to May we advise against it: the highland lakes are icy or partly frozen, and at those temperatures falling in stops being a mishap and becomes an emergency.
What to expect in Armenia
The lakes we paddle sit so high that almost nothing grows on their shores: Lake Rapi, Lake Akna, Lake Gosh, Lake Tsakkar. Plus the Azat reservoir, which is lower and easier to reach. What they share: no motorboat traffic, no waves, and usually nobody but you. From the car to the shore is five to twenty minutes over turf and scree depending on the lake, and a board carries far more easily between two people than alone.
Stand-up paddleboarding has the shortest learning curve in our programme. Most people spend the first five minutes kneeling, the next five standing and the remaining two hours finding that it works. If you have stood on a board before you need no instruction. If you have not, you need one that takes ten minutes.
The real appeal is the viewpoint. From the board you look straight into clear water — over shallows the stones lie so plainly beneath you that depth is hard to judge. And you are quiet. Birds stay put if you approach slowly.
We paddle in the morning. From midday the wind regularly picks up on the open highland lakes, and a board with a standing person on it is a very effective sail. Paddling back into wind is work, and beginners make that mistake exactly once.
The water is cold even in high summer. You rarely fall in, but if you do the shock is bigger than the danger — provided you can swim and are wearing the leash. Both are conditions here.
You can also paddle a loop and then lie down on the board until the wind arrives. That is explicitly allowed and, in our experience, what people mention afterwards: not the distance, but the half hour in which nobody had a plan.
Included
- Board and paddle
- Instruction
- Supervision on the water
Not included
- Transfer to the lake
- Food and drink
Bring
- Swimwear
- Towel and dry change of clothes
- Sun protection
- Sunglasses with a strap
We provide
- Board
- Paddle
- Leash
- Buoyancy aid
Safety and weather
When the weather doesn't cooperate
Wind is the only real spoiler. When it picks up we stay close to shore or come in — where the limit lies is decided by the guide at the water, not by a number. If thunderstorms are likely we do not go out at all, because on a lake you are the highest point for miles.
How we keep you safe
Being able to swim is a condition. Leash and buoyancy aid are worn, paddling stays near the shore and never alone. When the wind picks up we come in earlier than seems necessary — on open highland lakes the weather turns faster than you can paddle back.
Sound like your kind of day?
Tell us what draws you — we'll build it into your trip or plan it on its own.