Thermal Springs & Spa
Open sinter pools in Syunik, managed water in Jermuk.
At a glance
- Duration
- 4–7 hrs
- Season
- Year-round
- Region
- Vorotan gorge in Syunik, Jermuk in Vayots Dzor
- Group
- 1–10
- Swimming
- no
- Water temperature
- The open pools sit between 25 and 40 °C depending on inflow; they are shallow and made for sitting, not swimming.
- Price
- on request
Every route is put together differently — we work out the price once you ask.
Fitness
A short, steep descent to the pools over slick sinter; otherwise sitting in water.
Why these months
In March and April we advise against it: meltwater pushes into the open pools at the Devil’s Bridge, cools them and turns them cloudy, and the descent over the sinter stays permanently wet.
What to expect in Armenia
The water in the pools under the Devil’s Bridge is not equally warm everywhere. Move twenty centimetres sideways and you are suddenly sitting in something five degrees cooler, because river water is coming in there. Finding the warm spot keeps most people busy until they first feel cold.
This day is carried by two places that could hardly differ more. In the Vorotan gorge in Syunik, hot mineral water laid down travertine over millennia until it formed a bridge; underneath it lie pools in orange and rust-red sinter, open, with no ticket booth and no changing room. Above Jermuk in Vayots Dzor stands the opposite: geysers that push out warm mineral water every few minutes, and around them a spa town where the water has been administered inside buildings since Soviet times.
Drinking and bathing are two separate things. In the pump room at Jermuk the water comes out of several taps at different temperatures, and it tastes of metal and sulphur. Most people try two and leave the third.
Sinter under water is slick as soap. Going in barefoot rarely ends well; water shoes or old trainers solve the problem completely, and without them you will not get into some of the pools at all, because the way in runs over sloping slabs with water permanently across them.
Forty-degree water and eight-degree air is a combination the circulation has to handle. Twenty minutes at a stretch is enough, then out, dry off, dress, and back in after a break. Alcohol beforehand is why people pass out in warm water, and that warning is not theoretical.
The walk back to the vehicle is the underrated part. Wet hair in wind at two thousand metres cools you faster than the climb warms you. A hat in the day pack sounds ridiculous until you are standing wet on that slope in October.
Included
- Vehicle and driver
- Local guide
- Access to the pump room in Jermuk
Not included
- Treatments at the spa house
- Meals
- A night at the spa hotel
Bring
- Swimwear
- Water shoes with grip
- A large towel
- A hat for the way back
We provide
- Changing tent at the vehicle
- A cup for the springs
Safety and weather
When the weather doesn't cooperate
Rain does not matter in the water; it matters afterwards. Cold air and wind on the way back take more heat out of wet skin than the pool put in, so we do not put the bathing at the end of the day but before the last drive, and in wind we use a sheltered spot.
How we keep you safe
Warm water dilates the blood vessels: twenty minutes at a stretch, then out, and nobody gets in alone. No alcohol beforehand at all, and if you have a heart or circulatory condition talk to us in advance. Wet sinter is as slick as soap and undercut in places; we take the descent one at a time, in daylight, and in shoes.
Sound like your kind of day?
Tell us what draws you — we'll build it into your trip or plan it on its own.