Combined With Georgia Tour

Armenia - Georgia

Day 1: Departure from home country

Day 2: Arrival / Yerevan City Tour / Etchmiatsin / Zvartnots

Arrival at International Zvartnots airport. Meet and greet transfer to the hotel. Accommodation at the hotel. Rest. After breakfast start a city tour around Yerevan visiting Memorial Park Tsiternakaberd Memorial and the Museum of Victims of Genocide. Departure to Echmiadzin which is a mere 20 km from Yerevan. Echmiadzin Cathedral is one of the oldest standing churches in Christendom.

Opportunity to have lunch in a local community tasting homemade dishes and communicating with the locals. Drive back to Yerevan with a stop at the ruins of Zvartnots Temple (7th c.) Welcome dinner in a traditional Armenian restaurant. Overnight at the hotel in Yerevan.

Day 3: Yerevan / Ashtarak / Fortress of Amberd / Hovanavank

In the morning after breakfast drive to the Aragatsotn region. Visit the smallest pan-Armenian church Karmravour (7th c.) in Ashtarak - one of the most ancient Armenian cities. Drive to the Fortress of Amberd* (9th c.), which stands halfway up Mt. Aragats, at 2300m. The fortress stands on a rocky cape. Visit Hovanavank Monastery, which was built in the 12th and 13th centuries. Drive back to Yerevan. Overnight at the hotel in Yerevan.

Day 4: Yerevan / Khor Virap / Noravank / Yerevan

Every Armenian has heard of this unique architectural monument. This fortified monastery is the place of pilgrimage one of the most worshipped ones in Armenia and the holy site for the Armenian Apostolic Church. The monastery was erected in the 6th – 17th centuries above the dungeon where St. Gregory the Illuminator, the Baptist of Armenia, had been kept for disseminating Christianity until Tsar Trdat decided to adopt this religion.

The dungeon where the holy elder was tortured used to be the tsar's dungeon (“Khor Virap” – “deep pit”). The pit swarming with poisonous snakes and scorpions served as a prison. According to the legend St. Gregory the Illuminator stayed in that pit for 13 years. Drive to Vayots Dzor region.

Visit Noravank Monastery. Noravank (Նորավանք, meaning "new monastery") is a 13th-century monastery, located 122 km from Yerevan in a narrow gorge made by the Darichay River, near the city of Yeghegnadzor, Armenia. The gorge is known for its tall, sheer, brick-red cliffs, directly across from the monastery. The monastery is best known for its two-story S. Astvatsatsin church, which grants access to the second floor by way of narrow stones jutting out from the face of the building.

In the 13th–14th centuries the monastery became a residence of Syunik's bishops and, consequently. a major religious and, later, cultural center of Armenia closely connected with many of the local seats of learning, especially with Gladzor's famed university and library. Opportunity to have lunch in a local cave cafe tasting local food. Drive back to Yerevan. Overnight at the hotel in Yerevan.

Day 5: Matenadaran / Garni / Geghard / Yerevan

After breakfast departure to Geghard temple. The monastery of Geghard is a unique architectural construction in the Kotayk province of Armenia, being partially carved out of the adjacent mountain, surrounded by cliffs. While the main chapel was built in 1215, the monastery complex was founded in the 4th century by Gregory the Illuminator at the site of a sacred spring inside a cave. Drive to Garni Temple.

Garni became the last refuge of King Mithridates of Armenia, where he and his family were assassinated by his son-in-law and nephew Rhadamistus. Several constructions and buildings have been identified within the enclosed area, including a two-story royal summer palace, a bath complex, a church built in AD 897, a cemetery, and the site's most famous and best-preserved edifice, a peristyle Greco-roman temple built in the Ionic order.

Opportunity to have lunch in a local house and watch the Armenian national bread "lavash" making process. Drive back to Yerevan. Visit the Matenadaran depository of manuscripts which contains historical documents from all over Europe and Asia throughout the many countries. Opportunity to have a farewell dinner in an Armenian restaurant with folk music. Overnight at the hotel in Yerevan.

Day 6: Yerevan / Lake Sevan / Dilijan / Haghpat / Sanahin / Tbilisi

Drive to Lake Sevan. Lake Sevan is the largest lake in Armenia and one of the largest high-altitude lakes in the world. The huge mountain lake takes up 5% of Armenia's surface area and is 2,000 meters above sea level. On a clear and sunny day, the water is a deep turquoise color. Sevan is a freshwater lake.

Drive to the resort town of Dilijan - a green city located in the northern Armenian province of Tavush, Called by locals the "Little Switzerland" of Armenia, it is a worthwhile place to see and spend the night. It is one of the most important resorts in Armenia, situated in Dilijan National Park. The Sharambeyan Street in the center has been preserved and maintained as an "old town," complete with craftsman's workshops, a gallery, and a museum.

Hiking, mountain biking, and picnicking are popular recreational activities. Visit Haghpat and Sanahin Monasteries. The location of Haghpat and Sanahin Monasteries was chosen so that it overlooks the Debed River in northern Armenia's Lori region. It was built, not on a peak, but halfway up a hillside on a site chosen to afford protection and concealment from prying eyes and also in response to a kind of monastic humility.

It is built on a verdant promontory located in the middle of a mountain cirque, which is often wreathed in clouds. A peak on the opposite side of the river is over 2,500 meters high. Drive to Sthe Adakhlo border. Change the guide and transportation. Drive to Tbilisi. Overnight at the hotel in Tbilisi.

Day 7: Tbilisi / Mtskheta / Tbilisi

In the morning Tbilisi sightseeing tour. We will visit Old Tbilisi which offers a great variety of sights, most of them very ancient. All the places of interest in the Old Town are very close to each other, within a few minutes’ walk. We start our visit to Old Tbilisi from Metekhi Church (13th century) then walk to the Synagogue, Sioni Cathedral (6th-7th centuries) and later we drive up to the panoramic view and start to walk down to Narikala Fortress (4th century) – one of the oldest fortifications in the city and to the brick-domed Sulphur Baths.

Then we take a stroll along Rustaveli Avenue – the main street in Tbilisi. Continue to Mtskheta and see its historical places Jvari Monastery (6th century) and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (11th century) – both UNESCO World Heritage sites. Drive back to Tbilisi. Overnight at the hotel in Tbilisi.

Day 8: Tbilisi / Kazbegi / Tbilisi

Today we head up to the famous Georgian Military Highway. En route we visit the Ananuri architectural complex (17th century), the two churches and the fortress overlooks the Zhinvali water reservoir.

Arrive at Kazbegi and from there, a leisurely 2 hours walk up through beautiful valleys and woodland leads us to Gergeti Trinity Church located at 2170 m. Weather permitting you may catch a glimpse of one of the highest glaciers in the Caucasus – Mt. Kazbegi (5047 m). Then we take the same way back and drive to Tbilisi. Overnight at a hotel in Tbilisi.

Day 9: Tbilisi / Wine Tour / Tbilisi

In the morning we start exploring the Kakheti region well known for its wine production. We enjoy superb views of the Great Caucasus Mountains and valleys of Kakheti, acknowledge traditions and culture of the country and region, and taste wines and delicious food.

First, we visit the local Duke’s estate from the 19th century in Tsinandali. See his house museum. Then continue to a local farmer’s house to see a century-old cellar, and taste homemade wines. Lunch with delicious homemade food, wine, and ‘Shashlik’.

After lunch drive to visit the fortified town of Sighnaghi (18th century). The town preserved its original image and now offers visitors stunning views of the surrounding Caucasus Mountains. Afterward visit Bodbe monastery, which holds the tomb of St. Nino – she converted Georgia to Christianity in the 4th century. Return to Tbilisi. Overnight at a hotel in Tbilisi.

Day 10: Departure

Transfer to the airport. Departure home!

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