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This tour program is tailored for those avid travelers who are interested in exploring beautiful places, picturesque landscapes, meeting nice and hospitable people, tasting the unique Armenian cuisine and the world-famous Armenian brandy and wines. By choosing these tours you’ll have a unique opportunity to feel the whole spirit of Armenia. You’ll spend 10 nights in Yerevan city, and 4 nights in the most beautiful spa towns of Armenia, where you’ll stay at cozy hotels. Accommodation in Yerevan can be organized by your choice (hotel or apartment).
Day 1 Arrival at Zvartnotz International Airport. Our tourist guide will welcome you at the airport. Transfer to the hotel/apartment in Yerevan. Rest.  Yerevan City Tour-Drive through the central streets of Yerevan, Republic Square, Opera House, Cascade Monument and stairs, "Mother Armenia" Monument with a fantastic view of Yerevan, Victory Bridge, Hrazdan Stadium, Sports and Concerts Center, Presidential Palace, National Assembly Building, Academy of Sciences, Tsitsernakaberd-Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex.Visit Matenadaran - Repository of Ancient Manuscripts and a Museum.
Matenadaran is the largest center of study and safekeeping of Armenian manuscripts in the world. Visit Sergey Parajanov house-museum, an exceptional Armenian film director. Here you’ll marvel at Parajanov’s fabulous works: his graphics, dolls, collages, 23 screenplays and librettos of unrealized productions of cinema, theater and ballet. Lunch at a traditional Armenian restaurant.
Day 2 Visit Erebuni Museum and Fortress, the birthplace of Yerevan. Erebuni is an Urartian fortress in the south-eastern part of modern Yerevan founded in 782B.C. by King Argishti I. Visit the History Museum of Yerevan. The History Museum is one of the world’s great repositories of Armenian art. Its vast collections, comprising about 40.000 items, represent Armenia’s material culture from the remote past till the present day. Lunch. Then you’ll be taken to Ararat Yerevan Brandy Factory. Here a guide will tell you the history of brandy-making in Armenia. After tour you’ll taste the best Armenian brandies with chocolates: Nairi (maturity of 20 years), Akhtamar (maturity of 10 years) and 3* (maturity of 3 years). Overnight in Yerevan.
Day 3  Visit Garni Pagan Temple and Geghard Monastery.The Pagan Temple of Garni is the only non-Christian temple currently standing in Armenia. Gracing the hillside the pagan temple was dedicated to the God of Sun, Mithra. It was built in 77A.D. by the Armenian King Trdat I. The architectural complex of Garni was Armenia's foremost center of Hellenistic culture and the summer residence of Armenian kings. Driving for 9 more kilometers from Garni, You'll reach the Monastery of Geghard which is included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Geghard is an incredible ancient Armenian monastery, partly carved out of a mountain. Though the monastery has been around since before the 4th century, the main cathedral was built in 1215.It is said that the holy lance that pierced the body of Christ was kept here. The architectural forms and the decoration of Geghard's rock premises show that Armenian builders could not only create superb works of architecture out of stone, but also hew them in solid rock. Lunch in an Armenian peasant-house in Garni village. Overnight in Yerevan.
Day 4  Leave for the town of Echmiadzin, the Holy See of the Armenian Apostolic Church, where the Armenian Catholicos (Supreme Patriarch) resides.Visit St. Hripsime Church built in 7th century. It is considered a masterpiece of early medieval Armenian architecture
Proceed to Echmiadzin Mother Cathedral, historically, the focal point of the city of Echmiadzin, one of the oldest church in the world. It was originally built by Saint Gregory the Illuminator as a vaulted basilica in 301-303, when Armenia was the only country in the world the state religion of which was Christianity. The Etchmiadzin Cathedral is listed among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. You'll participate in liturgy conducted by the Armenian Catholicos if you are lucky enough to come here on a Sunday morning. Lunch.
Proceed to Sardarapat Battle Memorial Complex and the rich Ethnographic Museum. Experience a journey between the recent past and the ancient past. See the Sardarapat battlefield with its bell tower honoring a strategically important 1918 Armenian victory and tour the Armenian Ethnographic Museum. On the way back to Yerevan visit the Ruins of Zvartnots Cathedral. Zvartnots was a majestic cathedral dedicated to St. Gregory. Zvartnots, built as Armenia's main cathedral in 641-661, was to suppress the Echmiatsin Cathedral by its grandeur. The remnants of Zvartnots, even in ruins, are a majestic sight. The Ruins of Zvartnots are listed among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
In Yerevan visit Vernisage Market where you can buy all kinds of artworks, carpets and rugs, jewelry and other typical Armenian souvenirs. Overnight in Yerevan.
Day 5 Free day. Day 6 Drive to the north-west of Armenia, Lori region, the most beautiful forested area of Armenia with its miraculous mountainous woodlands and bottomless gorges. Visit the masterpieces of medieval Armenian architecture, Sanahin and Haghpat Monasteries. Haghpat and Sanahin Monasteries are huge complexes in the North of Armenia founded in 10th-13th cc. The both monasteries are outstanding masterpieces of Armenian architecture in which artistic merits transcended the limits of the national culture. They are included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
After lunch proceed to Odzoun. It is a domed basilica church having earlier 6th century origins as its architectural design suggests.
Overnight in Dilijan town.
 Discover the majestic beauty of Tavush region. Words alone can’t describe the natural beauty of it. Here you’ll visit Haghartsin and Goshavank Monasteries. Haghartsin Monastery is nestled in a temperate rainforest on a mountainside. It is one of those spots in Armenia that feels like you are walking through a huge, unreal movie set. It was founded in the 12th-13th cc. It was a scholarly, cultural, and educational center in the Middle Ages.
Goshavank Monastery was erected in place of an older monastery, Ghetik, which had been destroyed by an earthquake in 1188. Mkhitar Gosh, a statesman, an outstanding scientist and a writer, an author of numerous fables and parables and of the first criminal code, took part in the construction of the monastery, which was known as Goshavank in his honor. Visit Lake Parz ("Clear" lake) in the middle of a thick forest. Here you’ll admire the tranquility of the lake and hear the voice of the forest.
Proceed to the Old town of Dilijan, named “a piece of Switzerland in Armenia”. You’ll explore the old part of the city with its unique architecture. Lunch. Day 8
 Drive to the Lake Sevan, nicknamed as “the blue-eyed bride of Armenia”. It’s one of the most beautiful alpine lakes in the world situated at 1900meters above sea level. It takes up 5% of Armenia and it’s the main source of fresh water of the country. Visit Sevanavank Monastery (9th century) on a peninsula which used to be an island before 1920’s. Then drive to another shores of the lake to visit a tiny and a beautiful church on the shores of the lake, Hayravank (9th -12th cc).Then you’ll reach Noradouz village to see the biggest field of Armenian stone-crosses in the world(started from 7th century). There are approximately 900 stone-crosses and none of them are alike. These are ornamented slabs of stone with a cross in the middle. Some of them are so detailed and fine that are named “embroidered” or “lace” stone-crosses.
Day 9 
Explore the lovely spa town of Jermuk. It is a first-rank climatic resort in Armenia known for its thermal mineral springs at a height of 2080 m above sea level. Jermuk is one of the most unpolluted areas in Armenia.The spa offers treatment of the following diseases: diseases of the alimentary canal (gastritis, peptic ulcer, duodenal ulcer); diseases of liver, gall-bladder (cholecystitis, cholangitis) and pancreas; diseases of musculoskeletal system; gynecological illnesses; metabolic imbalance (alimentary obesity, pancreatic (insular) diabetes, gout, oxaluria); peripheral nervous system disorders; skin diseases; oral cavity diseases; ear-throat-nose diseases; orthopedic diseases; proctological and urological diseases; radiculitis; rheumatism; sciatica; and system diseases. Visit "Mermaid's Hair" Waterfall in Jermuk, the mineral water drinking gallery, the beautiful park of statues.
Lunch. Overnight in Jermuk.
Day 10  Drive to Noravank Monastery (13th -14th cc.), an architectural gemstone nestled among brick-red cliffs, just above a deep gorge. The breathtaking church of the monastery is St. Astvatsatsin, a two-storied building with an open-air church. Enjoy your lunch in a nice restaurant on Arpa River bank.Proceed to Khor Virap Monastery. It was in Khor Virap Monastery where St. Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned for 13 years before curing King Trdat III of a disease. This caused the conversion of the king and Armenia into the first officially Christian nation in the world in the year 301. To this day you can visit the underground chamber he was imprisoned. Its location, near the closest point to Mount Ararat within Armenian borders, offers a spectacular view of the mountain, the national symbol of Armenia.Overnight in Yerevan.
Day 11 Free day. Day 12 Explore the treasures of history of Aragatsotn region situated at the foothills of the Mount Aragats, the highest peak of Armenia.
 Visit Oshakan-St. Mashtots Church where the primordial alphabet-giver, St. Mesrop Mashtots, is buried, just under the altar of the church. It's a hall-type church with frescoes. The church is surrounded by a garden with ornamented Armenian alphabet letter statues.Proceed to Saghmosavank Monastery situated on the edge of a deep gorge at the foot of Mt. Ara, with Mt. Ararat and Mt. Arargats rising majestically on the western and northern horizons. It's an 11th century structure. Visit Karmravor Church in Ashtarak town. It is a tiny, but a very beautiful cruciform church dating back from the 7th centry, in the town of Ashtarak. Its unique red tiled roofing came down to us completely unharmed.
Lunch. Continue to the city of Gyumri, the second largest city of Armenia. Gyumri city tour. In the village of Marmashen 10km away from Gyumri is a well-preserved Monastery of Marmashen (10th-13th cc.). The principal church of the monastery is the domed hall type Katoghike church, built by prince Vahram Pahlavouni in 988-1029. According to the opinion of specialists the Katoghike church is one of the best structures of the Bagratunis period. The monastic complex includes three more churches, one of them contains the tomb of Vahram Pahlavouni. The monastery was an outstanding religious and cultural center of medieval Armenia. Overnight in Yerevan.
Day 13
Art Tours. Visit Martiros Saryan house-museum. He was one of the greatest painters of the 20th century. Each of Saryan’s canvases is a unique world of absolute harmony of paints. Saryan’s art is the glory of color and light. “Each period of time has its paints …The world seems to me a huge palette of paints. I had the happiness to live, see and show my contemporaries the unique beauty of the world,” used to say Martiros Saryan.
Visit Valmart Gallery of paintings by the world-famous Armenian artist, Valmart. If you are lucky, you can meet him there and socialize with the great painter. In this gallery the painting are on sale. If you are an art collector this is just a perfect place to visit.
Visit the National Gallery of Art founded in 1921 and is a part of the Museum complex on the Republic Square.
The National Gallery is one of the biggest museums on the territory of CIS and has the world's largest collection of works by Armenian artists. It has the most complete collection of the Armenian marine painter H. Ayvazovski. More than 20 thousand works of art are stored in the funds of the Gallery with more than 350 canvases and drawings in the Western-European section. Presented here are paintings by Shagal, Rubens, Courbet, Kandinski, Repin, Briullov, Surikov, Petrov-Vodkin, while the Armenian section displays canvases by Sarian, Soureniants, Garzou, Fetvadjian and many other prominent painters. Lunch. Day 14 Transfer to airport. Departure. *Itinerary is subject to change at any time upon your request. |
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