Experience Armenia - The highlights of Armenia

Arrival in Yerevan, the Armenian capital. and meeting with your local guide after passing through passport control. Private transfer to your hotel. 

Depending on your arrival time you will have the opportunity to get a first impression of the busy metropolis.

2 overnight stays in Yerevan.

Breakfast at your hotel. Afterwards you go on your first excursion. This day is dedicated to two archaeological sites in Yerevan: the Erebuni and Teishebaini Fortresses. Visit the historical and archaeological site located in the Urartian Erebuni Fortress, also called Arin Berd. It presents objects found during the archaeological excavations here and in the Shengavit settlement. You will also see artefacts from Teishebaini, an ancient fortress of the Urartian kingdom, built in the 7th century B.C. and located on the hill Karmir Blur, only a few kilometres southeast.

Lunch included. 

Overnight stay at the hotel in Yerevan.

Breakfast at the hotel. Today you will visit the Ararat region. Our first stop is the beautifully situated, fortified monastery Khor Virap (13th-17th century), also called "Deep Pit". It was built over the cave where St. Gregory the Enlightener was imprisoned by King Tiridates III for 13 years. Healed by him, King Tiridates III finally converted to Christianity and made Christianity the state religion and Gregory the Enlightener the first Catholicos of Armenia.

Afterwards you visit the archaeological site of Dvin. The city was named Armenias new capital by Khosrov II in 335 B.C. and was the seat of the Arsacid dynasty and patriarchal seat of the Armenian Catholicosate. A cultural and commercial centre of great international renown, Dvin was conquered by the Arabs in 640 AD. Until the reign of the Bagratids, Dvin remained a lively and prosperous city despite frequent earthquakes. It was in the year 1236, after the conquest by the Mongols, that it was completely destroyed and finally abandoned.

You continue towards the monastery complex of Noravank (13th-14th century), which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The monastery was mainly built by the famous artist and monk Momik and is decorated with magnificent bas-reliefs. Due to its fantastic location at the end of a gorge, surrounded by steeply rising mountains, it is considered one of the most beautiful monasteries in the country.

Afterwards you visit the Areni-1 cave, also called Bird Cave, which was already inhabited in the stone age. One of the most important finds here is a wine press (3000 B.C.) as well as clothing that is almost 6000 years old.

Lunch included.

Overnight stay in a hotel near Hermon.

Breakfast at the hotel. Afterwards drive towards Lake Sevan over the Selim Pass at 2410 m above sea level. On the way to this pass you will pass the Gegham Mountains and make a stop at the Selim Caravanserai. It was built by Prince Chesar Orbelian in the 13th century and has offered hospitality to countless travellers. It is one of the best-preserved caravanserais in Armenia. We continue to Lake Sevan, the largest freshwater lake of the Caucasus and picturesquely situated in the high mountains at 1900 m above sea level. You reach the village of Noratus with its medieval cemetery full of khachkars. These engraved memorial stones are typical for Armenian-Christian art. More than a thousand of them are scattered all over the shore of Lake Sevan. The day ends with a visit to the 9th century Sevanavank Monastery, situated on a peninsula. Next to the religious buildings you can admire other beautiful khachkar.

Lunch included.

Overnight stay in a hotel in Dilijan or Sevan.

Breakfast at your hotel and departure for the Alaverdi region. After about 2 hours drive you will reach the basilica of Odzun, which was built at the end of the 6th century. The unusual tomb (5th - 6th century) north of the cathedral consists of a double arch with a lighter stele in each arch. In the same region beautifully situated on a high plateau is the monastery complex of Haghpat (10th century), which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.

Afterwards you cross the gorge of the river Debet, visit the monastery Akhtala, in the middle of a fantastic landscape and surrounded on three sides by deep gorges.

Lunch included.

Overnight stay at the hotel in Haghpat.

Breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast you will set off to discover ancient history and visit the remains of the prehistoric site of Agarak and its surroundings, which are completely covered with gigantic complexes of cave structures from the early Bronze Age. It is unique in Armenia for its size and possibly the largest man-made stone structure of the Bronze Age in the Caucasus. Not far away is the architectural and historical complex of Aghdzk, the Mausoleum of the Arsacid Kings and a basilica dating back to the 4th century.

The day ends with a visit to the medieval fortress of Amberd. It was built in the 7th century on a mountain plateau at the crossing of the rivers Arkashen and Amberd. This ancient fortress dominates this fascinating mountain landscape with its impregnable position below the 4096 m high mountain Aragats.

Lunch included.

3 nights in a hotel in Yerevan.

Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to the Museum of the History of Armenia. The exhibition of the museum offers an exceptional overview of the fascinating history of Armenia: from the Old and Neolithic Age to the Bronze and Iron Age, from the 8th/7th century BC, through the great culture of the Kingdom of Van-Urartu to the reign of Tigranes II the Great and the pre-Christian era and the tragic events of the Middle Ages.

Then you make an excursion into antiquity, to the Greek-Roman temple of Garni. It was built in 77 BC by King Tiridates I at the request of Emperor Nero in honour of the sun god Mithras. Near the imposing structure is a site with buildings from different eras, including the Cyclopean fortress (8th century BC) built by the Urartian king Argishti I, the Roman bathhouse from the 3rd century AD, the remains of the royal palace and the Catholicos' residence and the foundations of a church from the 7th century.

Afterwards visit of the nearby cave monastery of Geghard from the 13th century, which is the most famous place of pilgrimage in Armenia and since 2000 part of the UNESCO world heritage. Partly carved into the rock it is decorated with unique stonemasonry. Its foundation goes back to St. Gregory, who had it built over an ancient pagan spring.

Lunch included.

Overnight stay at the hotel in Yerevan.

Breakfast at the hotel and departure for Metsamor. In the centre of the Ararat plain on a volcanic hill is the historical settlement of Metsamor dating back to the 5th millennium B.C. The museum next door houses archaeological finds discovered during numerous excavations. They date from the beginning of the Bronze Age (between the 3rd and 4th millennium BC) and from the Iron Age (around 1000 BC). There was a fortified citadel with cyclopean walls and an observatory placed on the slopes of the mountain on an area of about 10 hectares.

Continuing on to Etchmiadsin, the religious centre of Armenia and seat of the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Catholicos. The cathedral was built in 303 A.D. by St. Gregory the Enlightener. Visit the church of St. Hripsime, which was built in 618 A.D. by Catholicos Komitas. Both have been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2000.

Afterwards drive to Zvartnots and visit the ruins of the magnificent St. George's Cathedral, which has also been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2000. This majestic building was erected between 643 and 652 A.D. by Catholicos Nerses III, called "the Builder", and was unique at that time for its architecture and perfectly round design. The style was later taken up again and again and served as a model for many churches in Armenia and Georgia.

Lunch included.

Farewell evening in the restaurant, accompanied by traditional Armenian dances and songs.

Overnight stay at the hotel in Yerevan.

Breakfast at your hotel and private transfer to the airport. End of the tour.