About tour
Rates include:
- Accommodation:
- 4 x overnights in Tbilisi
- 4 x overnight in Yerevan
- Transfers: Yerevan – Sadakhlo – Tbilisi
- In Armenia - (2-4 pax: sedan or minivan car with English-speaking driver-guide)
- In Georgia: French-speaking guide (from day 2 to day 5)
- In Armenia: French-speaking guide from 5 people (from day 5 to day 8)
- 4x4 to Jeep in Kazbegi
- Tickets and entrance fees according to the program
- Board: Breakfasts at hotels, 7 x lunches
- 1 x bottle of water per day per person
Day 1: Arrival in Tbilisi
Arrival at Tbilisi International Airport, located 17 km southeast of the capital. Overnight at a hotel in Tbilisi.(B/--/--)
Day2: Tbilisi – Mtskheta – Tbilisi (50 km)
Breakfast at the hotel. Today we visit Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, built in the 5th century. We start our day with the medieval Mtskheta Church (13th century), then we take a cable car to the Narikala Fortress, which majestically overlooks the old quarter of the city. We continue our discovery of the old town: the sulfur baths district (17th century); the name of the capital is precisely inspired by these hot sulfur springs, "Tbili" means hot in Georgian. Then we visit the Sioni Cathedral (16th century) and Anchiskhati (6th century), the oldest church in the city. We walk along Rustaveli Avenue - the main avenue of the city. Later we take the road to the ancient capital of Georgia, to Mtskheta, located at the intersection of the Military Road and the Silk Way. Here we visit two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Jvari Monastery (6th century) with its splendid view of the confluence of the Mtkvari and Aragvi rivers and the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (11th century), considered one of the holiest places in Georgia because it is here that the tunic that is said to have belonged to Christ is kept. Return to the capital. Lunch in a traditional restaurant. Overnight at the hotel in Tbilisi. (B/L/--)
Day3: Tbilisi – Stepantsminda – Ananuri – Tbilisi (310 km)
Breakfast at the hotel. This morning, we then follow the Georgian Military Road north. We pass through Gudauri (2,200m), a winter sports resort on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus mountain range. We cross the Cross Pass (2,395 meters above sea level) and arrive at the village of Stepantsminda located at the foot of the impressive Mount Kazbek (5,047 meters above sea level), which marks the border with Russia. We reach the 14th-century Gergeti Trinity Monastery by 4X4. Perched at an altitude of 2,170m on a promontory, it is the most spectacular image of the Greater Caucasus. Lunch in Stepantsminda. On the way back to Tbilisi, we visit the fortified complex of Ananuri (17th century), one of the country's major sites next to the blue lake of Jinvali. Return to Tbilisi. Overnight at the hotel in Tbilisi. (B/L/--)
Day4: Tbilisi – David Garedja – Kakabeti – Tbilisi (235 km)
Breakfast at the hotel. A day dedicated to exploring the Kakheti wine region, located in the east of the country and renowned for its hospitality. We head southeast to the David Gareja desert steppe, recognized by National Geographic as one of the 17 most beautiful places in the world. Visit the monastic complex founded in the 6th century by the Assyrian Father David, who settled in a cave in the desert. The site is characterized by a unique combination of architecture. Dozens of rock-hewn monasteries are adorned with beautifully colored frescoes and are considered masterpieces of Georgian medieval art. Then, stop at a traditional Georgian wine cellar for an organic wine tasting in the village of Kakabeti. The tasting will be followed by a typical lunch. Return to Tbilisi. Overnight at the hotel. (B/L/--)
Day5: Tbilisi – Haghpat – Dilijan – Sevanavank – Yerevan (320 km)
Breakfast at the hotel. Check-out. Departure from Tbilisi to Yerevan, crossing the Sadakhlo border. Arrival at the border around 10:00 a.m. Meet your Armenian guide and driver and head towards Armenia. Continue to the village of Haghpat. Visit the Haghpat Monastery, one of the most beautiful churches, which was founded in 976. Haghpat was also a major literary center in the Middle Ages. Departure to Dilijan, one of the most famous tourist centers in Armenia. People say: "If paradise had mountains, forests and mineral springs, it would be just like Dilijan." Dilijan's natural beauty is so great that it is also called "Armenian Little Switzerland." In this city you can stroll through the streets with its 19th century ceramic buildings. Lunch on the way. Then, get ready to go to Lake Sevan, the emerald of Armenia and the second largest alpine lake in the world. Admire the picturesque views of one of the highest bodies of water in the world. Then visit the Sevanavank monastery complex. Sevanavank Monastery was founded in 874 by Princess Mariam. After the artificial drying of Lake Sevan, which began during the time of Joseph Stalin, the water level dropped by about 20 meters and the island turned into a peninsula. Arrival in Yerevan. Overnight at the hotel. Yerevan. (B/L/--)
Day6: Yerevan City Tour – Echmiadzin – Zvartnots – Genocide Museum (120 km)
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for Echmiadzin, which is only 20 km from Yerevan. Echmiadzin is the religious center of the Armenians, the "Little Vatican of Armenia," where the seat of the Patriarch of the Armenian Church is located. Visit the first cathedral in the Christian world, Echmiadzin Cathedral (4th-19th centuries), built in 303 by Saint Gregory the Illuminator, evangelizer of the Armenians, and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visit the Treasures of Echmiadzin Museum. Return to Yerevan. En route, visit another UNESCO World Heritage Site: the remains of Zvartnots Cathedral, a pearl of 7th-century architecture. Its construction began in 642 under the direction of Catholicos Nerses III, who built the majestic cathedral dedicated to Saint Gregory on the site where a meeting between King Tiridates III and Gregory the Illuminator is said to have taken place. Lunch at a local's home. Arrival in Yerevan. During your tour, you will have the opportunity to admire the beauty of downtown Yerevan and pay homage to the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Park and the Museum of Genocide Victims. City tour of Yerevan on foot. During your tour, you will discover Yerevan. The history of Yerevan dates back to the 8th century BC. You will start the tour of the Republic Square, the great work of architect Alexander Tamanian. Continue the road towards the Cascade, an open-air museum of modern art. Afterwards, you will leave for the Opera House, a remarkable example of urban architecture and the lively center of the city. Overnight at the hotel in Yerevan. (B/L/--)
Day7: Yerevan – Khor Virap – Areni – Noravank – Yerevan – (250 km)
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to the Ararat region, the breeding ground of Armenia and the homeland of the apricot. Visit the Khor-Virap Monastery (17th century), a former prison where the evangelist of the Armenian people and the main saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Gregory the Illuminator, was incarcerated at the end of the 3rd century. This monastery is located at the foot of the biblical Mount Ararat, and it was in this Ararat valley that Noah planted his vines and drank the wine. Continue the road towards the village of Areni, a small wine-growing village and visit a cave where one of the oldest wine cellars was discovered in 2010. There, the oldest shoe in the world, more than 5,500 years old, was found. Lunch at a local's home. Visit one of the most beautiful monastic complexes in Armenia, the Noravank Monastery (13th-14th centuries), located in the picturesque Amagu Canyon, whose red rhyolite rocks make this site a unique place of meditation. The buildings of the monastic complex fascinate with the beauty of the bas-reliefs and figurative representations, rare in Armenian architecture of the Middle Ages. Return to Yerevan. Overnight at the hotel in Yerevan. (B/L/--)
Day8: Yerevan – Garni – Geghard – Matenadaran (100 km)
After breakfast, departure for Garni. Visit the Temple of Garni, the only temple built in the Greco-Roman style in the entire Caucasus region. Built in the 1st century AD by the Armenian king Tiridates, it is dedicated to the pagan god Mithra, the sun god whose figure was located at the back of the sanctuary. From the 1st to the 4th centuries, the Garni fortress was the summer residence of the Arsacid kings. Lunch at a local home in Garni. During lunch, you will have the opportunity to participate in the preparation of Armenian bread called 'lavash'. Visit the Geghard Monastery (12th-13th centuries), a unique site whose rooms are carved into the basalt rock. The Geghard Monastery is one of the masterpieces of 13th-century Armenian architecture. The complex is striking for its interior decoration and its extraordinary khachkars (stone crosses). The Geghard Monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Return to Yerevan. Visit Matenadaran, a library/repository containing historical documents from across Europe and Asia over many centuries. The earliest copy of the Bible in Armenian and the Gospels, which fascinate with their beautiful miniatures, are also housed here. Overnight at a hotel in Yerevan. (B/L/--)
Day9: Departure
Departure. Arrival at the airport and departure. (B/--/--)
Rates Exclude:
- Transfers: Hotel-Airport/Airport-Hotel
- 25 EUR per person one way
- Guide accompaniment during transfer – €50
- Accommodation before/after the trip
- Tips and other personal expenses
- Visits not mentioned in the program
- Insurance
- Flight tickets
- Portag
- Optional services
- Other activities not mentioned above