Day 1

Yerevan

• Arrival in Yerevan Airport
• Meeting guests – transfer to the hotel
• Hotel accommodation / repose
• Walking through the Yerevan city accompanied by a guide

Places to visit:

1) Republic Square (National Art Gallery, History Museum of Armenia)

2) Abovyan street

3) Freedom Square (Opera and Ballet Theater)

4) Cascade (Cafesjian Center for the Arts)

• Lunch – “Yerevan Pandok” restaurant
• Excursion to Ararat Yerevan Brandy Factory

(visit the museum of the factory, get acquainted with the legends of ARARAT brandies, learn the 120 years old history of Armenian brandy production, know who have drunk Armenian brandy, see the oldest Armenian barrels and the medals which decorate the ARARAT legend.)

• Visit to Yerevan central cathedral
• Visit museum of Parandzhanov
• Dinner – restaurant “Caucasus”
• Return to the hotel

Day 2

Yerevan – Echmiadzin – Garni – Geghard – Yerevan

• Breakfast
• Excursion to Echmiadzin

Echmiadzin – is the fourth-largest city in Armenia and the most populous town in Armavir Province, located about 18 km (11 mi) west of the capital Yerevan, and 10 km (6 mi) north of the Armenian-Turkish border.

• Visit to Garni

The Temple of Garni is a classical Hellenistic temple in Garni, Armenia. It is perhaps the best-known structure and symbol of pre-Christian Armenia. It was probably built by king Tiridates I in the first century AD as a temple to the sun god Mihr.

• Lunch in Garni
• Visit to Geghard

Geghard (Armenian: Գեղարդ, meaning “spear”) is a medieval monastery in the Kotayk province of Armenia, being partially carved out of the adjacent mountain, surrounded by cliffs. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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. The monastery had thus been originally named Ayrivank (Այրիվանք), meaning “the Monastery of the Cave”. The name commonly used for the monastery today, Geghard, or more fully Geghardavank (Գեղարդավանք), meaning “the Monastery of the Spear”, originates from the spear which had wounded Jesus at the Crucifixion, allegedly brought to Armenia by Apostle Jude, called here Thaddeus, and stored amongst many other relics. Now it is displayed in the Echmiadzin treasury.

The spectacular towering cliffs surrounding the monastery are part of the Azat River gorge, and are included together with the monastery in the World Heritage Site listing. Some of the churches within the monastery complex are entirely dug out of the cliff rocks, others are little more than caves, while others are elaborate structures, with both architecturally complex walled sections and rooms deep inside the cliff. The combination, together with numerous engraved and free-standing khachkars is a unique sight, being one of the most frequented tourist destinations in Armenia.

• Return to Yerevan
• Rest in Hotel
• Evening walk through the city center
• Dinner – “Yerevan Pandok” restaurant

Day 3

Yerevan – Tsakhkadzor – Sevan – Dilijan – Yerevan

• Breakfast
• Visit to Tsakhkadzor (Armenian: Ծաղկաձոր) is a spa town and a popular health resort in Armenia, located north of the capital Yerevan in the Kotayk Province. Tsaghkadzor literally means valley of flowers or flower canyon in Armenian. The name of Tsaghkadzor is associated with the name of the nearby Tsaghkunyats Mountains, located to the west of the town.

• Visit to Kecharis Monastery is a medieval Armenain monastic complex dating back to the 11th to 13th centuries, located 60 km from Yerevan, in the ski resort town of Tsakhkadzor in Armenia. Nestled in the Bambak mountains, Kecharis was founded by a Pahlavuni prince in the 11th century, and construction continued until the middle of the 13th century. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Kecharis was a major religious center of Armenia and a place of higher education. Today, the monastery has been fully restored and is clearly visible from the ski slopes.

• Visit to Sevan lake/church

Sevan lake is the largest body of water in Armenia and the Caucasus region. It is one of the largest freshwater high-altitude lakes in Eurasia.The lake is situated in the central part of Armenia, in the Gegharkunik Province, at the altitude of 1,900 m (6,200 ft) above sea level.

Sevanavank (Armenian: Սևանավանք) is a monastic complex located on a peninsula at the northwestern shore of Lake Sevan in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia, not far from the town of Sevan. Initially the monastery was built at the southern shore of a small island. After the artificial draining of Lake Sevan, which started in the era of Joseph Stalin, the water level fell about 20 metres, and the island transformed into a peninsula. At the southern shore of this newly created peninsula, a guesthouse of the Armenian Writers’ Union was built. The eastern shore is occupied by the Armenian president’s summer residence, while the monastery’s still active seminary moved to newly constructed buildings at the northern shore of the peninsula.

• Lunch on the lake Sevan
  
• Visit to Dilijan
  

Dilijan (Armenian: Դիլիջան), is a spa town in the Tavush Province of Armenia. Usually called Armenian Switzerland or Little Switzerland by the locals, it is one of the most important resorts of Armenia, situated within the Dilijan National Park. The forested and reclusive town is home to numerous Armenian artists, composers, and filmmakers and features some traditional Armenian architecture. The Sharambeyan street in the centre, 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 to Haghartsin Monastery (Armenian: Հաղարծին) is a 13th-century monastery located near the town of Dilijan in the Tavush Province of Armenia. It was built between the 10th and 14th centuries (in the 12th under Khachatur of Taron); much of it under the patronage of the Bagratuni Dynasty.
• Return to Yerevan
• Relax in the hotel
• Evening walk
• Dinner – “Dolmama” restaurant

Day 4

Yerevan – Khor Virap – Noravank – Areni – Yerevan

• Breakfast in the hotel
• Visit to Khor Virap

The Khor Virap (Armenian: Խոր Վիրապ, meaning “deep pit” or “deep well”) is an Armenian monastery located in the Ararat plain in Armenia, near the closed border with Turkey, about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south of Artashat, Ararat Province.The monastery was host to a theological seminary and was the residence of Armenian Catholicos.

• Visit to Noravank (Armenian: Նորավանք, literally “new monastery”) is a 13th-century Armenian monastery, located 122 km from Yerevan in a narrow gorge made by the Amaghu River, near the town 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-storey Surb Astvatsatsin (Holy Mother of God) church, which grants access to the second floor by way of a narrow stone-made staircase jutting out from the face of building.

• Lunch – restaurant “Ljak” (Լճակ)
• Lunch and wine degustation in Areni
• Return to Yerevan
  
• Rest in Hotel
  
• Dinner – restaurant “Cilicia”

Day 5

• Breakfast
• Departure