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Tour Program
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Map of the tour
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Notes and suggestions
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Quotation Request
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Day 2. Yerevan city tour - Echmiadzin - Zvartnots - YerevanAfter breakfast, visit of Yerevan starting from Victory Park, which houses the statue of Mayr Hayastan (Mother Armenia), to admire the best view of the city. Visit of Matenadaran, the museum-library, unique in the world, which houses a collection of thousands of manuscripts. Continuation to Cascade complex, a monumental staircase that houses the modern art collection of Gerard Cafesjian. Walk in the center of Yerevan to admire the Armenian Opera Square and continuation along Northern Avenue, Yerevan's pedestrian street, to Republic Square, surrounded by the most beautiful buildings in the city, where Stalinist style meets Armenian architecture, and where the dancing fountains show takes place every evening in the summer. Departure for Echmiadzin, a city nicknamed the "Armenian Vatican" because it is the seat of the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Visit the Mayr Ator Cathedral, the oldest Christian cathedral in the world and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the church of Santa Hripsime, built on the tomb of the holy martyr. Visit the ruins of the Zvartnots Cathedral (UNESCO World Heritage Site), destroyed in the 10th century by an earthquake, famous for the fine bas-reliefs and built on a previous site from the Urartic era. Overnight in Yerevan.
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Day 3. Yerevan - Khor Virap - Areni - Noravank - YerevanAfter breakfast, departure towards south-east entering the Ararat Region to visit the monastery of Khor Virap, dominated by the snowy profile of Mount Ararat, in a suggestive position near the border with Turkey. In the fortified monastic complex there is the well-prison (Khor Virap means "deep well") in which in the fourth century St. Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned for 13 years. Continuation to the wine region of Vayots Zor, whose landscape is characterized by jagged gorges and wild peaks, to visit the Areni-1 archaeological site, the place where the oldest wine cellar in the world, dating back to 6000 years ago, was found. After the visit, stop at a local winery for a tasting of Armenian wines made from native grapes. Continuation to Noravank monastery, the masterpiece of the architect Momik, surrounded by rugged gray and red rocky mountains, with the two-storey church of Surp Astvatsatsin richly decorated with bas-reliefs. Return to Yerevan and overnight.
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Day 4. Yerevan - Garni - Geghard - Sevan - DilijanAfter breakfast, departure to Kotayk region to visit the temple of Garni, a Hellenistic Roman temple from the I century AD and the only one to survive after the Christianization of Armenia in the IV century AD. Continuation of the journey to Geghard monastery (UNESCO World Heritage Site), located in a narrow gorge and partially carved into the rock. The name of the Monastery, Geghard, in Armenian language means "spear", as the spear that pierced Christ's side on the Cross was kept here for centuries. Continuation to Lake Sevan, the "Emerald of Armenia", one of the highest freshwater alpine lakes in the world, to visit the Sevan peninsula, on which stands the Sevanavank Monastery, to admire the spectacular views of the lake and surrounding mountains. Arrival in Dilijan, a town nicknamed "Switzerland of Armenia" due to the dense woods that surround it. Walk along the Sharamberyan street, the historic part of Dilijan, recently renovated, where small workshops of ceramic crafts, wood carvings and typical products were born. Overnight in Dilijan.
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Day 5. Dilijan - Haghpat - Akhtala - TbilisiAfter breakfast, departure for the Debed River Valley, with its treasures of medieval Armenian architecture. Visit of the Haghpat Monastery (built in the X century and now a UNESCO heritage site), which was the most important spiritual center of Medieval Armenia in the XII century. His university was very famous throughout the Armenian world and his school of copyists and miniaturists was among the most renowned in Armenia. The famous Armenian poet, composer and storyteller Sayat-Nova spent 20 years of his life here. Visit of the fortified church of Akhtala, famous for being one of the few churches in Armenia with interior walls covered with paintings counted among the best examples of Byzantine art outside the Byzantine Empire. Continuation to the Armenian-Georgian border of Bagratashen and, after customs formalities, meeting with the georgian driver and transfer to Tbilisi. Overnight in Tbilisi.
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Day 6. Tbilisi city tourAfter breakfast, full day dedicated to the discovery of Tbilisi, the fascinating and multicultural capital of Georgia, a city of ancient origins crossed by the Kura River and strategically located at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, along the historic Silk Road. Today Tbilisi is the most important industrial, commercial and socio / cultural center of Georgia and offers a wide variety of monuments and places to visit. The tour begins with a visit to Metekhi Church, located on a hill overlooking the Kura River. With a modern cable car that starts from the Rike park you will reach the Narikala Fortress, built in the IV century on the hill overlooking the city, whose current shape is due to the interventions made in the XVI and XVII centuries. Descent on foot to the Abanotubani district, one of the few places in the world where there are, a few steps from each other, a church, a mosque - where Shiites and Sunnis pray together - and a synagogue. Visit of Sioni Cathedral, which houses the cross relic of Saint Nino, the evangelizing nun of Georgia, and Anchiskhati Basilica, built in the VI century and the oldest church in Tbilisi. Visit of the Georgian National Museum and then walk on Rustaveli Avenue, the main street of Tbilisi with beautiful nineteenth-century buildings, among which the Town Hall, the Vice King's palace, the Rustaveli Theater, the Opera, etc. stand out. Overnight in Tbilisi.
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Day 7. Tbilisi - Mtskheta - Gori - Uplistsikhe - TbilisiBreakfast at the hotel and departure for Mtskheta, the ancient capital and religious center of Georgia. Visit the Jvari Church, built in the VI century and located on a hill overlooking the city, and the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, built in the XI century on the place where, according to tradition, the tunic of Christ was buried. Both places are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Continuation to Gori for a visit to the Stalin museum, an imposing building built near the brick house where Stalin was born and where he lived with his family for four years. Visit of the rock-cut city of Uplistsikhe, whose name translates as "Fortress of the Bishop", one of the oldest settlements in the territory of Georgia containing structures ranging from the Early Bronze Age to the Middle Ages. The city, famous for its combination of different styles of troglodyte cultures of Anatolia and Iran, as well as for the coexistence of pagan and Christian architecture, is now included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Return to Tbilisi and overnight.
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Day 8. Tbilisi - Gergeti - Ananuri - TbilisiAfter breakfast, departure to north, along the famous Georgian Military Road, to reach Stepantsminda, a small village located at the foot of the Greater Caucasus mountains. Visit of the Trinity church of Gergeti, located at 2100 m altitude, famous for its spectacular position dominated by the Kazbek glacier (5047 m). The church was built in the XIV century and its isolated location surrounded by the vastness of the natural landscape has made the church a true symbol of Georgia. Continuation to Ananuri and visit of the fortified complex located on the banks of the Zhinvali basin. The fortress contains civil, military and religious buildings and the main church is covered with bas-reliefs and engravings in Georgian. Return to Tbilisi and overnight.
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Day 9. Tbilisi - Sighnaghi - Bodbe - TbilisiBreakfast at the hotel and departure to Kakheti, the wine region of Georgia, associated with good wine and exceptional hospitality, where the mountains of the Greater Caucasus range make up the landscape together with the fertile meadows of the region. Visit of Sighnaghi, a town which, with its walls and its old buildings, has remained practically intact as in the XVIII century. Continuation to Bodbe, to visit the Monastery of Santa Nino where there is the tomb of the Saint who converted Georgia to Christianity. Lunch with tasting of typical Georgian wines to know the traditional method of vinification in amphora (named Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO). Return to Tbilisi and overnight.
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- The interiors of Echmiadzin Cathedral are currently closed for restoration. For this reason, until the end of the works, the visit will be made only from the outside.
- The road that goes through the Debed Valley leading to the Haghpat and Akhtala monasteries is undergoing renovation works that will last until end of 2022. A spirit of adaptation is required due to the rough conditions of the road surface and the inevitable slowdowns that these entail. However, the scheduled visits will be carried out normally.
- People with reduced mobility must be aware that both in Georgia and in Armenia there are unfortunately no devices that allow them to overcome stairways and unevennesses and moreover, within the sites, the pavements are often uneven and the paths are unpaved.
- It is advisable to bring comfortable shoes and clothing that takes into account thermal excursions, even in summer.
- All museums and the Tatev cable car are closed on Mondays.
- The Vernissage market is open every day but can only be visited at its maximum extent on Saturdays and Sundays.