ARMENIA IMMERSION

Armenia Immersion

YOUR PRIVATE ARMENIA TOUR: A COUNTRYWIDE JOURNEY
10 DAYS / 9 NIGHTS :: 3, 4, & 5-STAR AVAILABLE

Welcome to Armenia! If you’re lucky, you’ll get a great view of Mt. Ararat on your descent into Yerevan. If not, don’t worry, there is more time to see her. 🙂 An English-speaking guide will meet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel in Yerevan. You’ll spend five of your first six evenings in Yerevan, so there’s no rush to explore the city tonight, but if you’re in a hurry, by all means, be our guest!

You’ll begin your immersive tour of Armenia today with a slow pace, exploring the vibrant capital of Yerevan. You’ll experience various parts of what the city has to offer, from the beautiful Cascade Art Complex and Mother of Armenia statue, the Matenadaran Ancient Manuscripts Museum, to the Vernissage Open-Air Market, and more. There are many great restaurants to choose from for dinner each night, so enjoy exploring Armenia’s tasty cuisine in the evenings.

You’ll head east from Yerevan this morning for an hour-drive to Geghard Monastery, another UNESCO site, where you’ll get to experience an Armenian choir singing. Not far from Geghard Monastery is the unique Garni Temple, the only pre-Christian structure (1st century!) in Armenia and the only Greco-Roman colonnaded building to be found in the entire former Soviet Union! After a morning full of seriously ancient history, you’ll have a change of pace and take a master-class on how to make Armenian lavash (i.e. flatbread) in a nearby village. Your last stop on the way back to Yerevan is the incredible Levon’s Divine Underground, an underground labyrinth dug out and built by one man over the course of 23 years. We’re sure you’ll have made many memories today, and it’s only Day 3 of your trip!

We’ll stay closer to home this morning and explore some of Yerevan’s most historic locations, starting with Ejmiatsin Cathedral. Incredibly, this cathedral is reputed to have been built in 303 AD, staking claim to being the world’s first Christian church building. Alongside the church is the Ejmiatsin Treasury with several ancient Christian relics. Nearby is Zvartnots Cathedral, a 7th-century church now in ruins but which boasted specific Armenian architecture and features. Both cathedrals are UNESCO sites. After lunch, though, we’ll take an overnight trip to Gyumri, Armenia’s 2nd-largest city just two hours northwest of Yerevan. On the way you’ll visit a pagan temple of one of Armenia’s minority populations, the Yazidis. Gyumri is a quaint town of over 100,000 so make sure to take advantage of your one evening there!

You’ll enjoy the change of scenery this morning with a city tour of Gyumri and its unique architecture. A surprise will be a master-class you take at the local Ceramics art school, where you’ll learn to paint using the ancient Armenian alphabet. After lunch you’ll head back to Yerevan.

Today will be your final full day in Yerevan before exploring the Armenian countryside the second half of your trip. You’ll visit various sites including spending time in the house of local Armenian musicians, who make and play the traditional “duduk” instrument. You’ll do a music master-class in this home and learn the various sounds & instruments native to traditional Armenian music. Depending on the final destination of your trip, this may be your final evening in Yerevan, so make sure to fit in any final excursions or restaurants tonight!

If you haven’t gotten a nice view of Mt. Ararat yet from Yerevan, we hope the weather will open up for you today, as we head south towards the Turkey border towards towering Mt. Ararat. The views of Ararat are stunning from the monastery Khor Virap, considered one of the most sacred sites to the Armenian population. You’ll also stop in at the Areni Cave, only discovered in 2007, astoundingly reputed to the world’s oldest winery dating back 6100 years! Southern Armenia is wine country and so you’ll have opportunities to taste and purchase locally-produced wine here if you’d like. With a stop at the Noravank Monastery, this will make for a very full MORNING, as after lunch you head further southeast along the Iranian border to spend the night in Goris.

Although yesterday and today will be your longest “driving” days of your Armenia experience, it’s well worth it as this part of the country is one of the most scenic with its beautiful mountain landscapes. This morning you’ll take the world’s longest aerial tramway (!) over 5 km to the 9th-century Tatev Monastery, located at around 1500 meters above sea level. After lunch, you’ll hit the road to northern Armenia via the beautiful Selim/Vardenyats Mountain Pass, including a stop at the medieval Noratus cemetery. You’ll spend sunset driving up the gorgeous southern coast of Lake Sevan, the largest lake in the wider Caucasus region, to your final destination of the trip, Dilijan.

Welcome to “Armenian Switzerland”, as locals call it! Dilijan is a beautiful resort town just north of Lake Sevan. You’ll have a slower-paced day today after two longer days of travel, to enjoy the beautiful surroundings of Dilijan. A highlight will be lunch with a local Molokan family, another minority group in the country. Make sure to search out any final souvenirs or purchases to be made as tomorrow is your departure.

Depending on where you’re headed next, you’ll be transferred either to the Yerevan airport this morning for your flight home, or to the border with Georgia to continue your travels. Thanks for visiting and experiencing all of what Armenia has to offer! We hope to see you again for a visit or exploring more of the South Caucasus in Georgia and Azerbaijan. Nakhvamdis! (Goodbye in Georgian)

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What you’ll see on the “Armenia Immersion” tour