Route: Tbilisi-Haghartsin monastery-Goshavank-Sevan, Khor-Virap-Echmiadzin, Yerevan city tour-Garni-Geghard-Tbilisi
Duration: 2 nights/3 days
Day |
Destination |
Day 1 |
Tbilisi-Haghartsin monastery-Goshavank-Sevan. Night in Yerevan |
Day 2 |
Khor-Virap-Echmiadzin. Night in Yerevan |
Day 3 |
Yerevan city tour-Garni-Geghard-Tbilisi |
1 Day: Haghartsin-Goshavank-Sevan(Sevanavank)
Transfer to Sadakhlo
Haghartsin Monastery complex was founded by Bagratunies, in the 10th century. According to historian Kirakos Gandzaketsi the monastery was built in the 10th -13th century. It includes four churches Saint Grigor (1244), Saint Astvatsatsin (1281), Saint Katoghike (12th century) and Saint Stephanos (1232), two courtyards, refectory, prayer halls and khachkars(cross-stones).
Goshavank is a 12th- or 13th-century Armenian monastery. The impressive monastery which has remained in relatively good condition also houses one of the world’s finest examples of khachkarS. At Goshavank, Mkhitar Gosh founded a school. The architect Mkhitar the Carpenter and his disciple Hovhannes also took an active part in the building of the monastery. The complex was later renamed Goshavank and the village named Gosh in his honor.
Sevanavank is a monastic complex located on a peninsula at the northwestern shore of lake Sevan. According to an inscription in one of the churches, the monastery of Sevanavank was founded in 874 by Princess Mariam, the daughter of Ashot I At the time, Armenia was still struggling to free itself from Arab rule.
Night in Yerevan
2 Day: Khor-Virap-Echmiadzin
Breakfast
Etchmiadzin is a place of worship for all believers: the cultural, spiritual and civilizing heart of the country. The tour will start with a visit to the Church of St. Hripsime, which was built in 618 on the site where an early Christian Armenian Martyr and Saint who escaped from the Roman Empire and was killed in Armenia was buried. The next seventh-century Church, St. Gayane, is at five-minute walking distance from the first one. Gayane was the abbess of Hripsime and shared her tragic fate. 5 km from Etchmiadzin is the most striking monument of medieval Armenian architecture-the magnificent Zvartnots Temple built in the VII century. The ruins of this temple, which have survived to this day, give us an idea of its rare and majestic beauty.
Khor Virap monastery is the place where the history of Christianity began. Today, in Khor Virap, you can visit the Church of the Holy mother of God, go down to the underground prison where Saint Gregory the Illuminator was held in captivity, and admire the melting in the blue haze of the top of Ararat.
Night in Yerevan
3 Day: Yerevan city tour-Garni-Geghard
Breakfast
Yerevan is not only one of the oldest cities in the world, but also a modern and beautiful city. Our tour starts from the Republic square — the heart of the city, then the station square, where the monument to the hero of the Armenian epic David Sasunsky, which has become a hallmark of Yerevan, is located. We will visit the Cathedral of Gregory the Illuminator, built in 2001 to mark the 1700th anniversary of Armenia’s adoption of Christianity. After that, we will drive along the Ring Boulevard, see the Cascade art center, see Mashtots Avenue named after the Creator of the Armenian alphabet, and see the Opera and ballet Theater building created by the city’s brilliant first architect Alexander Tamanyan. In conclusion, we will go up to the observation deck of Victory Park, where the sculpture of the Mother of Armenia towers over the city. From here, the whole city is visible.
The Temple of Garni is the only standing Greco-Roman colonnaded building in Armenia and the former Soviet Union. Built in the Ionic order in the village of Garni, it is the best-known structure and symbol of pre-Christian Armenia. The structure was probably built by king Tiridates I in the first century AD as a temple to the god of sun Mihr.
Geghard 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. The name commonly used for the monastery today, Geghard, or more fully Geghardavank 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.
Return to Tbilisi
Rate includes:
- 2 nights’ accommodation with breakfast in Yerevan hotel 3*: Bomo Nairi 3* / or hotel 4*: Imperial Palace
*Other hotels by the request - High-quality guide service
- Transport services during the tour
- Excursion: Haghartsin monastery-Goshavank-Sevan(Sevanavank)
- Excursion: Khor-virap monastery, Etchmiadzin Cathedral
- Excursion: Yerevan city-tour and Garni-Geghard
- Entrance tickets to temple of Garni
- Cognac tasting at the factory
- Bottle of drinking water for every day
Rate doesn’t include:
- Extra meals and drinks
- Extra tours
- Souvenirs