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ARMENIA & NAGORNO-KARABAKH 9 days / 8 nights

YEREVAN- GARNI - GEGHARD – KHOR VIRAP – TATEV – GORIS – SHUSHI – GANDZASAR – STEPANAKERT – ZORATS QARER – NORAVANQ – LAKE SEVAN – ECHMIADZIN – ZVARTNOTS

Day 1 YEREVAN Flight to Yerevan by LOT, Austrian Airlines, Czech Airlines, Air Italy etc. Day 2 YEREVAN Arrival to Zvartnots International Airport early in the morning. Meeting with travel agency representative. Transfer to hotel. Check in. Rest. Breakfast in hotel. Preliminary tour in Yerevan city. Visit to Victory Park, view of Holy Mount Ararat and Yerevan city. Walking tour to Cascade, Opera house, North Avenue, Republic Square. Dinner in Armenian traditional restaurant. Overnight at hotel. Matenadaran Day 3 YEREVAN– MATENADARAN - GARNI– GEGHARD - YEREVAN (80km) Breakfast in hotel. Visit to Matenadaran, the Institute of ancient manuscripts. Trip to Geghard Monastery (12th - 13th centuries). Geghard Monastery is included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Drive to Garni temple. Listening the Armenian national instrument duduk playing in the temple. Return to Yerevan. Dinner. Overnight at hotel. Geghard monastery Day 4 YEREVAN – KHOR VIRAP – TATEV- GORIS (250 km) Breakfast in hotel. Check-out from hotel. Drive to Khor Virap Monastery where the Biblical Mount Ararat reveals its breathtaking size and splendor. Drive to Tatev monastery. There is new cableway (5.7. km) “Wings of Tatev”, between Halidzor and the Tatev monastery in Armenia. It is the longest reversible aerial tramway built in one section only. Drive to Goris. Check-in hotel in Goris. Dinner. Rest. Overnight at hotel. Day 5 GORIS - FORTRESS SHOUSHI – GANDZASAR MONASTERY “Wings of Tatev” cableway - STEPANAKERT (160 km) Breakfast in hotel. Check-out from hotel. Drive to Nagorno-Karabakh. Drive to Shoushi fortress, also known as "Eagles Nest". Shoushi is surrounded on three sides by deep canyons. On the way you will see the “Tank” Liberation Monument - a restored tank dedicated to the liberation of Shoushi. Visit to Ghazanchetsots Cathedral - a massive structure with a white stone façade. Drive to Stepanakert– the capital of Nagorno-Kharabagh Republic. Check-in hotel. Drive to the “pearl” of Karabakh - Gandzasar monastery. The name "Gandzasar” is translated from Armenian as "Treasure Mountain." The Gandzasar Monastery is the most popular destination for anyone visiting the Karabakh. It attracts a growing number of pilgrims and tourists from all over the world. Return to Stepanakert. Dinner. Overnight in hotel. Ghazanchetsots Cathedral

Day 6 STEPANAKERT – ZORATS QARER- NORAVANQ – YEREVAN (350 km) Breakfast in hotel. Check-out from hotel. Drive to Yerevan. On the way visit Zorats Qarer - the biggest megalithic compositions of Bronze Age. It has ancient tombs, dolmens or tumuli and over 230 standing stones (menhirs) in its territory. Most historians agree that standing stones at Karahundj have some connection with religious worship. It's worth to say, that the stones were a particular kind of telescopic instrument, because the stones on the Western side of the complex had through-holes (eye-holes), and fixed to specific points on the horizon and the sky. Drive to the masterpiece of medieval Armenian architecture Noravank Monastery (13th-14th centuries). Stopover in the Areni village for wine tasting at the local wine factory. Return to Yerevan. Zorats Qarer Check-in hotel. Overnight. Day 7 YEREVAN – LAKE SEVAN – YEREVAN (130 km) Breakfast in hotel. Drive to Lake Sevan. See monastery Sevanavanq. We’ll organize 30 min cruise by ship. Lake Sevan, known in the ancient times as the Geghama Sea, is the "blue-eyed beauty" of Armenia. It is one of the biggest highland freshwater lakes in the world (1900 m above sea level). In 1938, after the adoption of a decision to use the lake water for hydroenergy, Sevan Island turned into a peninsula connected with the land by an emerged shoal. Now Sevan Peninsula, with its two 9th century churches adding a romantic touch it, is the Lake Sevan best place to admire the beauty of the lake. Return to Yerevan. Visit Yerevan Brandy factory “Ararat”. Armenian brandy is the pride of Armenians: it accompanies every single wedding and celebration and its story goes back all the way to Noah, when he planted the first wine tree. Yerevan Brandy Factory is the right place to receive first hand information regarding the techniques of production and to taste this legendary drink. Visit Armenian market “Shouka” for buying Armenian national sweets, dry fruits etc. Dinner in Armenian restaurant. Overnigh in hotel.

Day 8 YEREVAN–ECHMIADZIN–ZVARTNOTS- YEREVAN (50 km) Armenian market “Shouka”

Breakfast in hotel. Drive to Echmiadzin, the spiritual and administrative center of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Visit to Museum of St. Echmiadzin, where you will see a Holy Spear, with which Jesus Christ was pierced on the cross. Ride back to Yerevan. On the way visit to ruins of Zvartnots temple. The temple was built in the 7th century in accordance with the design of Catholicos Nerses III "the Builder". Visit to Genocide museum and Memorial complex in Tsitsernakaberd. Free time in Yerevan. Farewell dinner in restaurant. Overnight at hotel.

Day 9 YEREVAN Early in the morning check-out from hotel. Transfer to the airport. Departure from Yerevan early in the morning. “Holy Spear”