7-Day Armenia Cultural Tour with Monasteries and Rural Experiences

• Arrive in Yerevan and make yourself comfortable in your hotel.
• Meet your English-speaking Yerevan tour guide and visit the city's major tourist attractions, including Victory Park, the Mother Armenia statue, and Republic Square.
• Your next stop will be Matenadaran - the Research Institute and Museum, which holds one of the world's richest repositories of medieval manuscripts and books.
• Visit the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex, the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, the Opera House, the Cascade architectural complex, and the Cafesjian Modern Art Museum. The museum aims to present the best of Armenian culture and contemporary art.
• Drive northeast to visit Garni Pagan Temple, Geghard Spear Monastery, and the GUM dried fruit market.
• Stop for lunch at an authentic Armenian tavern.

• Start your tour to Echmiadzin, the spiritual center of Armenia.
• Here, you will visit the 4th-century Echmiadzin Cathedral and the Echmiadzin Treasury.
• Next, head to Arshaluys village, where you will get acquainted with Khachkar Armenian stone art.
• Take part in an Armenian thin bread "Lavash" baking master class, followed by a traditional lunch.
• Explore Zvartnots Cathedral, a masterpiece of early medieval Armenian architecture and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Return to Yerevan.

• Tour Ashtarak town and visit the Hovhannavank Monastery complex, located on the edge of the rocky cliffs above the Kasakh River.
• On the way, take a brief stop near the eastern slope of Aragats and visit the Armenian Alphabet Monument.
• Savour traditional Armenian dishes for lunch at a guesthouse in Ashtarak. A master class in Armenian pastry Arishta and sweet Sujukh is included.
• Return to Yerevan.

• Start your day by visiting Sevan Lake, one of the highest freshwater lakes in the world, and see Sevanavank Monastery.
• Drive to Dilijan, a lush town and a unique settlement known for its natural and climatic conditions.
• Enjoy a relishing afternoon meal in Pambak village near Vanadzor, the third-largest city in Armenia.
• Visit the Fairytale House, where Armenian festivals, rituals, dances, and music will be presented.
• End the day with an overnight stay in Dilijan.

• Start early in the morning and head to Gosh village, where the medieval Armenian priest Mkhitar Gosh, author of the first criminal code, built the fairytale-like Goshavank Monastery.
• In Martuni village, take a course on alternative medicine based on honey bee products. This gastro yard offers Apitherapy spa and honey-making services.
• Visit Haghartsin Monastery with the Armenian guide.

Overnight stay in Dilijan.

• Begin the day by heading to Noratus village, home to the largest Khachkar cemetery. A cheese master class will be provided on a local family farm, where you can taste various types of cheese made with wine and cognac and enjoy the warm hospitality of the hosts.
• Enjoy a traditional Armenian lunch organized in a rural house in Yeghegnadzor.
• Your next stop is the spa town of Jermuk.
• Visit the "Mermaid's Hair" waterfall in the gorge and go for an evening walk in the Mineral Gallery.

Overnight stay in Jermuk.

• Visit Noravank medieval monastery, hidden among mystic red cliffs.
• Continue to the mystical Bird's Cave, where archaeologists recently found the oldest one-piece leather shoe and a 6100-year-old winery. Areni is one of the actively developing wine regions in Armenia, where the famous indigenous red wine Areni is produced.
• Enjoy lunch at the house of a local winemaker, David, who will offer a barbecue made in tonir (ground oven).
• The last stop of your journey is Khor Virap Royal Prison, where Gregory the Illuminator, founder of the Armenian Apostolic Church, was imprisoned. This site also offers a magnificent view of the biblical Armenian Mount Ararat.
• Return to Yerevan and stay there for the night or transfer to the airport.