Best of Georgia and Armenia

You arrive and check-in at your hotel in Tbilisi in the evening or the early morning on the next day.

In the morning, you depart on a guided Tbilisi walking tour. Tbilisi’s historical part is located at Narikala Fortress’s foot and charms its visitors with its romantic, narrow streets, beautiful facades, and picturesque sites next to each other, including the Metekhi Church Synagogue, the Sioni Cathedral, the Bridge of Peace, the Anchiskhati Church and the famous sulphur bathhouses. After lunch, continue walking over Orbeliani Square and Dry Bridge market to the New Tiflis pedestrian street leading to Marjanishvili Metro Station. From here, take the subway back to Avlabari, where your hotel is located. You will have some free time to explore more or relax before dinner in a traditional Georgian restaurant.

Transfer along the Georgian Military Highway leading to the Higher Caucasus Mountains. On the way, visit Ananuri fort from the 17th century, overlooking the Jinvali water reservoir. Once you reach Gudauri, a famous ski resort in Georgia, you will start hiking on alpine meadows towards medieval tower ruins in Khada Valley. After a picnic lunch, you will head back to get on a cable car connecting Gudauri with Kobi, a ride that will reveal you great mountain views. A transfer will take you to Stepantsminda, where you will have dinner and spend the following two overnights. Walking for the day: approx. 2.5h, ?100m ?300m Driving for the day: approx. 160km, 3.5h

Stepantsminda settlement is famous for its proximity to the beautiful Mt. Kazbek (5,047m), one of Georgia’s highest mountains. According to an old Greek legend, Prometheus was chained to this mountain as a punishment for stealing fire from Zeus. A walk on the forested slopes will lead you to Gergeti Trinity Church, dating to the 14th century. A wonderful vista opens from there, over the settlement Stepantsminda and its surrounding mountains. You can also continue hiking towards the glacier upon your wish (approx. 4h more). After the descent, you can enjoy some free time and dinner at the hotel. Walking for the day (to Gergeti Church): approx. 3.5h, ?470m ?470m Walking for the day (extension towards the glacier): approx 4h, ?430m ?430m

Off-road drive to Truso Valley. Truso Valley's unique geological features include bubbling mineral springs and vividly coloured travertine formations. The hiking trail starts at travertines and leads first to a small lake and then along alpine meadows towards old villages. Along the way, you may encounter herds of grazing livestock, a testament to the valley's pastoral charm. One of the highlights of Truso Valley is the abandoned village of Ketrisi, frozen in time and shrouded in legends. Explore the crumbling stone houses and the centuries-old St. George Church, all set against the dramatic backdrop of the Caucasus Mountains. After return drive to the old capital and religious centre of Georgia – Mtskheta and its historical places: Jvari church (6th century) and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (11th century) where the Robe of Christ is buried, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Wine tasting and dinner at a local family in Mtskheta. Then, drive to Tbilisi.

Today you will depart on tour to the South to the region Kvemo Kartli. After 1.5h drive, you will start walking to the ruins of the fortified city Samshvilde dating back to the 3rd century BC (2h walk, easy). The site includes ruins of several churches, a citadel, palaces, houses, a bridge over the Chivchavi river, water cisterns, bathes, and a cemetery. You will also enjoy beautiful views of the canyons on both sides of the fortress. Then have lunch in the former German settlement Elisabethtal (today Asureti) on the way back to the capital city. Back in Tbilisi, you will enjoy a farewell dinner and your last evening in Georgia.

Transfer to the Georgia-Armenia border at Sadakhlo, where you will change your guide and vehicle and enter Armenia. You will head towards Sanahin village (1060m), with a first visit to the Sanahin Monastery (10th century, UNESCO World Heritage Site). Start hiking to another UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Haghpat Monastery (10th-13th centuries). Then transfer to Yenokavan village and check in at your accommodation in Aland resort.

Breakfast at the hotel. Start hiking from Yenokavan to Lastiver, a 100m deep gorge covered with dense forest located in the northeast of Armenia. There are several caves in the gorge with some rock carvings. The trail cross over the Khachaghbyur river ending at Lastiver Waterfalls. Continue driving to Dilijan, a town known for spa resorts and traditional craft workshops, surrounded by the forests of Dilijan National Park. Check-in at your accommodation in Dilijan.

Breakfast in the hotel. The day starts with the transfer to Parz Lich, a small lake in Dilijan National Park. Hiking begins from Parz Lich to Goschavank monastery of the 13th century, famous for Armenian most beautiful cross-stone. The trail is laid mainly in forests. You will stop for lunch at a local house in Goshavank. After, visit the monastery and depart to Lake Sevan, the second largest and highest alpine freshwater lake in the world, and explore the medieval 9th-century monasteries on the peninsula. Take an optional boat trip on Lake Sevan (20-30min) and continue to Yeghegis. Check-in at your accommodation in a boutique hotel.

Breakfast and check out. Transfer to Yeghegis valley and start hiking to Smbataberd Fortress, one of the most impressive natural sites of Vayots Dzor province, with picturesque ruins on the mountainside and the background of the Lesser Caucasus valleys. Continue hiking to the 10th-century Tsakhats Qar monastery, which still attracts visitors with its beauty even if it is partly destroyed. After, transfer back to Yerevan. On the way back, not far from Yeghegis, optional stop at a small family wine cellar, “Old Bridge”, for wine tasting. The last stop is at Noravank Monastery (9th – 14th centuries), located above the Ghnishik river gorge. Continue to Yerevan for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, transfer to Mount Aragats – the highest mountain in Armenia (4,095m), where you will climb to the south summit (3,887m). After the picnic lunch, you will return to Yerevan.

After breakfast, a drive to Khor Virap which offers the closest and the best view to Mt. Ararat. Drive Garni for an ancient pagan temple inspection which dates back to the 1st century. Later on, visit Ghegard cave monastery, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and return back to Yerevan. You can go shopping in Vernissage’s open-air handicraft market or take an evening stroll in Republic Square to enjoy the evening dancing and singing colourful fountains.

After breakfast, you will depart on a guided city tour of Yerevan, Armenia’s capital and one of the world’s oldest cities, dating back to 872 B.C. You have the whole day to explore the city’s sites such as the History Museum, the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport.