GEORGIA & ARMENIA Adventure in the Caucasus with 14 Days/ 12 Nights May 3-16, 2019
Program outline: Day 1: Fri, May 3 Day 2: Sat, May 4 Day 3: Sun, May 5 Day 4: Mon, May 6 Day 5: Tue, May 7 Day 6: Wed, May 8 Day 7: Thu, May 9 Day 8: Fri, May 10 Day 9: Sat, May 11 Day 10: Sun, May 12 Day 11: Mon, May 13 Day 12: Tue, May 14 Day 13: Wed, May 15 Day 14: Thu, May 16 Leave USA Arrive in Tbilisi - Georgia / Tbilisi Tbilisi sightseeing / Tbilisi Visit Gori - Drive to Akhaltskhe / Akhaltskhe Excursion to Vardzia / Akhaltskhe Vineyard visit - Mtskheta / Tbilisi Cross into Armenia - Dilijan / Lake Sevan Drive to Goris via Selim Pass / Goris Tatev Monastery - Karahunj / Goris Khor Virap / Yerevan Excursion to Garni and Geghard / Yerevan Excursion to Echmiadzin Zvartnots / Yerevan Yerevan sightseeing / Yerevan Departure
Georgia & Armenia Georgia Highlights: Tbilisi Georgian wine tasting Stalin s birthplace Rabati Castle Vardzia cave monastery Mtskheta, ancient capital of Georgia Armenia Highlights: Tatev Monastery and cable car Armenian brandy tasting Kachkars at Noraduz Karahunj, Armenia s Stonehenge Temple of Garni Holy Echmiadzin Monasteries, monasteries Matenadaran museum of manuscripts Yerevan
INCLUDED SERVICES: 12 Nights hotel accommodation with daily breakfast, in hotels listed above. Daily breakfast, lunch and dinner with welcome and farewell dinners in each country. Two wine tastings and one brandy tasting as per program. English speaking professional tour guides. Transportation with AC vehicle & driver. Arrival and departure transfers - only for suggested flight arrival & departures. Two small bottles of water per person per day on the bus everyday. All entry fees to places mentioned in the itinerary. Porterage at hotels. Tips for meals and accommodations. NOT INCLUDED: International airfare. Visa fees if applicable. Drinks with included meals, except tea or coffee for breakfast. Gratuities for guides & drivers. Personal expenditures like phone calls, laundry, medical expenses. Travel insurance (can be provided on request.)
ACCOMMODATIONS Tbilisi Biltmore Hotel https://www.millenniumhotels.com/en/tbilisi/the-biltmore-hotel-tbilisi\ Akhaltsikhe Gino Rabath Hotel http://www.gino.ge/index.php Sevan BW Bohemian Resort http://bohemianresort.am/ Goris Hotel Mina http://www.minahotelgoris.com/ Yerevan Tufenkian Historic Yerevan Hotel https://tufenkianheritage.com/en/accommodation/historic-yerevan-hotel
Georgia & Armenia FLIGHTS Best connection and fare combination out of Houston is on Qatar Airways: May 3 Houston to Doha QR 714 dep: 6:25 pm / arr: 4:55 pm on May 4 May 4 Doha to Tbilisi QR 255 dep: 8:05 pm / arr: 12:20 am on May 5 May 16 QR 286 May 16 QR 713 Yerevan to Doha dep: 3:00 am / arr: 4:55 am Doha to Houston dep: 8:45 am / arr: 4:25 pm Total fare for these flights are: economy class $1755 business class $7704 as of August 24, 2018, including all taxes, surcharges and fees. These are subject to change based on availability.
Program Details Day 1: Fri, May 3, 2019 Leave USA Day 2: Sat, May 4 Tbilisi / Georgia We will arrive in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia, in the evening. Upon arrival, our guide and driver will transfer us to our hotel. Overnight in Tbilisi Meals: D Day 3: Sun, May 5 Tbilisi / Georgia Here myth and history, culture and traditions, diverse nature and hospitable people, all intermingle with one another. A blend of cultures, a smell of spices, different nations meeting on street corners, different faiths sharing the same courtyards...this is Tbilisi, the city that has been dominated by traders, warriors, tyrants and dictators in turn. Take a walk around the old town and breathe in the living past. Today Tbilisi is a modern city with well-known museums and theaters, art galleries, churches and archaeological excavations, sulphur bathhouses, narrow streets with inner courts, surrounded with balconies decorated with laces, which overhang over abysses. Our day in Tbilisi will start with an orientation tour of the city, visiting the important structures of the past: Metekhi Church of Assumption (13th c) built by the king Demetre II. Resting upon the top of the hill, the church is a good example of cross-domed Georgian orthodox churches.
Georgian Synagogue from late 19th c.; Sioni Cathedral (6th-19th cc.) which was the seat of the ruling Catholicos-Patriarchs and is commonly referred to as the Tbilisi Sioni, following an old Georgian custom of naming churches after places in the Holy Land. Anchiskhati Basilica (6th c.) the oldest surviving church in Tbilisi and Narikhala Fortress - the main citadel of the city where we can enjoy the wonderful views of the city. We will also see the sulphur baths for which the city is famous. You may try this experience in your leisure time. Sulphur Baths - high in sulphur and other minerals, with a constant temperature of 38C to 40C - have long been used as a therapeutic aid for a range of ailments. We will also visit the National Museum of Georgia where we can enjoy the permanent exhibition The Archaeological Treasury. After a wine tasting session in Vino Underground, a local cellar founded by eight Georgian wineries, we will have our lunch. Georgia is one of the oldest wine regions in the world. The fertile valleys of the South Caucasus house the source of the world's first cultivated grapevines and neolithic wine production, from over 8,000 years ago. Due to the many millennia of wine in Georgian history, and its key economical role, the traditions of its viticulture are entwined and inseparable with the country's national identity. Our program in the afternoon starts with Open Air Ethnographic Museum of Tbilisi, displaying the examples of folk architecture and craftwork from various regions of the country. We will finish our city tour visiting Tbilisi Holy Trinity Cathedral, the main Cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church constructed between 1995 and 2004. Holy Trinity Cathedral is the third-tallest Eastern Orthodox cathedral in the world. We will have a special welcome dinner at local restaurant with local music. Overnight in Tbilisi Day 4: Mon, May 6 Tbilisi Gori Akhaltsikhe / Georgia We will leave Tbilisi this morning and drive to Gori, which serves as the capital of Shida Kartli region. Gori was an important military stronghold in the Middle Ages and maintains a strategic importance due to its location on the principal highway connecting eastern and western parts of Georgia. In the course of its history, Gori has been invaded by the armies of
Georgia & Armenia regional powers several times. The city was occupied by Russian troops during the 2008 Russia Georgia war. Gori is also known as the birthplace of the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. In Gori, we will visit Stalin Museum, where we can see the house where Stalin was born and his personal railway carriage. The green Pullman carriage, which is armor plated and weighs 83 tons, was used by Stalin from 1941 onwards, including his attendances at the Yalta Conference and the Tehran Conference. After lunch in Gori, we will drive to Akhaltsikhe, a small city in Georgia's southwestern region. It is situated on the both banks of a small river,potskhovi, which separates the city to the old city in the north and new in the south. The city has been around for at least 800 years, and was a regional administrative center for the Ottomans from the sixteenth century up to the Russo-Turkish War. Upon arrival we will visit Rabati castle, from 13th century, developed under the influence of different cultures. The castle includes a Church, a Mosque, a Minaret and a Synagogue. Overnight in Akhaltsikhe
Day 5: Tue, May 7 Vardzia Akhaltsikhe / Georgia Today we will explore Samtskhe - Javakheti region. The region is named after two of the original Georgian tribes - the Meskh and Javakhs. It is considered as the cradle of Georgian culture. The road leads past arid and stone-terraced landscapes, green valleys littered with centuries old fortresses. The climate and cool water springs are a source of health and landscapes are impressive. We will use local vehicles to go up to Vardzia and explore the cave complex Vardzia is a cave monastery site in southern Georgia, excavated from the slopes of the Erusheti Mountain on the left bank of the Kura River, thirty kilometres from Aspindza. The main period of construction was the second half of the twelfth century. The caves stretch along the cliff for some five hundred metres and in up to nineteen tiers. The Church of the Dormition, dating to the 1180s during the golden age of Tamar and Rustaveli, has an important series of wall paintings. The site was largely abandoned after the Ottoman takeover in the sixteenth century. Our lunch is scheduled in a local house in Vardzia. In the afternoon, we will visit Sapara monastery, from 9th century, tucked between beautifully wooded ridges of the mountain near Akhaltsikhe. Overnight in Akhaltsikhe Day 6: Wed, May 8 Akhaltsikhe Mtskheta Tbilisi / Georgia In the morning we will leave Akhaltsikhe to drive back to Tbilisi. On the way, our first stop will be at Chateau Mukhrani winery, for wine tasting and lunch. Château Mukhrani was founded 1878 by the Prince of Mukhrani, heir of the royal family of Georgia. Abandoned during the former Soviet Union, the castle and domain was completely renewed in 2003. After lunch we will drive to Mtskheta - the ancient capital of Georgia, located at the confluence of the Aragvi and Mtkvari rivers. Here we will visit UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Jvari, the 6th century cross-shaped monastery built on the top of a cliff, overlooking the confluence of the Aragvi and Mtkvari rivers. At this place St. Nino, a female evangelist, erected a large wooden cross on the site of a pagan temple;
Svetitskhoveli, the fortified cathedral dating from the 11th century. Svetitskhoveli is a sacred place where the Robe of Christ is buried. We will end our day with a nice farewell dinner with folk show at a traditional Georgian restaurant in Tbilisi. Overnight in Tbilisi Day 7: Thu, May 9 Tbilisi / Georgia - Lake Sevan / Armenia In the morning we will leave Tbilisi and drive to Armenian border. After crossing the border our Armenian guide and bus will meet us and we will continue to Dilijan. Dilijan is a spa town in the Tavush Province of Armenia. Usually called Armenian Switzerland or Little Switzerland by the locals, it is one of the most important resorts of Armenia, situated within the Dilijan National Park. The forested and reclusive town is home to numerous Armenian artists, composers, and filmmakers and features some traditional Armenian architecture. The Sharambeyan street in the center, has been preserved and maintained as an "old town. We will stroll through the old town and have lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon we will drive through the picturesque pass to come to the shores of Lake Sevan, one of the highest freshwater lakes in the world, The Pearl of Armenia. Relaxing time at the lake, enjoy the scenery, explore romantic Sevanavank Monastery, visit the Stone Garden at Noraduz with unique collection of exquisite khachkars, Armenian crossstones We stay at a chalet-style hotel right on the beach. Overnight in Lake Sevan Area
Day 8: Fri, May 10 Lake Sevan - Goris / Armenia After breakfast we will proceed to a heart-pumping southward trip through the rugged Selim Pass. Climbing steep paths and enjoying the views of Lake Sevan below, we reach the amazingly intact Selim Caravanserai, an important trading post on the Great Silk Road where little has changed since the fourteenth century. Our next stop will be at Shatin observation point to see Bezoar Goats on the opposite side of the gorge. The afternoon offers a real off-the-beaten-path experience as we walk to discover Fortress of King Smbat, one of the best-preserved medieval citadels in Armenia, Zorats Cathedral and the Church of St. Catherine with romantic stories attached to its history. Late in the afternoon we will arrive in Goris, a quaint town surrounded by mountains, our base for two nights in Southern Armenia. Overnight in Goris Day 9: Sat, May 11 Goris / Armenia A day dedicated to exploration of Southern Armenia combining the magic of Armenia's finest mediaeval architecture with stunning landscapes. The first visit is to Karahunj, Armenia s Stonehenge, an ancient observatory that has caused sensation in astronomical circles. Our next visit is Tatev Monastery, an architectural masterpiece dating from the 10th century. We will drive through a narrow ravine so deep that the sun hardly reaches the bottom, later ascend to a high-mountain plateau with striking views of jagged mountains and gorges. On the way, soar above the gorges in the world s longest aerial tramway, a must-see attraction opened in 2010. The whole journey to Tatev takes 4 hours and is a totally absorbing and unique experience. Then to Khndzoresk cave town. Walk down the gorge to explore the mysterious caverns cut in the face of the rocks by people seeking refuge from persecution in the natural protection of high cliffs. Early in the evening we will be back in Goris. Overnight in Goris
Day 10: Sun, May 12 Goris - Khor Virap - Yerevan / Armenia After a hearty breakfast of many fresh and home-made products, we leave Goris. Driving to Yerevan we have the last chance to experience the untamed beauty of Southern Armenia - surreal red rocks, honey-colored villages sandwiched between them. We are in the agricultural heart of Armenia. And we will not miss the chance to sample some of the fantastic produce: private wine touring in maran (cellars) of a small winery in Aghavnadzor, visit to a cheese farm to see the process of cheese making and taste cheeses at various stages of maturation (depending on availability.) Then we will visit Noravank, the masterpiece of medieval architect Momik, situated above an awesome gorge. The next stop of our trip is Khor Virap, the site of royal prison where St. Gregory the Illuminator was held for thirteen years before converting Armenia into the first Christian nation in 301. Guided by the remote majesty of biblical mount Ararat, we explore the site, its underground chambers, elegant chapels and are captivated by the ascetic atmosphere of the site. Then to Yerevan. Overnight in Yerevan Day 11: Mon, May 13 Garni Excursion - Yerevan / Armenia In the morning we will drive east to the magnificent Temple of the Sun at Garni and the legendary Monastery of Spear at Geghard. Explore the mosaic ancient baths and ruins of the royal palace, immerse yourself in the atmosphere of this mythical place and examine remarkable cross stones carved into sheer rock.
Inside Garni Temple we will listen to an a capella concert; a concert of spiritual and folk songs. Then we will drive back to Yerevan for lunch. In the afternoon our next stop is Genocide Memorial situated on the hills overlooking the city, a solemn reminder of the first genocide of the 20th century. On a lighter note we will make an excursion to Ararat Brandy factory for brandy tasting with light snacks. Overnight in Yerevan Day 12: Tue, May 14 Echmiadzin Zvartnots - Yerevan / Armenia Today we continue our exploration of the treasures of Armenia with a visit to the Vatican city of Armenia, Holy Echmiadzin. Experience a fascinating journey through time, descend to the ruins of the pagan sanctuary beneath the altar and pay tribute to the Treasury of Mother Cathedral with striking collection of relics of Christianity. On to Zvartnots, a temple consecrated in the presence of Emperor Constantine of Byzantium, it stands out as one of the most prominent creations of medieval architecture. Then we will return to Yerevan for lunch and more sightseeing: A cultural showcase not to be missed is Matenadaran, one of the world's oldest repositories of Greek, Persian and Arabic manuscripts. Overnight in Yerevan
Day 13: Wed, May 15 Yerevan / Armenia The day starts with a visit to History Museum housed by Yerevan City Hall. Providing an excellent introduction to the history of the city, the museum is an ideal place to explore Yerevan, new and old. We will continue our day with a walking tour of Yerevan exploring various layers of its history medieval shrines hidden behind imposing Soviet-style façades, narrow streets of the old center with sunlight playing on its pink walls, Covered Market and Blue Mosque on Mashtots Avenue, Republic Square, Opera House, Cascade and Mother Armenia, North Avenue and spacious Grigor Lusavorich Cathedral. Rest of the day at leisure in Yerevan. We will end our day with a farewell dinner at a restaurant. Overnight in Yerevan Day 14: Thu, May 16 Departure We will be transferred to the airport for our return flight.