Detailed program
DAY |
TIME |
PROGRAMPRICE: € 1995 |
|
|
|
|
| Sunday | ± 14.30 | Departure with Armavia from Amsterdam. Flights from other European cities are possible, but might not be direct flights. |
| ± 22.30 | Arrival in Yerevan (local time is 3 hrs later than Amsterdam). | |
| Check in at the Guesthouse in Yerevan. | ||
|
|
||
| Monday | 9.00 | Breakfast (daily from 8.00 till 10.00) After breakfast we will make a city walk. No lunch provided In the afternoon we will visit to Garni temple and Geghard monastery, famous sightseeing spots. Impressive nature surrounds these ancient constructions. Garni temple was built in the 1st century AD by an Armenian king and dedicated to the God of the Sun. The monastery is on the UNESCO world heritage list. Part of it is carved right into the solid rock and is an incomparable work of art. Our guide will be present on this and other outings to provide information. Dinner in Mer Kjour restaurant famous for its Armenian dishes and live music. |
  |
||
|
|
||
| Tuesday | 9.30 | Check out. Excursion to Lake Sewan and Aghtamar Peninsula. On the peninsula you have a splendid view over the lake. This is one of the largest freshwater alpine lakes in the world. Following the lakeshore in a southward direction, we will visit Noraduz, an ancient cemetery famous for its impressive number of old khatchkars (carved stone crosses) from the 9th and 10th centuries. We drive back along the shore and check in at Hotel Harsnaqar, on Lake Sewan, where we will stay in apartments. No lunch provided (available at the hotel). Free afternoon. Dinner at the hotel |
|
|
||
| Wednesday | 8.30 | Breakfast and check out at 9.30 hrs. We continue our tour to Dilidjan and will see the landscape change into a lush forested region. Part of the center of Dilidjan has recently been restored, and we will visit craftspeople's ateliers and a small museum. Visit to Goshavank church, an important cultural center in the 12th and 13th century.The exterior decoration of the church is very rich, and the carving is so perfect that the overall impression is that of openwork lace. We will continue our way and will stay overnight in an apartment complex on the mountain slopes north of Idjevan. This remote spot allows us to enjoy Armenian nature and is a perfect place to relax. Lunch (included) Optional: a one-hour hike to a cave Dinner |
|
|
||
| Thursday | 9.30 | Breakfast Depending on everybody's mood and physical abilities, we have the option to hike to a cave with pre-Christian carvings and a waterfall (approx. 4 hrs) or a hike to the nearby village (approx. 1.5 hr). Everybody is free to choose an activity or stay behind and enjoy a good book. Horseback riding/sauna is available upon request for an additional charge. Lunch (included) will be served when we return from our walk or as a packed lunch. Dinner |
   |
||
|
|
||
| Friday | 8.00 | Breakfast and at 9.00 hrs check out to return to Yerevan. We will make a stop at the Tufenkian Hotel in Dzoraget to have a coffee/tea. At this famous hotel with an excellent reputation for good food, the chef will guide us in preparing our own lunch of Armenian specialities. Lunch included. Bon appétit! We will drive back to Yerevan via Spitak. On our way home we will make a stop at an old cemetery featuring tombstones shaped like horses. This cemetery belongs to a Yezidi village, one of the few ethnic minorities living in Armenia. |
| ± 18.00 | Check in at the Guesthouse in Yerevan, no dinner provided Free evening. |
|
|
|
||
| Saturday | Partly free day. This day offers you an opportunity to visit the Vernisage, a weekend market in Yerevan. Craftsmen sell their products and it is a good place to buy souvenirs. If you don't want to go shopping, the Matenadaran (Old Manuscripts Museum) can be an interesting place to visit. It is located at a 5 minute walking distance from our Guesthouse. Likewise worth a visit are the Historical Museum and the excavation of Erebuni with the ruins of the city of Yerevan and its adjacent museum. In the Bazaar you can find vegetables, fruit and cheese. Armenia is famous for its dried fruits filled with nuts and tasting is never a problem! Simply enjoying a drink on one of the many terraces in the green ring of parkland which crosses Yerevan is fine too. |
|
| 14.30 |
We will depart to the northwest part of Armenia and visit Sasnashen village. A good opportunity to observe the change in landscape. Many immigrants from the former West Armenian region of Sasoun (nowadays in Anatolia) settled around the city of Talin. Back in Yerevan, no dinner will offered. Free night. |
|
|
|
||
| Sunday | 10.00 | We will visit the ruins of Zvartnots, where the remnants of richly ornamented arches laying on the ground bear witness to its reputation as a masterpiece of medieval architecture. Many Armenians visit Edsmiadzin on Sunday, and we will be able to observe part of Sunday mass at the handsome cathedral while listening to soaring, moving songs from the church choir. Inside the beautifully decorated cathedral we can admire the work of the famous painter Hovnathan, dating from 1720. After returning to Yerevan you will have a free afternoon for some more sightseeing in the capital. |
| 19.30 | Dinner | |
   |
||
|
|
||
| Monday | 9.00 | Check out and departure to Jermuk, in eastern Armenia, passing the valley of impressive mount Ararat and wine village of Areni. On our way we will visit Noravank monastery. It is located at the end of a winding road through a canyon, surrounded by an impressive landscape. We will have lunch at the bottom of the canyon (not included). After lunch we will continue toYegheknadzor and make a stop for a walk to a bridge dating back to the Silk Road era. By the end of the afternoon we will check in at our hotel in Jermuk. This is a resort where people seek treatment and cure by having spa treatments with mineral water. Upon arrival in Jermuk we will visit a waterfall surrounded by stoneformations. Dinner at the hotel. |
|
|
||
| Tuesday | 9.30 | Breakfast buffet and check out. This morning we will do some local sightseeing in Jermuk: a walkway is leading us past mineral water fountains and huge sculptures. Around 11.00 we will leave Jermuk and drive with local minibuses to the monastery of Gndvank. A winding and partly unpaved road following the river leads us through a canyon with fascinating rock formations. The fact that this complex is relatively hard to reach is compensated by its beauty and its stunning nature. Our bus will be waiting for us near the main road. We will have lunch (included) and continue further east to Sisian, where we will arrive late afternoon. |
|
|
||
| Wednesday | 8.00 | After breakfast we will leave at 9.00 hrs for a visit to Tatev monastery. This is one of the largest church complexes in Armenia and until recently only accessible by an unpaved winding road. We will make use of the cable car that was opened in October 2010. The length of the ride covers over 5 kilometres and offers a fantastic view. On our way back we will have lunch (not included) and will visit Karahountj, a circular arrangement of 204 stones with holes in them which is similar to England's Stonehenge, but older. It is believed to have been an observatory dating back to roughly 1000 BC. Dinner at the hotel. |
|
|
  |
|
|
|
||
| Thursday | 9.00 | Breakfast and at 10.00 hrs departure to Goris. We will pass through a mountanous landscape and will arrive in Goris after about 1.5 hour. A bit past Goris we pay a visit to the caves of Khundzoresk. A walk in this bizarre landscape of rocky and pointed mountains with caves gives a genuine impression of its immensity. At the end of the 19th century over 4000 people were living in these caves. After a short drive we will arrive at our hotel in Goris and you are free for the rest of the day. No lunch provided. Dinner at the hotel. |
|
|
||
| Friday | 8.00 | Breakfast and around 9.00 hrs departure to Yerevan. We will stop for a coffee/tea and will arrive around 13.30 hrs in the capital. Free afternoon. |
| No dinner provided. | ||
|
|
||
| Saturday | Free day | |
| 19.00 | Farewell dinner | |
|
|
||
| Sunday | ± 8.10 | Departure to Amsterdam |
| ± 9.40 | Arrival in Amsterdam | |
|
OUR DUTCH/ENGLISH SPEAKING GUIDE WILL BE PRESENT DURING ALL EXCURSIONS TO EXPLAIN THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF OUR SIGHTSEEING DESTINATIONS. TRAVEL MANAGEMENT ALSO SPEAKS GERMAN AND FRENCH
|
||
| If available, we will attend a concert or dance performance. | ||
| Performances are announced about two weeks in advance on billboards near Opera Square. . |
||
 |
||
|
|
||