Stay : At the Sources of Armenian Spirituality
Armenia, land of temples and monasteries. Take your walking shoes, and set off on this spiritual road, which will also allow you to appreciate the grandiose landscapes.
Summary of the stay
Best time to go
Detail of the stay : At the Sources of Armenian Spirituality - 13 days
Day 1: Arrival in Yerevan
Arrival in Yerevan and installation in the capital. First contact with the city and the inhabitants.
Day 2: Visit of the city
Steps: Etchmiadzine
Visit of Yerevan, its museums, its churches, including the brand new Gregory the Illuminator (Krikor Lusavoritch) cathedral and its Persian mosque. In the afternoon, visit the cathedral of Echmiadzin, seat of the Catholicos, and the churches of the city.
Day 3: First excursion
A short excursion to the temple of Garni, followed by a visit to the monastery of Geghard.
Day 4: Circuit around Mount Arakadz
Steps: Achtarak, Mughni, Ohanavan, Saghmosavan, Abaran, Vanadzor
Departure by bus or car for the locality of Achtarak (20 km from Yerevan), starting point of a large circuit around Mount Arakadz, punctuated by numerous monasteries and medieval churches (Saghmosavan, Ohanavan, Mughni, etc.). Crossing villages inhabited by Yezidis Kurds. After a stop on the banks of the artificial lake of Abaran, housing around the town of Vanadzor, surrounded by forests.
Day 5: On the road to monasteries
Steps: Vanadzor, Alaverdi, Sanahin, Haghpat, Akhtala
From Vanadzor, take the river Débed to Alaverdi to visit the magnificent monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin. A little further north, to Georgia, the monastery of Akhtala, with its churches adorned with frescoes and protected by well preserved walls, deserves the detour.
Day 6: Around Vanadzor
Half turn towards Vanadzor, from where we will take the west, via Spitak, to Gyumri, ex-Léninakan, which slowly recovers from the terrible earthquake of 1988. Old neighbourhoods typical of Russian colonial architecture, but marked by Armenian influences, visible in the decor of facades of old mansions and churches. Possible accommodation and excursion to Lake Arpa, more than 2 000 m above sea level, at the borders of Armenia and Georgia, in the steppe decor of the Plaine plain.
Day 7: Volcanic stones and archeological remains
Steps: Artik
Back to the south, via the town of Artik, famous for its quarry quarries, the volcanic stone in which most Armenian buildings are built, including the beautiful monastery of Haritchavank. Halte in Erérouk, with its ancient Paleochristian basilica and views on the majestic ruins of the ancient Armenian capital Ani, on Turkish territory.
Day 9: Departure for Southern Armenia
Steps: Khor Virap, Noravank, Djermouk
Visit of the rural south through the site of Khor Virap, nestled in vineyards and orchards at the foot of Mount Ararat, visit of the well where Grégoire the Illuminator was locked for thirteen years. We take the road towards the monastery of Noravank, with its singular churches adorned with sculptures, in a decor of high mountains and deep valleys. Accommodation in Djermouk, spa center of altitude, sparkling waterfalls.
Day 10: Immersion in Armenian rural culture
Visit of the Zanguzour region, which preserved its rural traditions, via Sisian, to Goris and a little further south, the Tatev Monastery, rebuilt after the earthquake that ruined it in the 1930 s, and accessed since 2010 by an exceptional cable car, the longest in Europe.
MONASTERE DE TATEV
Day 11: Yerevan
Return to Yerevan.
Day 12: Walking along the shores of Lake Sevan
Steps: Dzaghkadzor
Excursion to Lake Sevan and visit its ancient chapels, via the mountain Resort of Dzaghkadzor.
Day 13: End of stay
Departure from Yerevan.
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