Small Group Tour through 3 countries

Arrival in Baku

Arrival in Baku. Overnight at the hotel.

(Optional: Transfer to the hotel) (-/-/-)

Baku – Gobustan – Baku (120 km)

Breakfast at the hotel. Visit the panoramic park of Baku, once called the Mountain Park during the Soviet era, now known as the Alley of Martyrs. From here, looking over the splendid Baku Bay, we realize that Baku and Naples are true twin cities. Continue to the famous Old Town of Baku. On the way, the guide shares stories of buildings dating back to the early 20th century, constructed by Azerbaijan's oil magnates. Arrive in the Old Town and visit historical monuments, including the caravanserai, the remains of the Church of St. Bartholomew, the old Hammam, the famous Maiden Tower, ancient mosques, and more. Afterward, visit the Shirvanshahs' Palace. After exploring the Old Town, depart for Gobustan, a prehistoric area 60 km from Baku. A UNESCO World Heritage site, it features over 7,000 rock paintings.

The visit begins at the modern museum, where interactive screens, photos, videos, and samples of engraved stones provide context. Here we learn about scenes of daily life—such as hunting, feeding, and burial of ancient people. Next, explore the rocks with several petroglyphs. After touring the open-air museum, depart for the mud volcanoes, one of Azerbaijan's natural wonders. This area is home to volcanoes of varying heights, creating a lunar landscape.

Return to Baku. Overnight at the hotel. (B/L/-)

Baku – Absheron – Baku (60 km)

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for the Absheron Peninsula. Arrive at Atashgah, the Temple of Fire, in the village of Surakhani, a sacred site still revered by fire worshippers. Next, visit Yanardagh (Burning Mountain), one of Azerbaijan's incredible natural wonders. Return to Baku with a stop at the magnificent cultural center designed by Zaha Hadid (entrance not included), where you can admire its imposing and futuristic architecture. Not far from there, visit the "Yashil Bazar" (Green Market). After lunch, take a walk along Nizami Street.

Overnight at the hotel. (B/L/-)

Baku – Shamakhi – Sheki (300 km)

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for Sheki. Stop on the way to visit the mausoleum of Diri Baba, a Sufi who was buried here in 1402. The mausoleum has miraculously remained intact. The sanctuary, built in a natural cave on a ridge, has become a pilgrimage site over the centuries. Continue to Shamakhi, which was once the capital of the Shirvanshah state, to visit the oldest mosque in Azerbaijan. Arrive in Sheki, one of the most important cities on the Silk Road. Visit the village of Kish, home to an important Christian church, built between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, when Christianity spread in the region and became the dominant religion in what was known as Caucasian Albania.

Overnight at the hotel. (B/L/-)

Sheki – Lagodekhi (border) – Tbilisi (270 km)

The morning is dedicated to a visit to the Sheki Khan’s Palace (1762), a rare example that combines national architectural traditions with palace architecture. Its unique design and interior decoration make it particularly interesting to visitors. It is known that no nails were used in the construction of the palace. The mosaic work is done in the traditional Shabaka style, using colored glass. We will also visit the caravanserai. Afterward, we drive to the Azerbaijan-Georgian border at Lagodekhi, arriving around 4 pm. We will meet with the Georgian guide and then head to Tbilisi.

Accommodation and overnight at the hotel in Tbilisi. (B/L/-)

Note: The distance between the exit checkpoint of Azerbaijan and the entry checkpoint of Georgia is about 600 meters. We will need to cross on foot with our luggage.

Tbilisi – Mtkheta – Tbilisi (50 km)

Today, we visit Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, which was founded in the 5th century. We begin our day with a visit to the medieval Church of Metekhi (13th century), followed by a cable car ride to the Narikala Fortress, which majestically overlooks the old quarter of the city. We continue exploring the old city: the district of sulfur baths (17th century). The capital's name is inspired by these hot sulfur springs, as 'Tbili' means 'hot' in Georgian. Next, we visit the Sioni Cathedral (16th century) and Anchiskhati (6th century), the oldest church in the city. We will then take a walk along Rustaveli Avenue, the main avenue of Tbilisi. Later, we head to the ancient capital of Georgia, Mtskheta, located at the intersection of the Military Road and the Silk Road. Here, we visit two UNESCO World Heritage sites: the Jvari Monastery (6th century), offering a splendid view of the confluence of the Mtkvari and Aragvi rivers, and the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (11th century), one of the most sacred places in Georgia, as it is believed to house the tunic that once belonged to Christ. Return to the capital.

Overnight at the hotel in Tbilisi. (B/L/-)

Tbilisi – Stepantsminda – Ananuri – Tbilisi (310 km)

This morning, we follow the Georgian Military Road to the north, passing through Gudauri (2,200 meters), a winter sports resort on the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus mountain range. We cross the Cross Pass (2,395 meters above sea level) and arrive at the village of Stepantsminda, located at the foot of the impressive Mount Kazbek (5,047 meters above sea level), which marks the border with Russia. We reach the 14th-century Trinity Monastery of Gergeti by 4x4. Perched at an altitude of 2,170 meters on a promontory, it offers the most spectacular views of the Greater Caucasus. Lunch in Stepantsminda. On the way back to Tbilisi, we visit the fortified complex of Ananuri (17th century), one of the country’s major sites, located next to the blue Jinvali Lake.

Return to Tbilisi and overnight at the hotel. (B/L/-)

Tbilisi - David Garedja - Kakabeti - Tbilisi (235 km)

A day dedicated to discovering the Kakheti wine region, located in the east of the country and renowned for its hospitality. We head southeast to the desert steppe of David Gareja, recognized by National Geographic as one of the 17 most beautiful places in the world. Visit the monastic complex founded in the 6th century by the Assyrian monk David, who settled in a cave in the desert. The place is characterized by a unique combination of architecture. Dozens of rock monasteries are decorated with beautifully colored frescoes and are considered masterpieces of medieval Georgian art. Then, we stop at a traditional Georgian wine cellar in the village of Kakabeti for an organic wine tasting. The tasting will be followed by a typical lunch.

Return to Tbilisi and overnight at the hotel. (B/L/-)

Tbilisi – Sadakhlo - Haghpat – Dilijan – Sevanavank – Yerevan (320 km)

Breakfast at the hotel. Check-out. Departure from Tbilisi to Yerevan, crossing the Sadakhlo border. Arrival at the border around 10:00 a.m. Meet your Armenian guide and driver and head towards Armenia. Continue to the village of Haghpat. Visit the Haghpat Monastery, one of the most beautiful churches, which was founded in 976. Haghpat was also a major literary center in the Middle Ages. Departure to Dilijan, one of the most famous tourist centers in Armenia. People say, "If paradise had mountains, forests, and mineral springs, it would be just like Dilijan." Dilijan's natural beauty is so great that it is also called "Armenian Little Switzerland." In this city, you can stroll through the streets with its 19th-century ceramic buildings. Lunch on the way. Then, get ready to go to Lake Sevan, the emerald of Armenia and the second largest alpine lake in the world. Admire the picturesque views of one of the world's highest bodies of water. Then visit the Sevanavank monastery complex. Sevanavank Monastery was founded in 874 by Princess Mariam. After the artificial drying of Lake Sevan, which began during the time of Joseph Stalin, the water level dropped by about 20 meters, and the island turned into a peninsula. Arrival in Yerevan.

Overnight at the hotel. Yerevan. (B/L/-)

Yerevan City Tour – Etchmiadzin – Zvartnots - Genocide Museum (120 km)

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for Echmiadzin, which is only 20 km from Yerevan. Echmiadzin is the religious center of the Armenians, the "Little Vatican of Armenia," where the seat of the Patriarch of the Armenian Church is located. Visit the first cathedral in the Christian world, Echmiadzin Cathedral (4th-19th centuries), built in 303 by Saint Gregory the Illuminator, evangelizer of the Armenians, and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visit the Treasures of Echmiadzin Museum. Return to Yerevan. En route, visit another UNESCO World Heritage Site: the remains of Zvartnots Cathedral, a pearl of 7th-century architecture. Its construction began in 642 under the direction of Catholicos Nerses III, who built the majestic cathedral dedicated to Saint Gregory on the site where a meeting between King Tiridates III and Gregory the Illuminator is said to have taken place. Lunch at a local's home.

Arrival in Yerevan. During your tour, you will have the opportunity to admire the beauty of downtown Yerevan and pay homage to the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Park and the Museum of Genocide Victims. City tour of Yerevan on foot. During your tour, you will discover Yerevan. The history of Yerevan dates back to the 8th century BC. You will start the tour of the Republic Square, the great work of architect Alexander Tamanian. Continue the road towards the Cascade, an open-air museum of modern art. Afterwards, you will leave for the Opera House, a remarkable example of urban architecture and the lively center of the city.

Overnight at the hotel in Yerevan. (B/L/-)

Yerevan – Khor Virap – Areni – Noravank – Yerevan (250 km)

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to the Ararat region, the breeding ground of Armenia and the homeland of the apricot. Visit the Khor-Virap Monastery (17th century), a former prison where the evangelist of the Armenian people and the main saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Gregory the Illuminator, was incarcerated at the end of the 3rd century. This monastery is located at the foot of the biblical Mount Ararat, and it was in this Ararat valley that Noah planted his vines and drank the wine. Continue the road towards the village of Areni, a small wine-growing village, and visit a cave where one of the oldest wine cellars was discovered in 2010. There, the oldest shoe in the world, more than 5,500 years old, was found. Lunch at a local's home. Visit one of the most beautiful monastic complexes in Armenia, the Noravank Monastery (13th-14th centuries), located in the picturesque Amagu Canyon, whose red rhyolite rocks make this site a unique place of meditation. The buildings of the monastic complex fascinate with the beauty of the bas-reliefs and figurative representations, rare in Armenian architecture of the Middle Ages.

Return to Yerevan. Overnight at the hotel in Yerevan. (B/L/-)

Yerevan – Garni – Geghard – Matenadaran (100 km)

After breakfast, departure for Garni. Visit the Temple of Garni, the only Greco-Roman-style temple in the entire Caucasus region. Built in the 1st century AD by the Armenian king Tiridates, it is dedicated to the pagan god Mithra, the sun god whose figure was located at the back of the sanctuary. From the 1st to the 4th centuries, the Garni fortress was the summer residence of the Arsacid kings. Lunch at a local home in Garni. During lunch, you will have the opportunity to participate in the preparation of Armenian bread called 'lavash'. Visit the Geghard Monastery (12th-13th centuries), a unique site whose rooms are carved into the basalt rock. The Geghard Monastery is one of the masterpieces of 13th-century Armenian architecture. The complex is striking for its interior decoration and its extraordinary khachkars (stone crosses). The Geghard Monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Return to Yerevan. Visit Matenadaran, a library/repository containing historical documents from across Europe and Asia over many centuries. The earliest copy of the Bible in Armenian and the Gospels, which fascinates with their beautiful miniatures, is also housed here.

Overnight at a hotel in Yerevan. (B/L/-)

Departure from Yerevan

(Optional: Transfer to the Airport). Departure from Yerevan to home. (B/-/-)