Combined tour Georgia-Armenia

After breakfast have full day tour of Tbilisi city. Visit Holy Trinity Cathedral (Sameba) – a sacred place for every Georgian and a seat of the Catholicos-Patriarch of all Georgia. Take a walk to Sharden street and Sioni cathedral, formerly main cathedral of Georgia. Continue to Erekle II street, next cross the glass bridge commonly referred to as the Bridge of Peace and arrive in Rikhe park. By a cable car continue to Narikala fortress of 4th c. (formerly known as an Invidious fortress) The presents name was given to it by Mongols meaning little fortress. Walk down and visit Tbilisi mosque from 18th c., Legvtakhevi waterfall and Sulfur bathhouses. There are lots of cafes and bars, souvenir shops and art galleries located near the bathhouse district on Maidan square. Finish the tour there and drive back to your hotel.

Overnight in Tbilisi hotel

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After breakfast at the hotel depart to North Georgia. First stop is Mtskheta - ancient capital of Eastern Georgia. Here you'll visit UNESCO sites: Jvari monastery 6th c and Svetitskhoveli cathedral 11th c. Next drive to Ananuri fortress dating from 16-17th cc. The fortress was once a seat of Aragvi Erestavis (Dukes of Aragvi). Continue route and arrive to Gudauri ski-resort.

Dinner and overnight in Gudauri.

B _ D Hotel in ski-resort

Breakfast at the hotel. Today you'll explore high Caucasus mountains; You'll drive to Stepantsminda via Cross pass (2395 m. above sea level), where we can make several stops and taste mineral waters. En-route observe the snowy peaks of surrounding mountains and waterfalls. Arrive in Stepantsminda town - administrative center of Khevi province. Change transport to 4x4 vehicles and have short off-road adventure to the top of Gergeti mountain. Here a small church - Gergeti Trinity - stands. If we're lucky with weather we can spot the peak of Kazbegi glacier (5033 m. above sea level). Drive back to Stepantsminda and change transport again. Drive back to Tbilisi.

Overnight in Tbilisi hotel.

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After breakfast drive to fertile Kartli region and enjoy sightseeing in the town of Gori. The house and museum of Joseph Stalin is located here. The museum includes house where Stalin was born and spent his early childhood and his personal train coach.

Continue to Uplistskhe rock-hewn town, located near Gori. Here archaeological excavations have uncovered layers from Early Iron Age to Late Middle Ages. Artifacts found in Uplistsikhe are now part of Georgian National Museum exhibition.

Continue to Samtkhe region and stop in Borjomi spa resort. Here you can take a walk in Borjomi-Kharagauli national park. This is one of the largest protected areas in Europe and covers 5300 sq.m. You'll taste Borjomi mineral sparkling water renowned for its curative powers.

Next continue to Akhaltsikhe town.

Overnight in Akhaltsikhe hotel.

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After breakfast at the hotel take a guided excursion to Rabat fortress. Ensemble comprises several building including Sargis Jakeli castle of 14th c., Fortress Church (late Middle Ages), Palace 18th century and the Church of Saint Marine (1865) with built-in relief works.

Next head to Vardzia cave monastery and town established in 12 c. during the reign of King George III and his daughter Queen Tamar. As Javakheti was a barrier separating the rest of Georgia from Muslim world and was often attacked by enemies. Thus a massive complex was built for defensive as well as monastic purposes.
Along the River Mtkvari there are several historical and architectural monuments. We can stop for photo shooting at gorgeous mediaeval fortresses Khertvisi and Tmogvi.

Meeting at Georgian-Armenian border, change the transport and the guide. Move to Giumri, the second biggest city in Armenia. Have a short city tour in Giumri passing through the old and new streets of the historical city.

Overnight in Giumri.

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After breakfast, sightseeing in Gyumri. We will take a walk through its historical center (Alexandropol) that has many traditional 19th-century houses and visit a museum located in one of them. Departure from Gyumri. We’ll continue the tour to the center of Armenian-Apostolic Church in Echmiadzin. Visit Main Cathedral. Ejmiatzin means the coming of the only begotten, because it was built were people said Jesus Himself descended from heaven to show where he wanted a church to be built. Visit to Zvartnoc. Drive to Yerevan and visit to Manuscript museum, Matenadaran.

Overnight in Yerevan.

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After breakfast, have an excursion around Yerevan city. Explore the History museum. The History museum is situated at Republic Square, in the center of the city. Museum can give you a good general understanding of the history and culture of Armenian people. Visit the Geghard Monastery (Whose name came from the legendary lance that was used to pierce the body of Christ, which was kept here for centuries. Though the exact foundation of the monastery is unknown, the present complex was built in the mid – 13th century.) We will walk along the canyon, by the beautiful columnar basalt 9th century stone bridge over the Azat River to Garni the Pagan Temple, built in the 1st Century AD. In 1679, it was destroyed by earthquake. In the 1975, the Temple was restored.

Overnight in Yerevan.

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Breakfast at the hotel. Take trip to Khor Virap Monastery (4-18th cc.) This monastery is very prominent because of its history; Gregory the Illuminator, who introduced Christianity to Armenia, has been imprisoned there about 13 years as at that time there was a prison in the place of the monastery. Here we can enjoy the spectacular view of the sacred Ararat Mountain - an immortal symbol of Armenia. After this we will continue our tour to Armenian Wine Village Areni. This village is very famous with its red wine. Visit the wine factory of the village where we will have wine degustation. Visit to Noravank - a monastery of XII century situated among amazing sheer rocks on the bench of a twisty gorge. This is the only monastery where we may find a unique sculpture of Father God. Return to Yerevan.

Overnight in Yerevan.

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Breakfast at the hotel. Today we’ll have a trip to Lake Sevan, one of the world’s largest high-altitude lakes (2000 meters above the sea level). Sevan Lake has become a well-known vacation spot. Then we will drive to Dilijan. Passing by the city, visit the Sharamberyan Street, considered a symbol of The Old Dilijan is now still charming with its artistic workshops, small shops that have exposure in Armenian traditional objects and souvenirs, the museum, which has a house nineteenth century decorated with local furniture. Two traditional houses in the historic Sharamberyan Street, built of wood, with tiled roofs and balconies with meticulously carved being typical examples of Dilijan, have been restored. Visit to the medieval Sanahin Monastery (10-13cc.) (A UNESCO World Heritage site), which is comprised to several churches and chapel. Visit Haghpat Monastery (10-13cc). The construction of this monastery is associated with the glory of the Bagratuni Royal Family. The oldest structure of the monastery, the holy Cross Church was built in 977 -911. Drive to Armenia-Georgia border. Meet with Georgian guide and driver. Transfer to Tbilisi.

Overnight in Tbilisi hotel.

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Breakfast at the hotel. Check out time untill 12:00 pm. End of service. B _ _ - - -