Armenia Map and planner Guide Routes ENRU

Grand tour

Five days from Yerevan down to Tatev and back north through Sevan.

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Matenadaran
Photograph: Diego Delso / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Day 1

Starts from Yerevan · 7h at the sights, 50m travelling · 46 km

Areas: Yerevan, Kotayk

  1. Matenadaran — Repository of ancient Armenian manuscripts (1h 30m)
  2. Yerevan Cascade — Giant limestone stairway with modern sculpture and city views (1h)
  3. Republic Square — Yerevan's central square with musical fountains (30m)
  4. Vernissage Market — Open-air weekend market of crafts, carpets and art (1h)
  5. Garni Temple — First-century Hellenistic temple above the Azat gorge (1h)
  6. Symphony of Stones — Basalt columns lining the Garni gorge like organ pipes (45m)
  7. Geghard Monastery — Partly carved into the rock face, a UNESCO World Heritage site (1h 15m)

Day 2

Starts from Yerevan · 3h 45m at the sights, 4h 12m travelling · 232 km

Areas: Ararat, Vayots Dzor, Syunik

  1. Khor Virap — Monastery on the plain with the classic view of Mount Ararat (1h)
  2. Areni-1 Cave — Cave where the world's oldest leather shoe and winery were found (45m)
  3. Noravank — 13th-century monastery in a red cliff canyon (1h 15m)
  4. Karahunj (Zorats Karer) — Prehistoric standing stones, sometimes called Armenian Stonehenge (45m)

Day 3

Starts from Yeghegnadzor · 4h 30m at the sights, 4h 15m travelling · 234 km

Areas: Syunik, Vayots Dzor

  1. Wings of Tatev — Record-breaking 5.7 km reversible cable car to Tatev (1h)
  2. Tatev Monastery — 9th-century monastery on a cliff above the Vorotan gorge (2h)
  3. Jermuk — Spa town known for its mineral water, gorge and waterfall (1h 30m)

Day 4

Starts from Goris · 3h at the sights, 5h 02m travelling · 277 km

Areas: Vayots Dzor, Gegharkunik, Tavush

  1. Selim Caravanserai — 1332 Silk Road inn on the Selim pass (30m)
  2. Noratus Cemetery — Field of nearly a thousand medieval khachkars (45m)
  3. Sevanavank — Peninsula monastery above the largest lake in the Caucasus (1h)
  4. Goshavank — 12th-century monastery with an exquisite khachkar (45m)

Day 5

Starts from Jermuk · 4h 15m at the sights, 4h 33m travelling · 250 km

Areas: Tavush, Lori

  1. Haghartsin Monastery — Monastery complex set deep in beech forest (1h)
  2. Odzun Church — 6th-century basilica on a plateau above the canyon (30m)
  3. Sanahin Monastery — UNESCO-listed monastery and medieval academy (1h)
  4. Haghpat Monastery — UNESCO-listed 10th-century monastery above the Debed (1h)
  5. Akhtala Monastery — Fortified monastery with remarkable frescoes (45m)