Hellenistic temple Garni, cave monastery Geghard and Oz. sevan

The road to these objects runs along a small picturesque pass. We will pass by the large country village of Dzorakhpur and make a small stop at the arch, built in honor of the outstanding Armenian poet Yegishe Charents. From here we will see a typical landscape for Armenia and biblical Ararat in all its glory.

Continuing our journey we will reach the village of Garni, where we will visit the fortress, which served as the residence of Armenian kings for 1500 years. On the territory of this fortress, a Hellenistic temple dedicated to the sun god Mithra has been preserved. This is the only surviving pagan temple in the CIS.

On the territory of the fortress there are a number of other buildings - the ruins of the Church of St. Zion, the throne room, living quarters and a Greco-Roman bath. In the bath, a mosaic floor has been preserved, where a mosaic of fifteen shades is lined with fish, nereids and figures of a man and a woman, symbolizing the ocean and the sea.

We will also see the fantastically beautiful gorge of the Azat River. If you look from above in the gorge, you can see ideally shaped polyhedra, up to 200 meters high, similar to organ pipes. This is a natural monument, which is called the “symphony of stones” or “stone organ”. An even more impressive spectacle opens up when it comes down.

Not far from Garni, in the gorge is the monastery of Geghard (the monastery of the spear), which received its name, because here in the Middle Ages the legendary Spear of Destiny or the Spear of Longinus was kept, with which the Roman legionary Guy-Cassius pierced the side of the crucified Christ. The complex consists of one ground structure - the main temple of the complex and a number of temples carved into the thickness of the rocks.

Further northeast to Lake Sevan. The Blue Pearl of Armenia Lake Sevan is located 70 km from Yerevan. Sevan is one of the highest freshwater lakes in the world. Its height is 1900 m above sea level.

Maxim Gorky, who came to Armenia in the 30s of the last century, spoke very poetically about the lake: “It’s like a piece of sky that fell to the ground among the mountains.”

Changing the color of the lake - from turquoise to lead-gray. Turquoise - with a bright sunny day and lead-gray when the rain drizzles. Once there was an island in the middle of the lake, but the use of the lake water for irrigation of farmland and hydroelectric power plants led to the descent of water and the island turned into a peninsula.

In Sevan there is a trout - Ishkhan, which in Armenian means "prince-fish". There is also a Shig, once imported from Ladoga and perfectly settled here. On the peninsula you can visit the monastery of Sevanavank, built in 874 by the devout princess Mariam, the daughter of the Armenian king Ashot Bagratuni. You can and even need to taste local fish dishes - shashlik from shig and kebab from crayfish.

• Guide services and transportation.
• If the number of tourists is more than 2 tour cost 200

In addition, tickets to Garni and the gorge are paid - $ 7 per person.