Garni,Geghard, Khor Virap Private Tour with Mt. Ararat Views
Description
"""Khor Virap Monastery offers the most breathtaking views of the Biblical Mt. Ararat. The monastery holds significant religious and historical importance - sight where Saint Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned and Christianity took its start in Armenia. Next, the Pagan Temple of Garni - only standing Hellenistic pagan temple in the Caucasus Region, dating back to the first century AD - built as a temple to the sun god Mihr (Mithra). There is a well-preserved Roman bathhouse in the territory as well. The Symphony of Stones is a stunning natural wonder, on of the most unique natural phenomenon in the world - created over millennia by volcanic activity and erosion. Geghard Monastery or Ayrivank is an important architectural, historical and religious sight in Armenia. Most of the monastery is carved inside a rock combined with architecture of 4th to 10th centuries of Armenian Renaissance. Geghard Monastery is part of the UNESCO world Heritage sights.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The Khor Virap monastery is located about an hour’s drive away from the capital Yerevan, and offers an amazing view of Armenia’s defining symbol – the majestic Ararat. “Khor Virap” translates as “deep dungeon”, and was built of the place of the former royal prison, located on the historical site of Artashat. It was this very prison in which they kept Gregory the Illuminator, the first Armenian Catholicos, for a whole 13 years.
Our tour will introduce you to the exotic Pagan history of Armenia, and show the later development and spread of Christianity in the country. Garni Temple (77 A.D.) is the only standing heathen temple in the whole post-Soviet area. The temple gracefully stands on a high plateau overlooking the Azat river gorge. It is also home to the roman bath house with the mysterious mosaic, made out of 30,000 pieces of natural stones, as well as the ruins of the royal palace, dating back to 3rd century A.D.
Garni Gorge is a stunning natural attraction located in Armenia, near the village of Garni. It is also known as the "Symphony of Stones" due to its unique rock formations that create a beautiful symphony of colors and shapes. * The visit to the Symphony of Stones depends on the weather conditions.
The monastic complex of Geghard is another historical site included in this tour. Translated into English as “Monastery of the Holy Lance”, it refers to the lance with which Longinus pierced Jesus still hanging on the cross, later brought to Armenia and kept in the Geghard monastery for 5 centuries. The complex is a representation of 13th Century Armenia, which is considered to be the Golden Age of the country’s architecture. The most astonishing part is the virtue of the architect, who cut the church right into the solid rock whilst considering all the rules of Armenian architecture.
Charents Arch, overlooking the stunning Ararat Valley, offers visitors breathtaking views of Mount Ararat and the surrounding landscape, creating a perfect backdrop for memorable photos.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(14)
Great day and a great authentic experience
Good package everything is included. Dint spend anything rather than my personal expenses
Thank you very much for your kind feedback and for choosing Yerani Travel. We are glad to hear that you were satisfied with the package and had a comfortable experience throughout the tour. Your comments are greatly appreciated and encourage us to keep maintaining a high level of service. We hope to welcome you again in Armenia in the future! Warm regards, The Yerani Travel Team
Great experience. Good price ( 70+ euro). Our driver was very polite and helpful. We visited 4 sites worth visiting: 1) Khor Virap near the borders, with the view of Ararat, 2) Geghard monastery up in the mountains, 3) Garni Roman Temple 4) The Symphony of stones path. I recommend it, it offers the possibility to see many sights of central Armenia in a comfortable way
Thank you very much for your kind review. We are delighted to hear that you had a great experience and found the tour to be both enjoyable and comfortable. It is wonderful to know that the driver’s politeness and helpfulness contributed positively to your day, and that you appreciated visiting the key sights of central Armenia, from Khor Virap to the Symphony of Stones. We truly appreciate your recommendation and hope to have the pleasure of welcoming you again for another memorable journey.
Nice excursion to get to know the surroundings of Yerevan! 4 stops give a good impression of what the country has to offer. Unfortunately, our driver could not speak English, so there was no information during the trip! Despite blue skies we could not see the Ararat mountain due to a layer of smog...
Thank you for your feedback. We are glad you enjoyed discovering the surroundings of Yerevan. Please note that our drivers provide safe and comfortable transportation but do not give commentary in English; for detailed explanations, choosing a tour with a guide is recommended. We apologize for the visibility issues with Mount Ararat and hope to welcome you again in Armenia.
The driver was amazing, tour was interesting. Especially we liked symphony of stones and Garni. Again thanks to driver
Thank you for your feedback! We’re delighted to hear you enjoyed the tour and especially liked the Symphony of Stones and Garni. We’ll make sure to pass your thanks along to our driver. We hope to welcome you again for another great experience in Armenia!
We opted for a driver only on this tour and had the best time. So professional and friendly, we could look at the sights at our own pace and were able to see some amazing things. Would recommend this tour for everyone.
We booked a private trip with a driver, no guide, as I have been to those places and wanted to show them to my 16 year old daughter. Aram the driver was excellent, polite, knowledgable and discreet. The minivan was spotless clean with ample bottled water and a good internet connection. The whole trip took 7 hours including three sightseeing locations and lunch. We were lucky to have sunny clear skies and a great view of Ararat from Khor Virap. Lunch was optional and the cafe next to Garni temple was good, nothing special about food (a disappointment) but it was offset by lavash baking demonstration and tasting of freshly baked lavash with cheese and herbs. An excellent stress free experience. The only suggestion would be to provide one-pagers with info on the places we visited.
Dear Valery, Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience! We're glad to hear that you had a wonderful experience on your private trip. Your insights help us enhance our services, and we hope to welcome you again in the future! Best Regards, Yerani Travel team
We booked for 3 full days and travel bus drivers are so rude and terrible behaved for all three days.Drivers don’t listen and stop at their choice of stop, gave on 30-40 min for each stop and start screaming if we late by few minutes. They don’t stop for food break and don’t even allow to eat any snacks inside travel van. Music also not allowed inside as they switching off by saying they have hearing problems. And to shock this behavior of each day with each drivers, seems they all have standard practice to harras tourist. Upon complaint to travel agency first agency attitude is also very casual and second drivers not at all listen to them and kept on shouting over phone. We recommend don’t use Yerani Travels at all.!
Dear Guest, We are truly sorry to hear that your experience with us left you so disappointed. We strive to ensure every guest feels comfortable, respected, and well taken care of, so your feedback is deeply concerning. That said, we are quite surprised by the severity and consistency of the claims you’ve made, especially across three full days of travel. This type of behavior is absolutely not acceptable under our standards, nor is it something we have received similar complaints about from other guests. We’d also like to clarify a few points: our itineraries do include scheduled stops, and while we understand delays can happen, timing is important to ensure the group sees everything planned for the day. We discourage eating in the vans only to maintain cleanliness and comfort for all guests, especially on shared group tours. Thank you again for sharing your thoughts. We are committed to improving and ensuring better experiences for all our future guests.
Visited the tour "Chor Virage Monastery - Garni-Gegard" with the family. I would like to mention Samvel's guide, his high professionalism, erudition, excellent command of the Russian language, as well as his unspeakable charm. It was one of the most interesting excursions in Armenia I have ever visited. Many thanks to Yerani travel and Samwell for their work! We'll definitely be back again!
Уважаемый Александр, От имени всей нашей команды выражаем искреннюю благодарность за Ваш положительный отзыв. Надеемся увидеть Вас вновь в Армении! С наилучшими пожеланиями, Команда "Ерани Травел"
Everyone was very nice and helpful. They accommodated the tour for our schedule. Special thanks to the driver. I would recommend 100%
Dear Agatheh, Thank you for being so kind to share your experience with us. We are delighted to learn that you fully enjoyed the tour. It will be our pleasure to welcome you back to Armenia in the future! With best wishes, ''Yerani Travel'' team
