Group Tour: Amberd, Aragats, Lake Kari, Saghmosavank, Alphabet
Description
On this tour you will visit Amberd, a fortress on the southern slope of Mount Aragats, founded in the 7th century. Next up is Lake Kari at the height of 3250 m on the slopes of Mount Aragats, the highest point of Armenia (4090 m). Up next is the stop for Armenian Dry Fruit production and tasting. Visit Saghmosavank, 13th century Armenian monastic complex, unique due to its frescoes with biblical themes and the perfect harmony with environment – vertical cliffs of Kasakh gorge. There comes the Alley of Armenian Letters (Alphabet Alley), that was built on the slopes of Mount Aragats in honor to the 1600th anniversary of the creation of Armenian alphabet. This monument is unique not only in Armenia, but all around the World.
Tour Options
Itinerary
starting and returning point
The principal architectural features of medieval fortress-building have found their reflection in this fortress. Having been built on a naturally well-defended cape, Amberd has for long time served as an important military fort. Next to this secular edifice there is a church, built in 1026 by the duke Vahram Pahlavuni.
The highest peak of the Republic of Armenia is Mount Aragats (4090 m). This four-peaked giant is the most favourite mountain of climbers. On the way to the southern peak the best stop is at Lake Kari (translated as stone lake), which is at the height of 3250 m. On the top one opens the most attractive scene: the silhouette of green valleys from one side, the eternal snow and silver lakes from other sides and the Biblical Mount Ararat far in the fog of Ararat Valley.
Lake Kari (translated as stone lake) is situated on Mount Aragats at the height of 3250 m. The lake is usually surrounded with snow, due to which the water is always cold.
5 km far from Hovhanavank monastery, on the edge of Kasakh river canyon, in the 13th century Vachutian dukes built Saghmosavank monastery. The main church is adjacent to the scriptorium, where many manuscripts have been produced during centuries. Saghmosavank underwent the devastating influence of the earthquake in 1988. The reconstruction, completed in 2000, returned the church its beauty and glory.
Armenian Alphabet Monument is located in the village of Artashavan, at the east side bottom of Mount Aragats. It was erected in 2005 to the 1600th anniversary of creation of the Armenian alphabet by the design of the famous Armenian architect Jim Torosyan. The monument is an interesting demonstration of the stone carvings of 39 Armenian letters. The Armenian alphabet has been used to write the Armenian language since the year 405 or 406 and is still used to present Armenian language in written form. It was devised by Saint Mesrop Mashtots, an Armenian linguist and ecclesiastical leader, in order to make the Bible accessible to Armenians and spread Christianity. Originally it contained 36 letters and had been completed in the Middle Ages.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Lake Kari on the slope of mount Aragats is situated on the altitude of 3250 m above sea level
- It is recommended to wear warm clothes
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- The duration is approximate
- Seats will not be known in advance
- Not recommended for people with hypertension problems
Reviews(379)
Coming straight from the UK, I didn't quite know what to expect with the scenery of Armenia but it was incredible, especially with the routes the bus took me on. Checking in for the tour in the morning was easy I just said my name and the receptionist told me which number bus to go on where I would meet my guide for the day, Karen, and the driver (whose name I forgot I'm so sorry but he was amazing and they make a good team). The fortress was a great sight and Karen sung a Psalm in the church with his seemingly angelic voice which was awesome. Then, we went to lake kari (on some winding roads which is the only thing I don't like but that's just me) which was really beautiful and nearby was the famous gravitational anomaly where things roll uphill like WHAT?! Anyway, after that we drove down the hills to the dried fruit production where I was informed in detail about how dried fruit is made in Armenia (using obsidian). I also got to buy and try a lot of the dried fruit (some of which I didn't know existed) and that's where we also had lunch for a decent price of (£7 or around 3700 AMD). There was lots of refrigerated water, WiFi and small pastries handed out too. At the end, I even spelled my name with statues of Armenian letters which was really cool too. Overall the 8-9 hours was deffo worth it!
Karen was a great guide, we really enjoyed the tour. We visited phantastic places and tried excellent Armenian dried fruits. A day full of fun with a multicultural group. Highly recommended.
The trip itself was awesome. Very sunny day with warm group of people. Tour guide Karen was informative and careful. The driver Maverick was accurate.
We were on this field trip today, it was very nice! The program is super, the locations are perfect. Sagmosank and the canyon are fascinating, Alphabet Alley and Amberd Fortress are very interesting places. But a separate delight is Mount Aragac and Lake Kari, the views are simply unreal! Well, tasting dried fruit was a great and delicious bonus. Thank you so much to our guide Karen! Very cool, talking passionately, humorously, paying attention to everyone. The day flew by in one breath and in a great atmosphere. Hyur Service, as always, is well organized, the bus is comfortable, the timing is respected. Thanks for the cool impressions, we'll get back to you!!!
Excellent day trip covering a lot of ground: Amberd fortress, Aragats, the alphabet monument, Lake Kari and Saghmosavank monastery. Well organized and paced, with enough time at each stop to actually take things in rather than rush through. Driver David was safe and skilled on some pretty demanding mountain roads, and guide Eduard was knowledgeable and easy to talk to, with genuine insight into the history and context of each site
Had a great time discovering Armenia. Edward was an amazing guide and Davit was a fantastic driver. I highly recommend Hyur Service.
A big thank you to Édouard our guide and to David our driver. The tour went very well, the places are magnificent and the information provided by Édouard is very interesting. I highly recommend this tour to discover this part of Armenia.
Stunning experience with an excellent guide
The highlight of this tour is Lake Kari. It is beautiful, the landscape is completely different from what you see in other tours. In June, you see a lot of snow and ice. The dry fruit production is interesting. Lunch there was very good. We visited other places, all was very well organized. Our guide Karen was helpful and informative.
We are grateful for the nice review received. It’s our pleasure to make the stay of our customers enjoyable!
A very nice day tour from yerevan. The destinations we went to was worth visiting but what made the tour good was our tour guide Manya and our driver. Many was very knowledgeable and accommodating, our driver ashot was very cautious on the road. roads are very bumpy at times but he was not reckless driving. The lunch place we went to was great, it was a local house and all the dishes were freshly made, they are selling dry fruits and other goods you can bring home as well. I definitely recommend this tour.
Thank you so much for the review and kind words! It will be pleasure to host you in Armenia also in future!
