Armenia & Georgia: Ancient Christian Lands

Day-by-day itinerary

1. Day1

   Day 1: Arrival in Yerevan

   Day 1: Arrival in Yerevan

   • Meet on arrival at Zvartnots International Airport and transfer to your hotel
   • Evening walk around Republic Square, time permitting
   • Overnight in Yerevan
2. Day2

   Day 2: Yerevan

   Day 2: Yerevan

   • Tsitsernakaberd, the Armenian Genocide Memorial, and its museum, subject to opening days
   • The Matenadaran, home to ancient Armenian Gospels and illuminated manuscripts, subject to opening days
   • The Cascade stairway, with views over the city to Mount Ararat on clear days
   • St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, consecrated in 2001 to mark 1,700 years of Christianity in Armenia, with the saint's relics
   • Overnight in Yerevan
3. Day3

   Day 3: Khor Virap – Etchmiadzin – Zvartnots

   Day 3: Khor Virap – Etchmiadzin – Zvartnots

   • Khor Virap, where St. Gregory the Illuminator was held for 13 years in a deep pit
   • Views of Mount Ararat, where tradition says Noah's Ark came to rest (Genesis 8:4), weather permitting
   • Holy Etchmiadzin's Mother Cathedral, often called the world's oldest cathedral, and the churches of St. Hripsime and St. Gayane
   • The ruins of 7th-century Zvartnots Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, subject to opening days
   • Overnight in Yerevan
4. Day4

   Day 4: Garni – Geghard – Lake Sevan – Dilijan

   Day 4: Garni – Geghard – Lake Sevan – Dilijan

   • The Temple of Garni, a 1st-century Greco-Roman temple above the Azat River gorge, subject to opening days
   • Geghard, the monastery partly carved into the cliffs, named for the Holy Lance once kept here (John 19:34)
   • Lake Sevan and Sevanavank, two 9th-century churches on a peninsula above the water
   • Overnight in Dilijan, a forested mountain town
5. Day5

   Day 5: Haghpat – Sanahin – Tbilisi

   Day 5: Haghpat – Sanahin – Tbilisi

   • Drive north via Vanadzor into the Debed Canyon, about 2 hours
   • Haghpat and Sanahin, 10th-century monasteries and centers of learning, together a UNESCO World Heritage Site
   • Cross into Georgia at the Bagratashen–Sadakhlo border, then on to Tbilisi, about 1.5 hours
   • Overnight in Tbilisi
6. Day6

   Day 6: Tbilisi

   Day 6: Tbilisi

   • Holy Trinity Cathedral (Sameba), the main cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church
   • Metekhi Church on its cliff above the Mtkvari River
   • Cable car up to Narikala Fortress, then down to the sulfur bath domes of Abanotubani
   • Sioni Cathedral, where St. Nino's grapevine cross is kept, and the 6th-century Anchiskhati Basilica
   • Overnight in Tbilisi
7. Day7

   Day 7: Mtskheta – Ananuri – Kazbegi

   Day 7: Mtskheta – Ananuri – Kazbegi

   • Jvari Monastery, on the hilltop where St. Nino is said to have raised her cross over Mtskheta
   • Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta, where tradition says Christ's robe is buried (John 19:23–24)
   • North on the Georgian Military Road to Ananuri Fortress beside the Zhinvali Reservoir
   • Over the Cross Pass, about 7,800 feet high, to Stepantsminda (Kazbegi)
   • Overnight in Stepantsminda
8. Day8

   Day 8: Gergeti – Tbilisi

   Day 8: Gergeti – Tbilisi

   • Morning drive up to Gergeti Trinity Church, built in the 14th century at about 7,100 feet
   • Views of Mount Kazbek and the Caucasus peaks, weather permitting
   • Return along the Georgian Military Road to Tbilisi, about 3 hours
   • Overnight in Tbilisi
9. Day9

   Day 9: Bodbe – Sighnaghi

   Day 9: Bodbe – Sighnaghi

   • Drive east into the Kakheti region, about 2 hours
   • Bodbe Monastery, the convent where St. Nino, Enlightener of Georgia, is buried
   • St. Nino's spring, down a long stairway below the convent, for those who wish
   • Sighnaghi's 18th-century walls and views across the Alazani Valley to the Caucasus
   • Overnight in Tbilisi
10. Day10

    Day 10: Departure

    Day 10: Departure

    • Free time in Tbilisi, depending on your flight
    • Transfer to Tbilisi International Airport