"The Magic of Vayoc Dzor" Hiking without tents and backpacks for 8 days

On the 2nd day we will move to a beautiful mountain village, which lays along the river, at the intersection of its three tributaries. From here we will hike to the monastery of Xth century- Shatinvank, which stands on the slope of a mountain, about on the highest top.
Then, through the awesome mountain paths we will go to another monastery, situated on the slope of a mountain- to the monastery of Spitakavor, which was given the name because of its white felzit- a stone, from which it was built.
Not far from Spitakavor, on the top of a mountain, the ruins of Proshaberd stand. The fortress was built in the XIII century (but its base has been preserved from the megalithic era) and it had powerful basalt walls, the parts of which have been preserved till our days.
A small chapel inside the walls of the monastery has been also preserved.
On this, the program of this day ends and on SUV we return to the hotel or guest house.

The fortress of Smbataberd, the next place that we're going to visit, is one of the oldest and preserved monasteries of this region. It's even hard to imagine that people without modern technologies, were able to build a fortress in such an area. The fortress stands at an altitude of 2000 m and on 3 sides it's surrounded with deep gorges. Monasteries in Armenia were often built in protective places - high in the mountains or in the gorges, and very often near the fortresses. And the monastery of Tsakhats Kar is located on a hill, not far from Smbataberberd. Exactly there, to the monastery of Vth century Tsakhats Kar our hike will be continued.
After this, we will return to Eghegnadzor in order to have a night stay.

If on the first day of our tour we passed above the gorge of Noravank, then on this day we will pass through the unique gorge to the monastery of Noravank.
The gorge itself is a fascinating natural phenomena. The hike will be along the river, on both sides of which, like walls, there are high rocks. In the caves of these rocks people lived from  immemorial times, as evidenced by many archaeological finds.
Rare birds and animals also live here, and many valuable plants grow.
And the monastery of Noravank is one the masterpieces of Armenian architecture. The strict forms of the monastery buildings, together with the sharp outlines of the surrounding relief, create an indivisible system.
After Noravank, we will continue our way up to the gorge, and there, getting into the cars we will drive to the mineral springs. After having some rest, we will return to the hotel.

On the 5th day of our 8day tour to Armenia we will go to the mysterious monastery of Martiros. The monastery is completely hollowed out in the rock, probably in order to be protected. Two churches and a porch, with all its attributes inherent in medieval Armenian churches, were carved in the rocks, in the XIII century.
After hiking, with SUV we will go to Jermuk.
Jermuk is absolutely magical. Magical nature, magical water, magical beauty...At an altitude of more than 2000 m, on the edge of  a great gorge, stands one of the most popular resorts of Armenia.
Exactly in Jermuk we will spend our night. Maybe in a guest house or hotel.

All this day is dedicated to the beauties of Jermuk and its surroundings.
At first, through the picturesque and extreme road we will go to the geysers, to mineral water, which except healing abilities have also the talent of a "painter". They painted the springs' territory in a warm, orange color.
After curing rest next to the geysers, we will go to the monastery of Gndevank. Our road lays along the gorge of the tributary of Arpa river. And exactly through this beautiful gorge we will get to the place, where, on the top a hill stands the monastery.
Then we will return to Jermuk.

The 7th day of the tour starts with the village Herher. It is situated on the slope of Vayoc Sar. Here are many beautiful places that need to be seen. The places are:  the waterfall of Herher, springs of Saint Gevorg, the monastery of St. Sion, Kapuyt(Blue) fortress, the porch of St. Gevorg and of course the mountain Vayoc Sar, to which we organised a climbing.
Vayoc Sar is a volcanic mountain with the height of 2581 m, has the form of a split cone and a deep crater.
Another sight of Vayoc Dzor that we are going to see on that day- is half-destroyed, medieval monastery of Arates.
The road will be continued (maybe) to the hot source. After that, we will go to our hotel, situated in the area of Eghegnadzor.

On the last day of our hiking tour without backpacks and tents, through the mountain pass, on which stands caravanserai of XIV century, we will go to the lake Sevan. Here, you can enjoy Sevan views or rest on the beach.
Sevan lake and the whole territory, surrounded with the ring of volcanic mountains is rich with nature views, historical and pre historical monuments.
During this tour we haven't enough time to see at least a small part of the beauty of Sevan. For the next time you can choose one of our tours, for example,  << hiking around Sevan lake>> or << Hiking through Central Armenia without backpacks for 11 days>> in order to know Gegham sea better.
On the way to Yerevan we will visit another beautiful place- Hanqavan, which is famous for its hot mineral sources.
In Yerevan our fascinating tour will end.
We always wait for you!