Duration:7 days (6 nights) Meals: 2 times a day
Description:Visit to Ani, Kars, Bayazet, Van, Akhtamar, Surb Khach Church, Van Fortress, Varagavank, Mush, Sulukh Bridge, St. Marine Church, Ascent to Mount Ararat.
Cost: 333,000 AMD
The price includes:
-
Transportation costs
-
Hotels: Bayazet, Van, meals: two times
-
Turkologist guide service
The price does not include:
-
Turkey entry visa (16,000 drams)
-
Tickets for historical and cultural institutions (equivalent to 25 dollars in drams)
Necessary travel accessories.
We provide:
- hiking stick
- clamps for hiking boots
- sleeping bag and mattress if needed
We do not provide:
- hiking boots
- backpack (large and small)
- sleeping bag
- sunglasses
- mountaineering clothing
- headlamp
Tour Program: Day 1
Ani capital, Igdir, BayazetWe will depart from Yerevan to Gyumri, cross the Armenian-Georgian Bavra border checkpoint and enter Javakhk. Crossing the Georgian-Turkish border from Akhalkalaki, we will head to the capital of Ani, which is 45 km from Kars. After spending two to three hours seeing the thousand-year-old churches of Ani, we will continue our journey to Igdir, where the famous military and political figure Drastamat Kanayan (Dro) was born, then passing by the "Kharaba Bazaar" on the slopes of Mount Ararat, we will reach Bayazet. We will spend the night at the hotel in Bayazet.
Day 2
Climbing Ararat to a height of 3200 metersAfter breakfast in the morning and completing the preparations for the ascent, we will move to the first camp, which is located on the mountainside at an altitude of 3200 meters. We will spend the night in the camp tents.
Day 3
Climbing Ararat to a height of 4200 metersIn the morning we will continue our journey to the second camp at an altitude of 4200 meters. The ascent will take 5-6 hours, after which we will rest in the tents of the second camp.
Day 4
Ascent to the peak of Ararat: 5165 meters highAt midnight we will head to the top of Ararat. We will stay at the top for about 40 minutes, after which we will return to the camp at an altitude of 4200 meters. After resting, we will descend to Bayazet. In the evening we will rest at the hotel in Bayazet.
Day 5
Lake Van, Mher's Door, Akhtamar Island (Saint Cross Church), Van Fortress, Van Cat Breeding GroundIn the morning we will leave Bayazet for Van, we will see the rock-cut Mher Gate, or in other words one of the Khaldian gates, on which cuneiform inscriptions have been preserved to this day. After seeing Mher Gate, we will head to Akhtamar Island, to the Church of the Holy Cross. Returning from the island, we will taste the only fish in the lake, the Van tarekh. Then we will go to the Van Fortress, after which we will visit the Van Cat Breeding Farm. We will spend the night at the Van hotel.
Day 6
Mush city, Sulukh Bridge, Erzurum city, Erzurum Fortress, Shepherd's Bridge, Kars.In the morning we will leave Van for Mush, see the old city and the cemetery where the Armenian freedom fighter Gevorg Chaush was buried, then we will visit the place of his martyrdom, the historical Sulukh Bridge. Leaving Mush, we will head to Erzurum (Karin), visit the Byzantine Theodoupolis Fortress, the Chifte Minare Madrasah (religious school), and see the building of the Sanasaryan College. From Erzurum, we will head to Kars, on the way we will see the Basen Fortress (Hasan-qala), then we will stop at the confluence of the Araks and Murts rivers, on which the Shepherd's Bridge was built. In the evening we will arrive in Kars. Overnight in Kars, in a comfortable hotel.
Day 7
Van, Kars, Arakelots Church, Kars Fortress, YerevanIn the morning we will visit the Church of the Holy Apostles in Kars, climb the Kars Fortress, see the medieval Vardan Bridge (stone bridge), walk through the streets of the city and feel the spirit of ancient Armenian Kars. From here we will return to Armenia, passing through Akhalkalaki and Gyumri. In the evening we will arrive in Yerevan.