Journey through the heart of the South Caucasus—Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan—on this 19-day odyssey through a region where Europe meets Asia. From the high-altitude monasteries of the Armenian highlands and the verdant wine valleys of Georgia to the futuristic skyline and ancient fire temples of Baku, this tour explores a landscape shaped by Persians, Silk Road traders, and Soviet history.

Travel by private vehicle across dramatic mountain passes and along the shores of the Caspian Sea. You will discover the world’s oldest Christian cathedrals, taste millennia-old wine traditions, and explore UNESCO-protected rock art. Accompanied by expert local guides in each country, you’ll experience a balanced pace that blends rugged adventure with the sophisticated charm of the region's historic capitals.

Trip pricing is contingent upon a minimum of four (4) participants and is subject to adjustment should this minimum not be met.

• Explore the ancient Armenian spiritual centers of Etchmiadzin Cathedral and the cliff-carved Geghard Monastery

• Ride the "Wings of Tatev," the world’s longest reversible aerial tramway, to reach the magnificent Tatev Monastery

• Discover Georgia's medieval history at the Vardzia cave city and the iconic Gergeti Trinity Church beneath Mt. Kazbegi

• Visit the "Land of Fire" in Baku, exploring the Old City and the prehistoric rock art of Gobustan National Park

• Wander the cosmopolitan streets of Tbilisi and the ancient Georgian capital of Mtskheta, both UNESCO World Heritage sites

• Accommodations with breakfast. mainly 4* in cities 3* in small towns & villages, 5* two nights

• Accompanying guide (different one for each country)

• Arrival/departure transfers on the tour days (extra cost if arriving/departing different days)

• AC Transport van or minibus depending on group size.

• Entrance fees

• 17 lunches

• Bottles water in the vehicle during drives

• International airfare

• Visa fees (Azerbaijan)

• Tips to drivers, guides, and hotel porters

• Meals other than those listed

• Regional flight: Tbilisi–Baku

You will be met at airport and transfer to hotel. Lunch/Dinner on your own.
PLEASE NOTE: if your arrival is early am, extra cost for immediate check-in. Check-in time is 2 pm.

We start the day with a walking tour of Yerevan exploring various layers of its history—medieval shrines hidden behind imposing Soviet-style facades, narrow streets of the old center with sunlight playing on its pink walls, Republic Square, Cascade, Opera House (outside) and the ambitious project of independent Armenia—North Avenue.

Next tour The Matenadaran (the old Opera building now a museum).

Afterwards, we’ll embark on an excursion to Echmiadzin, the former capital.

We start with a visit to the Pagan Temple of Garni. Then drive northeast of Garni, higher up the gorge of the Azat river, to see a magnificent monument of medieval Armenian architecture - Geghard Monastery included in UNESCO World Heritage list.

At lunch we have opportunity to observe how Armenian bread "lavash" is baked and the barbeque process in the underground stove called "tonir." 

Return to Yerevan and visit the National Museum of Armenian History.

Tour the 9th century Fortress of Amberd; stands halfway up Mt. Aragats, at the height of 2300m. Next, we visit Saghmossavank and Hovhanavank medieval monasteries, situated at a breathtaking site in the deep canyon of Ashtarak. Lunch with a local family in Ashtarak.  Return to Yerevan and visit the Armenian Genocide Museum 

We start with a drive to Khor Virap Monastery, 4- 17th c. Here we have an opportunity to take a lit candle from the pit like His holiness Paul II did during his visit to Khor Virap. It is the closest point to Mount Ararat from Armenia.  The biblical mountain rises behind the monastery providing a great opportunity for photos. 

Afterwards, we visit Areni Winery, to observe the production of wines, and be treated to a tasting. Next, we explore the medieval Monastery of Noravank, a 13th century structure with beautiful stone crosses surrounded by rare flora. Onward to Carahunge, an ancient observatory quite similar to Stone Henge in England. This Prehistoric Monument consists of hundreds of standing columns that sit like soldiers on a hill on a territorial area. Many of these stones have smooth angled holes of 4-5cm in diameter, the angles of the holes being directed at different points on the horizon and outer space. The age of Carahunge has been estimated to be 7500 years or older (VI millennium BC). The 204 stones near Sisian have been ascribed with mystical, fertility and cosmic powers, but rarely have ancient monuments caused such a sensation in astronomical circles. 

A stop near “Devil’s Bridge” before continuing to board the “Wings of Tatev” to visit the most magnificent monastery in Armenia, Tatev. Wings of Tatev is a 5.7 km cableway between Halidzor and the Tatev monastery. A 12 minute ride to Tatev Monastery (9-13cc), a former center for science and art, where many famous Armenians lived and worked centuries ago. The Tatev Complex consists of three churches, a refectory, a library, a vault, and several residences. Magnificent canyons surround the monastery. Afterwards, visit the cave village of Khndzoresk, a picture –perfect valley with a stream running through it, where many caves and rock formations are waiting to be explored. There are steps and a hanging bridge to cross.

The tour travels via Selim Pass- a thoroughfare since the medieval ages when the Silk Road was operating. After crossing over the Pass, we visit Noradous - an ancient cemetery of Middle Ages.  This is the biggest cemetery of khachkars (cross-stones) in Armenia, dating back to 7-10 c. Then continue the drive to Lake Sevan, the largest alpine in the world. Enjoy the tranquil beauty empty beaches and white sands of Lake Sevan.

We start with a drive to Dilijan, a spa town located in the northern Armenian province of Tavush. It is one of the most important resorts of Armenia, situated in Dilijan National Park. A brief walking tour of Dilijan’s old town and Sharambeyan Street, lined with 19th century well- preserved and maintained traditional old houses, built with stones and wood. Artists and ceramic and wood craft workshops, galleries, souvenir shops, cafés and a museum complete the scene. 

Then drive to Dilijan's most popular religious site - the Haghartsin Monastery. Continue to Goshavank (12-13 cc), the monastery ensemble of the Dilijan district., in the upper reaches of the Agstev Rver and situated in dense oak woods, in the gorges of small but turbulent mountain rivers. Lunch , at a local family house where you can taste the Armenian dish “tolma” (dolma). 

We start the day with a drive to the city Alaverdi, where we visit the monasteries of Sanahin and Haghpat, touted as the best architectural examples of Armenian religious art between the 10th and 13th Centuries. We arrive in Tbilisi, allowing some free time to wander the boulevards and back streets of the city and through local bazaars, absorbing its unique ambience. 

One of Europe's most fascinating capitals Tbilisi is an ancient and cosmopolitan city where about 1.2 million inhabitants live. It was founded in 5th century AD by the Georgian King of Kartli, Vakhtang Gorgasali. We enjoy walking the narrow streets of Old Tbilisi exploring the religious and secular architecture. Here we see churches, synagogues, mosques, as well as famous 19th century houses with wooden multi-colored balconies. We visit the sulfur baths that made an unforgettable impression on Pushkin, Lermontov and Dumas. During the tour we enjoy superb panoramic views. In the afternoon, we visit the stunning treasury of the Georgian History Museum, before taking a stroll along Rustaveli Avenue – the main street in Tbilisi. We will also visit an open-air ethnographic museum with many models of Georgian houses from all the Georgian regions.

Morning drive to Mtskheta, a beautiful small town, the ancient capital (3000 years old), and considered the centre of Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church. We visit its historical places which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Afterwards drive to the mineral water town Borjomi where we taste carbonated mineral water straight from its source. Continue drive to Akhalshike.

Today we travel to Samtskhe-Javakheti Province where we will visit some exceptional sites. 

First to the magnificent cave town – Vardzia (12th century), one of the highlights of the trip. It is a striking complex hewn in rock, regarded as the cultural and educational center of the time. There used to be 3000 caves with a church hewn in rock with amazing 12th century frescos. The complex also includes dwellings quarters, small hall-type churches, refectories, wine cellars and pharmacy. To fully explore this site, involves some uphill walking, uneven stairs and pitched tunnels. You can go as far as your ability allows.

Start with a visit of Akhaltsikhe Castle, a medieval fortress built in the 9th century under the name Lomsia Castle, also known as Rabati Castle; recently globally reconstructed. The castle includes a Church, a Mosque, a Minaret and a Synagogue.

Continue to Uplistsikhe, "the lord's fortress," an ancient rock-hewn town in eastern Georgia near Gori. Built on a high rocky left bank of the Mtkvari River, it contains various structures dating from the 2nd ML BC to the Late Middle Ages, and is notable for the unique combination of various styles of rock-cut cultures from Anatolia and Iran as well as the co-existence of pagan and Christian architecture. This is the place where the Great Silk Road used to pass and is now an interesting complex with dwelling quarters, wine-cellars, bakeries, a three-nave basilica church hewn in rock and even a theatre. Afterwards we drive up the famous Georgian Military Highway (leading to the Georgian-Russian border) and Zhinvali Lake. On the way visit Ananuri architectural complex (17th century), the two churches and the fortress overlooking the Zhinvali water reservoir. The drive is very scenic through high Caucasus Mountains. 

A stunning drive from Gudauri to Tbilisi along the Tergi River will bring us to Stepantsminda (formerly Kazbegi) – the main town in the region. From Stepantsminda we get into 4WD to drive 30 minutes through beautiful valleys and woodland leading on a mountain trail to Gergeti Trinity Church located at 2170m above sea level on the right bank of the river Chkheri (the left tributary of the river Terek) under Mount Kazbegi.

Visit the fortified royal town of Sighnaghi (18th century), situated in Kakheti Province, the very eastern part of Georgia, with cobbled streets and multi-colored balconies. The town preserved its original image and now offers visitors stunning views of the surrounding Caucasus Mountains. Continue to Bodbe Monastery, a Georgian Orthodox monastic complex and the seat of the Bishops of Bodbe. Originally built in the 9th century, it now functions as a nunnery and is one of the major pilgrimage sites in Georgia, due to its association with St. Nino, the 4th-century female evangelist of Georgians, whose relics are enshrined there. We enjoy a delicious home-made lunch at a local family guesthouse.

A short, 1 hr flight to Baku, capital of Azerbaijan. On arrival, embark on a tour of the Old City. Enjoy a walking tour through the delightful winding alleys of the Old City-Icheri Sheher, whose old mosques, caravanserais and overhanging wooden balconies tell of a quieter era in Baku's history. We see the Maiden's Tower, a powerful, eight-story fortress, and the Shirvanshah's Palace complex, parts of which date back to the 15th century and the old bazaar square.

Today's excursion visits the Gobustan Mud Volcanoes, the National Park and Museum on the west bank of the Caspian Sea and the Temple of Fire.

Gobustan was declared a national historical landmark of Azerbaijan to preserve the ancient carvings, relics, mud volcanoes and gas-stones in the region. It is considered to be of "outstanding universal value" for the quality and density of its rock art engravings, for the substantial collection of rock art images that present evidence for hunting, fauna, flora and lifestyles in pre-historic times and for the cultural continuity between prehistoric and medieval times that the site reflects. 

We arrive close to the volcanoes. A few of these gas leaks are constantly on fire, shooting small perpetual flames into the air and some believe that these perpetual flames are connected to the appearance of the Zoroastrian religion in Azerbaijan some 2,000 years ago. Local people call them “yanardagh” (burning mountain). Onward to Gobustan National Park to visit the Petroglyphs Museum and then to see the petroglyphs in an open area.

Next, discover the Absheron Peninsula, an extension of the Caucasus Mountains that juts 35 miles into the Caspian Sea, the largest inland sea in the world. Visit the remarkable Zoroastrian Ateshgah (Ateshgyak) Temple, often called the Temple of Fire.

Enjoy a panoramic view of Baku from Shelhidler Khiyabani (Martyrs Lane). Afterwards, embark on a two hour city tour by car covering the central part of the city showing the most interesting historical and architectural sites: Liberty Square, Javanshir Bridge, The building of the Executive Power (XX century), Fizuli Square, The old bus station, Park of Izmir, Statue of a free woman, Academy of Sciences, Honor Alley, Funicular.

Afternoon is independent. If you are joining The Central Asia tour, your flight departs this evening.

Transfer to airport.