Monday 14th June:

• Arrive in Yerevan before checking into our centrally located hotel.
• Meet your YPT guide and the other tour participants in the evening before heading out for a welcome dinner at a fantastic local restaurant serving some of the best food in the capital.
• Overnight in Yerevan.

Tuesday 15th June:

• After breakfast, we’ll hit the ground running with a Soviet tour of Yerevan. 
• We’ll board a Soviet era minibus as our pioneer guide shows you the ‘rosy’ city of Yerevan.  Here you will get the chance to appreciate the splendor of various examples of Soviet architecture, experience the nostalgia of Lenin square, see the fruits of socialistic labour, sample a Soviet subway “lunch” and speak to Armenians who will be able to tell you what life was like behind the iron curtain in this ancient city.
• This fun and illuminating tour will take you beyond where normal tourists go and give you a glimpse of how times have changed. Step back in time and experience Yerevan as a Soviet-era ‘Intourist’.
• We’ll also visit the local flea market, and take a look at the Matenadaran Museum of Ancient Manuscripts. We’ll walk around Yerevan’s oldest district of Kond, and visit Parajanov’s house museum.
• Traditional Armenian dinner in Yerevan and the chance to try some local cognac.
• Overnight in Yerevan.

Wednesday 16th June:

• After breakfast, we’ll meet our driver and travel along the bank of the Aras River, which demarcates the modern-day border between Armenia and Turkey. 
• Our first stop will be at Sardarabad, the location of a battle fought in May, 1918 against the Ottoman Empire; it was because of this victory that Armenia gained its independence. We’ll meet a local historian and walk around the majestic memorial dedicated to the century-old battle. 
• We’ll then visit the province of Shirak where we’ll seek out the ruins of Armenia’s medieval capital, Ani, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that stands on the Turkish side of this closed border. 
• After that, we head to Gyumri, Armenia’s second-largest city, which used to be an important center of the Russian Transcaucasus. Even though Gyumri suffered greatly from the earthquake of 1988, its noble spirit lives on. 
• We’ll enjoy dinner here and spend the night in one of the city’s pre-Russian revolution mansions.
• Overnight in Gyumri.

Thursday 17th June:

• After breakfast, we will explore the center of the city, formerly known as Alexandropol. We’ll visit the Black Fortress, a Russian army citadel that was built in the first half of the 19th century. Afterward, we’ll take a stroll around the Gyumri bazaar, the country’s liveliest and most colorful market.
• For lunch, we can try out some traditional Shirak province appetizers and dishes: green cheese, baked buffalo brains, and kololak lamb soup. 
• We’ll then drive to the serenity of Lake Sevan, which Armenians call a sea for its great size and beauty, and appreciate the views from the Sevanavank monastery on the shores of the lake. At the nearby Noratus cemetery, you’ll be amazed by the sheer number of “khachkar”’s (stone etched headstones) as you discover the history behind them.
• We’ll then explore the amazing Geghard monastery carved within a mountain and the iconic Garni temple.
• Afterward, we’ll hit the road south to the border of Nagorno Karabakh before reaching the city of Goris in the late evening and spending the night in a Soviet hotel that was used as a press center during the recent Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
• Overnight in Goris.

Friday 18th June:

• After breakfast, we’ll see how close we can get to Nagorno Karabakh and attempt to visit the Lachin corridor, otherwise known as the “road of life,” which connected Stepanakert to Armenia during both wars. 
• We’ll visit the cave town of Khndzoresk, where people used to live in houses carved into the rocks right up until the mid-20th century. 
• After Khndzoresk we’ll ride the ultra-modern reverse cableway (also the world’s longest), to get to the Tatev monastery. This convent, which stands at the edge of a deep canyon, was the key religious and learning center of medieval Armenia, complete with a university and a book-producing workshop.
• We’ll also make a stop at the “Armenian Stonehenge,” a megalithic complex whose stone structures have been a part of this empty plateau for over 4,000 years. By lunchtime, we’ll be at the resort town of Jermuk. This highland valley with therapeutic mineral springs is full of spas that were built during the Soviet era. After a walk around some resort parks, we’ll enjoy a traditional dinner and spend the night here.
• Overnight in Jermuk.

Saturday 19th June:

• After breakfast, we’ll head back to Yerevan along an old trail that follows the narrow canyon of the Arpa River. We’ll stop at Gndevank Monastery, whose ancient walls are still home to a few monks. 
• Upon arrival in Yerevan, we’ll check back into our hotel and enjoy some free time before we head off for a tour of the famous Ararat cognac factory. This tour will take us on a journey through this famous brand that is loved by Armenians all over the world. We’ll round off the tour with a tasting of various Armenian cognacs.
• Farewell dinner in Yerevan.
• Overnight in Yerevan.

Sunday 20th June:

• End of tour with the option to add on tour extensions if you wish.

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