Garni Temple - Geghard Monastery - Lake Sevan - 1 Day

Day 1: Yerevan, Armenia to Sevanavank, Sevan, Armenia

Historical tour to Garni Fortress in a stunning mountain landscape, the royal summer residence of the Armenian kings and visit Garni Temple of the Sun, the only standing Hellenistic temple in the Caucasus and the former USSR. It resembles Parthenon in Greece but its dimensions are smaller as it was built only for the Armenian royal family to worship the Sun God. We continue to Geghard Monastery (UNESCO), the most beautiful rock-cut medieval monastery in the world with its fascinating natural setting and decorative art carved inside the solid rock. It is the site where the Holy Spear was kept for many centuries It is the only place in Armenia where you can see a large number of the Armenian exquisite lace-type cross-stones carved on the rocks. Proceed to the Lake Sevan, one of the most beautiful alpine lakes in the world (second largest highest lake in the world after Titicaca) at 1900m above sea level. You can marvel at deep blue waters of the lake and the surrounding snow-capped mountains from the heights of the peninsula hill where you visit Sevanavank 9th century monastery shrouded in legends and romance. Drive back to Yerevan. Duration of the tour: 7-8 hours