Package Details

Duration:  16 Days/15 Nights

Day 1: Shiraz

Arrival at Shiraz reception by your guide after the customs formalities, and transfer to the hotel, to rest. Then visit the city of poets

and roses in Shiraz, which houses some architectural jewels. On the program: the Vakil complex with its Hammam, mosque and Bazaar, then departure to the Quran Gate, stroll through the mausoleum gardens of the two great Iranian poets Hafez and Sa'adi.

Day 2: Shiraz - Persepolis - Shiraz

Departure for Persepolis the largest archaeological site of Iran (UNESCO) discovery of this city with exceptional vestiges, back to Shiraz, in the afternoon. More visits: Garden Eram (Garden of Paradise), which like all other Persian garden, symbolizes the four elements: the sky, the earth, the water and plants; and then the Mosque Nasir ol-Molk, one of its prayer rooms has twisted columns lit by stained glass windows, rare enough for a mosque, at sunrise it offers a colorful and kaleidoscopic interior. Free time. Overnight in Shiraz.

Day 3: Shiraz - Isfahan

Departure for Isfahan. On arrival, check in at the hotel and then visit the huge royal square: Naqsh-e Jahan (Imam) Square, second largest square in the world and the monuments that surround it: Jameh Mosque, Ali Palace Qapu, Sheikh e Lotfollah Mosque, Tchehel Sotoon Palace and its admirable frescoes and the Grand Bazaar. Then walk in the neighborhood of the new Jolfa in the narrow and picturesque streets, visit the Vank Cathedral. In the early evening, walk along the Zayandeh River and two of its eleven bridges Si-o-Se Pol and Khaju. Overnight in Isfahan.

Day 4: Isfahan - Tehran

Departure to Tehran on arrival at the hotel. Begin visits in the heart of the capital with the Iran Bâstân Archaeological Museum, the Grand Bazaar, a city in the city. Discovery further north of the city, in the middle of the afternoon, the Sa'ad Abad Palace and Tajrish Square, his little picturesque Bazaar. Overnight in Tehran.

Day 5: Tehran - Tabriz

Continue visits to Tehran with the Golestan Palace (UNESCO) located in the heart of Tehran's historic center and the Crown Jewels Museum in the early afternoon walk along the Tabiat Bridge. A pedestrian bridge that has a very special architecture and connects two public parks in Tehran north of the city. In the late afternoon, transfer to Mehrabad airport: for a flight to Tabriz. Overnight in Tabriz.

Day 6: Tabriz

Departure to visit the village of Kandovan and its troglodyte houses and its spectacular rocky cones formed by erosion. Afternoon return to Tabriz and visit the magnificent Blue Mosque, the Constitution Museum of Tabriz and then the unmissable historical Grand Bazaar (UNESCO), one of the most important trade centers on the Silk Road. Overnight in Tabriz.

Day 7: Tabriz - Border of Armenia – Goris

Departure further north to Nordoz (Norduz). Visit on the way to St. Stepanos Monastery. The St. Stepanos Stepanos Monastery or St. Stephen's Monastery is located near the town of Jolfa, near the Araxe River, in the province of Eastern Azerbaijan; crossing the border at Nordoz, change of vehicle and guide. End of trip to Iran and welcome to Armenia.

Formalities on the Iran-Armenian border, transfer to Goris, Overnight in Goris.

Day 8: Goris - Khndzoresk - Tatev - Goris (60 km)

We will begin with a city tour in Goris, city bowl surrounded by beautiful mountains. Goris has a very particular architecture. Departure to Khdzoresk, a troglodyte village once populated. Continue to Tatev Monastery, a masterpiece dating back to the 10th century.

Back to Goris. Overnight at the hotel in Goris.

Day 9: Goris - Noravank - Khor-Virap - Yerevan (270 km)

Departure to the Monastery of Noravank ("New Monastery"). Visit. Continuation the road towards the Ararat region. Monastery of Khor Virap (4-17 centuries). It is in the plain of Ararat, facing the biblical Mount Ararat. Departure to Yerevan. Overnight at the hotel in Yerevan.

Day 10: City Tour of Yerevan - Matenadaran - Genocide Museum - Etchmiadzin - Zvartnots (100 km)

Yerevan city tour. You will discover the capital of Armenia whose history dates back to the 8th century BC. We will learn about the Republic Square which is built in a style combining traditional Armenian, neoclassical Russian and Soviet architectures. This is where the Government Headquarters, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Central Post Office, the National Gallery and the History Museum are located. We will then climb on the Cascade, a monument of art and modern architecture, to admire the panoramic view opening on Yerevan, we will also see the Opera, the Victory Park, the Kiev Bridge, the Avenue Maréchal Baghramyan and other sights of the capital. Visit of the unique Museum of Ancient Manuscripts, the Matenadaran, with some 17,000 ancient manuscripts.

Departure to Etchmiadzin, located 20 km from Yerevan.

Lunch in a cultural center where you will participate in a class of culinary master: you will learn to prepare stuffed grape leaves(dolmas).

Visit of the Etchmiadzin Cathedral built between 301 to 303 AD under the Armenian King Tiridate III and the first Armenian Catholicos, St. Gregory the Illuminator. Return to Yerevan, stop at the ruins of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Zvartnots Cathedral. Overnight at the hotel in.

Day 11: Yerevan - Garni - Geghard - Yerevan (100 km)

Departure in the Kotayk region. Visit of the temple of Garni. The pagan temple and the citadel of Garni is a remarkable monument of the Hellenistic period. North-east of Garni is a magnificent monument of Armenian medieval architecture - the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Geghard Monastery.

Lunch in a local house in Garni, we will taste good home cooking and we will attend the preparation of the traditional bread, the lavash. Back to Yerevan. Visit of the Memorial and Museum of Armenian Genocide. Free time Overnight at the hotel in Yerevan.

Day 12: Yerevan - Sanahin - Haghpat - Sadakhlo (Georgian border) - 230 km

Departure to the region of Lori for the discovery of the monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin (X-XIII s.), The first two historical and religious monuments of Armenia to have been inscribed in the World Heritage of UNESCO in 1996.

Transfer to the Georgian border, arrival in Sadakhlo at the end of the afternoon, formalities at customs, change of coach and guide and continuation of the road to Tbilisi. Overnight in Tbilisi.

Day 13: Visit of Tbilisi

Today you will discover the Georgian capital. Walking tour of the old town of Tbilisi: medieval church of Metekhi (13th century), Sioni cathedral, Anchiskhati (6th century) - the oldest church in the city, the synagogue, the Narikala fortress (4th century), the mosque, the eastern district of the sulfur baths (17th century). Walk on Rustaveli Avenue (named after one of the greatest Georgian poets). Throughout this central avenue, you will find palaces and monuments from the 19th century, remnants of the time when Tbilisi was the colonial capital of the Russian Empire in the Caucasus. Visit of the National Museum which has the most beautiful archaeological and historical treasures of the country, including the bones of prehistoric men dating back 1.7 million years and the "Treasury of Georgia", a rich collection of Georgian goldsmiths dating from the 3rd millennium B.C. which highlights the link of Georgia to the legend of the Golden Fleece. Visit of the Trinity Cathedral, the largest church in the South Caucasus. Welcome dinner in a traditional restaurant with a folklore show. Overnight in Tbilisi.

Day 14: Tbilisi-Ananuri-Gudaouri-Kazbegui-Guergueti-Gudaouri (190 km)

Today, you will follow the Georgian military road to the north. On the way, visit of the Ananuri Fortress (17th century), one of the major sites of Georgia. Continuation in the direction of Gudaouri (2,200m), located in a picturesque place in the Greater Caucasus. We cross the Cross Pass (2,395 m above sea level) and head to the village of Kazbegui at the foot of the Mount of the same name (5,047 meters above sea level). Then visit of the monastery of Trinity Guergueti (14th century) in 4x4. Perched at 2 170m above sea level on a promontory, it is the most spectacular image of the Greater Caucasus. Back to Gudaouri. Overnight in Gudaouri.

Day 15: Gudaouri-Gori-Uplistsikhe-Sagouramo-Mtskheta-Tbilisi (250 km)

After breakfast, departure to Gori, the birthplace of Stalin. (Optional: visit to the Stalin Museum.) The museum's initiative dates back to his lifetime, but was built by the communists in 1957, four years after Stalin's death. The museum's gardens still house the armored train car (83). tons) that Stalin used to travel to the Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam conferences). Continue to the ancient troglodyte city Uplistsikhe (1st millennium BC), a city with an ancient theater, a pharmacy, wine cellars, bread ovens, palaces. Visit of a small Gouramishvili wine company. Continuation towards the old capital Mtskheta, located at the intersection of the military road and the Silk Way. Visit of two UNESCO World Heritage Monuments: Djvari Monastery (6th century) and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (11th century) considered one of the most sacred places in Georgia as it is here that is preserved the tunic that belonged to Christ.

Back to Tbilisi. Overnight in Tbilisi.

Day 16: Departure

Transfer to Tbilisi airport by our guide and departure back home