This day tour takes you to Khor Virap monastery (meaning “deep dungeon”) and pilgrimage site to learn about Gregory the Iluminator. Then on to the 13th century Noravank monastery to view its ornate architecture. In return way will visit Areni Winery.

Highlights:

• Khor Virap Monastery
• Noravank Monastery
• Winery in Areni

Tour Start with pick up from your hotel and driving towards Khor Virap, the village is 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the main highway. Yerevan, the capital and largest city of Armenia, is 30 kilometres (19 mi) to the north. Located near the border With Turkey Khor Virap is a monastery that was first established in 642 AD. Its name is derived from "virap nerk'in," which means "deep dungeon" in Armenian. Khor Virap is one of the most sacred and visited sites in Armenia primarily due to the legend of Saint Gregory the Illuminator who was imprisoned for 13 years in Khor Virap's dungeon before succeeding in the conversion of King Tiridates (Trdat) the Great to Christianity in the first decades of the 4th century AD.

Continue Exploring Armenia with Norawank Monastery, which in Armenian translates as "new monastery. Is a 13th-century Armenian monastery, located 122 km from Yerevan.Noravank monastery was founded by Bishop Hovhannes in 1105, and in the 13-14 centuries, thanks to the ruling Orbelian family, Noravank flourished and became spiritual, educational and cultural center of Syunik province.

At the end of the tour drive to the final destination - the Areni-1 winery, a 6100-year-old winery that was discovered in 2007 in the Areni-1 cave complex in the village of Areni in the Vayots Dzor province of Armenia by a team of Armenian and Irish archaeologists. The winery consists of fermentation vats, a wine press, storage jars, pottery sherds, and is believed to be at least a thousand years older than the winery unearthed in the West Bank in 1963, which is the second oldest currently known.

Duration: 8-10 hours
Driving distance: 250 km
Season: All year around