ARMENIA TO AZERBAIJAN VIA GEORGIA
September 14 ⇾ September 29
In addition to our regular group departures to the South Caucasus, we also offer bespoke tour services for private travel parties and lone wolves alike. As a traveller-oriented boutique operator, tailored trips and bespoke adventures are our bread and butter. Get in touch for more info on our customised journeys to the South Caucasus!
DAY 1 to Day 2 - Armenia: Soviet Yerevan
Meet-and-greet at Yerevan International Airport, transfer to our hotel of choice in central Yerevan and introductory briefing about Armenia, its history, culture, and architecture.
For the next two days we will enjoy a comprehensive architectural gallivanting around Yerevan, which will include both early examples of Soviet constructivism and neoclassicism and later modernist and internationalist gems, as well as a selected compendium of pre-Soviet architectural wonders such as the traditional district of Kond.
We'll also go truly off the beaten path visiting Gumi Shuka, a colourful USSR-style covered grocery market, and the hinterland district of Malatia Sebastia, aka Bangladesh.
Overnights in Yerevan.
DAY 3 - Armenia: Etchmiadzin and Aragats Massif
Early morning start and transfer to Etchmiadzin, the spiritual capital of Armenia, home to a vast religious complex now included in the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Moving on from the sacred to the profane, we'll visit the semi-abandoned Etchmiadzin Sport Compound, an impressively vast remnant of Soviet glory full of memories and crumbling concrete structures.
Just outside Etchmiadzin we’ll have the chance to see traditional villages inhabited by the secretive Yazidis, a strictly endogamous ethno-religious group sadly known for the persecutions they recently endured in Syria and Iraq under the barbaric rule of the so-called Islamic State.
In Aknalich, the main Yazidi settlement in the area, we’ll pay a visit to one of the largest Yazidi temples in the world and have a chat with the friendly locals, always eager to show the place to the curious foreigner.
From Aknalich we’ll slowly move on to Metsamor, home to the largest and most notorious nuclear power plant in the Southern Caucasus, and Armavir, a little provincial town with a a giant Soviet-built Memorial commemorating the Battle of Sardarapat, between the Armenians on one side and the invading Ottomans on the other.
In the afternoon we’ll eventually head back to Yerevan with a final detour through the piedmont hamlets of Byurakan and Orgov, famous for their gloriously imposing Soviet-era astrophysical observatories.
Overnight in Yerevan.
DAY 4 - Armenia: Areni and Jermuk
We will leave Yerevan early in the morning and head south, stopping en route at Khor Virap, an ancient Armenian monastery-cum-Ararat-mountain-view located near the closed border with Turkey, and then in Areni, where we’ll admire the marvellous church of Noravank.
To satisfy our insatiable appetite for Soviet legacy, we’ll make a de rigueur diversion to the spa town of Jermuk, home to melancholic Soviet-era modernist sanatariums and picturesque tuff-stone cliffs.
Overnight in Jermuk.
DAY 5 - Armenia: Lake Sevan
From Jermuk we’ll travel back north to the mighty Lake Sevan, the Armenian Ocean, driving along its rocky shores and slowly heading for the Sevan Peninsula via the famed Selim Pass.
Besides the routine pauses for food, toilet and random landscape pictures, we'll first stop at the Orbelian's Caravanserai (stunning views over the serpentine mountain road), then in Hayravank and Noratus (not-to-be-missed lakeside monastery and thousand-year-old khachkar cemetery) and finally in Gavar, a quaint provincial town full of Soviet nostalgia.
In the afternoon we'll eventually arrive in the city of Sevan and then head for the namesake peninsula, where we'll enjoy a romantic glimpse over the lake, admire the gracious shapes of the Sevanavank monastic complex and marvel at the modernist shapes of the House of Writers of Soviet Armenia.
Overnight on the Sevan Peninsula.
DAY 6 - Armenia: Dilijan, Fioletovo and Alaverdi
After entering the Tavush province, we’ll pause in idyllically-located city of Dilijan, a once famous retreat for Soviet poets, painters, scholars, writers and politicians alike.
In Dilijan we’ll take care to avoid the heavily-restored, fake-looking and über-touristic Sharambeyan Street, and tour the authentic Soviet downtown instead. We’ll also pay our tribute to the Soviet Soldier Memorial and visit a Soviet-era sanatorium just outside town.
Close to Dilijan we’ll then tour the little-known hamlet of Fioletevo, one of the last thriving Molokan communities in the Southern Caucasus.
The Molokans are rather friendly but extremely shy members of an Orthodox spiritual sect who live in almost complete isolation from the rest of society, far from modern comforts and technologies: the Russian answer to the Amish communities in rural Pennsylvania.
In the afternoon, we’ll then travel further north to the mining town of Alaverdi, breaking the journey in Vanadzor (formerly Kirovakan), a lovely city of Soviet provincial sleepiness.
After a scenic drive along the Debed Canyon, we'll eventually arrive in Alaverdi, where we'll enjoy a tour around the steampunk and slightly unsettling downtown.
Overnight in Alaverdi.
DAY 7 - Georgia: Marneuli
After a de rigueur ascent to the picturesque monastic complexes of Sanahin and Haghpat and a visit to the Soviet Air Force Museum dedicated to Artyom Mikoyan, we’ll take our leave of Armenia and head for neighbouring Georgia, an ancient country and former Soviet republic located at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
Crossing a few dusty frontier hamlets inhabited by ethnic Azerbaijanis, we’ll reach the town of Marneuli and visit the local Monument to the Heroes of the Great Patriotic War.
In the afternoon we’ll finally arrive in Tbilisi, the lively capital of post-Soviet Georgia.
Dinner and overnight in Tbilisi.
DAY 8 - Georgia: Soviet Tbilisi
Full day devoted to the unseen side of Tbilisi: crumbling buildings, brutalist concrete shapes, Soviet modernist gems and mosaics, bustling bazaars, improvised street stalls, hidden bakeries and not a single tourist around!
Architectural Highlights: Bank of Georgia, National Radio Building, Industrial College, Chronicles of Georgia Monument, Archeology Museum, Nutzubidze, Gldani, Dezerter Bazaar, Georgia Expo, State Circus, Vake Park, Wedding Palace, National Library.
Overnight in Tbilisi.
DAY 9 - Georgia: Military Road
After an early breakfast, we’ll head for the astounding mountains of the mighty Caucasus, the impervious mountain range that marks the border between Europe and Asia, Christianity and Islam, the former USSR and the Middle East.
Stretching from the Black Sea and the Caspian shores, the Caucasus is home to both Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe at 5,642 metres (18,510 ft) above sea level, and Mount Kazbek, a dormant stratovolcano located on the tense frontier separating post-Soviet Georgia from Russia.
Driving along the legendary Georgian Military Road, a strategic route connecting Tbilisi with the border town of Stepantsminda and further to Vladikavkaz (the elegant capital of North Ossetia), we will travel through a majestic landscape of high peaks, intimidating ravines and idyllic mountain pastures and slowly approach the Kazbek.
Major Soviet-themed stops along the route will include the sleepy socialist-classicist town of Dusheti, the spaceship-like monument in Zhinvali dedicated to the 300 Aragvian Highlanders and the politically controversial memorial to the Treaty of Georgievsk, also known as the Russia-Georgia Friendship Monument.
Once in Stepantsminda, we’ll also allow ourselves a more touristy detour to visit the postcard-like Gergeti Trinity Church, which offers spectacular views over the city and the surrounding mountainscapes.
Overnight in Stepantsminda.
DAY 10 - Georgia: Pankisi
From Stepantsminda we’ll drive back south along the Georgian Military Highway and then turn east towards Tianeti, a charming piedmont municipality that is often overlooked by the common tourist.
After lunch we’ll then enter the Pankisi Gorge, a secretive valley in Eastern Georgia inhabited mainly by the muslim Kists, an ethnic subgroup of the Chechens.
Dinner and overnight in the Pankisi Gorge.
DAY 11 - Georgia: Kakheti
We'll spend the first half of the day with the proud and gentle inhabitants of the Pankisi Gorge, experiencing local traditions and tasting delicious homemade specialities.
From the Pankisi Gorge we’ll drive further east across Kakheti, Georgia’s wine country, and visit Akhmeta, home to a beautiful monastery, and Telavi, a lovely provincial capital full of post-Soviet allure.
In the evening we’ll finally reach the sleepy frontier town of Lagodekhi, the Georgian gateway to Azerbaijan.
Dinner and overnight in Lagodekhi.
DAY 12 - Azerbaijan: Zaqatala
Today we’ll cross into Azerbaijan and head north towards the high peaks of the Greater Caucasus to visit Zaqatala and the namesake province, a region of superb natural beauty and intricate ethnic dynamics.
We'll tour the town’s Soviet and pre-Soviet sights as well as the bustling central market, where you'll be able to observe and interact with the different ethnicities inhabiting the region: Lezgins, Tsakhurs, Tabassarans, Akhvaks, Avars, Dargins and, of course, Azerbaijanis; all coming together to one place to sell, buy and trade everything imaginable from smelly onions to rusty utensils.
In the afternoon we'll visit the traditional Avar mountain village of Car and later transfer to the ancient city of Qax, a picturesque stone-and-wood traditional town with a seizable Georgian minority.
Around dinner time we’ll finally arrive in Sheki, home of the UNESCO-listed Palace of Shaki Khans.
Dinner and overnight in Sheki.
DAY 13 - Azerbaijan: Sheki
Full day devoted to Sheki’s old town: ancient mosques, atmospheric chaikhanas, narrow alleys, colourful markets, and labyrinthine caravansaries.
In the afternoon we’ll also visit the nearby Udi village of Kish, where we will be able to admire a well-preserved Caucasian Albanian church and learn about the obscure culture and the traditions of the Udis, the last Albanians of the Caucasus.
Dinner and overnight in Sheki.
DAY 14 - Azerbaijan: Ismaili Province
Today we will drive towards Baku crossing the beautiful valleys of the Ismaili Province.
The list of interesting hops we’ll make along the way also includes the ancient city of Shamakhi and the Soviet observatory of Pirkuli.
Dinner and overnight in Baku.
DAY 15 - Azerbaijan: Soviet Baku
In the company of our local guide, we will enjoy a full-day tour of Baku: Soviet neoclassicism and modernism, USSR-era mosaics and memorials, pre-Soviet architectural wonders, post-Soviet pomp, and ancient Islamic grace.
Dinner and overnight in Baku.
DAY 16 - FAREWELL TO THE CAUCASUS
After sharing a last Azerbaijani meal together, we'll take care of your transfer to Heydar Aliyev International Airport.
End of the tour.
3495 €
INCLUSIONS
Double/twin-room accommodation, all breakfasts, private road transport (car/minivan), entrance fees for the attractions listed in the itinerary, English-speaking guiding and translation service, 24/7 in situ and remote assistance.
EXCLUSIONS
Single supplement, international flights, meals, drinks and tips, visas if required, entrance to attractions not listed in the itinerary, insurance.
