from 3 reviews
5-6 hours
Daily Tour
Armenian, English, Russian
This tour combines Armenia’s two most iconic ancient sites with something you can only do in a local home – baking lavash from scratch in a traditional tonir oven. Most tourists visit Garni and Geghard and leave. This version adds a hands-on cultural moment that turns a sightseeing day into something you actually participated in. The UNESCO recognised lavash baking is not a performance, it is a real family kitchen, real dough, and real fire. The tour lasts around 5 to 6 hours, and all the sites are located in the Kotayk region, about 40 to 50 minutes drive from Yerevan.
The route itself covers the Arch of Charents viewpoint over Mount Ararat, Garni Temple (the only surviving pagan temple in Armenia), the Symphony of Stones basalt gorge, and Geghard Monastery, carved into the face of a cliff.
1. The first stop is the Arch of Charents, also known as the Arch of Ararat – We make a brief stop at the Arch of Charents for the classic view of Mount Ararat before continuing to Garni.
2. The second stop is Garni Pagan Temple – Garni Temple sits at the edge of a canyon with a 200-meter drop below it. The view alone is worth the stop. Your guide will tell you the story of how it survived – while every other pagan monument in Armenia was destroyed after the adoption of Christianity in 301 AD, Garni was converted into a royal summer palace and saved. Below the temple you walk down into the gorge to see the Symphony of Stones – hexagonal basalt columns that rise like a natural cathedral from the riverbank.
3. The next stop is Geghard Monastery – Geghard is the stop that surprises people most. From the outside it looks like a fortress built into a cliff. Inside, part of the church is carved directly from the rock – the walls, the ceiling, the altar niches. The acoustics are extraordinary. If you are lucky, you will hear local singers performing inside, and the sound will stay with you long after the tour. After Geghard we drive to the lavash baking location, which is the part of this tour that makes it different from every other Garni-Geghard day trip.
4. The last stop is for a lavash baking experience, where you’ll learn the centuries-old Armenian technique of making lavash. You’ll take part in the rolling and stretching of the dough, bake your own lavash in a traditional tonir oven, and of course – taste it the Armenian way, wrapped with fresh herbs and cheese.
This tour works particularly well for travelers who want more than sightseeing. The historic sites give you the depth – two thousand years of Armenian history in a single morning. The lavash masterclass gives you the warmth – flour on your hands, smoke from the tonir, fresh bread with cheese and herbs eaten on the spot. It is also a good choice for families with children, who tend to remember the baking long after the monasteries have blurred together. The tour is private, so the pace adjusts to your group. If the kids want longer at Garni or you want a second round of lavash, that is entirely possible.
All private tours can be changed upon request.
Prefer a shorter version without the masterclass? See our Garni Geghard and Symphony of Stones tour.
You will roll and stretch the dough, bake your own lavash in a traditional clay tonir oven, and eat it fresh with local cheese, herbs and matsun yogurt. The masterclass is hands-on — you do the baking yourself, guided by a local host.
Yes, it is one of the most child-friendly experiences on any Armenia tour. Children generally love the tactile process and eating the result. The activity takes place outdoors in a relaxed setting.
The route is the same — Arch of Charents, Garni Temple, Symphony of Stones, Geghard Monastery — but this version adds a lavash baking masterclass at the end. It runs slightly longer (5–6 hours vs 5 hours) and costs a little more to cover the masterclass.
No — the Garni Temple entrance fee (1,500 AMD) is not included in the tour price. It can be added as an extra when booking.
Lavash is a thin traditional Armenian flatbread baked on the inner walls of a clay tonir oven. It has been a staple of Armenian cuisine for thousands of years. In 2014, UNESCO added Armenian lavash to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, recognising it as a symbol of national identity and community.
Your private driver and guide meet you at your hotel in Yerevan. Garni and Geghard are just 40 km from the city - one of the closest great day trips from any capital in the region.
First stop at the most iconic pagan monument in Armenia - and the only surviving Hellenistic colonnaded temple in the entire former Soviet Union. Built in the 1st century AD in honor of the sun god Mihr, Garni Temple was destroyed by earthquake in 1679 and painstakingly reconstructed between 1969 and 1975. Your guide will explain the remarkable engineering and the myths behind its construction. Below the temple in the Azat River gorge lies the Symphony of Stones - a dramatic natural formation of thousands of hexagonal basalt columns that look like a giant pipe organ rising from the riverbed. One of the most photographed natural phenomena in Armenia.
A short walk down into the gorge to see the basalt columns up close. The geological formation was created by slowly cooling lava flows thousands of years ago. The sound of the river echoing off the columns gives the place its name.
Drive 7 km up the canyon to Geghard - one of Armenia's most extraordinary monuments and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Part of the monastery is carved directly into the living rock of the cliff face - chambers, chapels and khachkars cut from the stone itself. Founded in the 4th century and rebuilt in the 13th century, Geghard once held the spear that pierced Christ's side at the crucifixion, brought here by the Apostle Thaddeus. The legendary monastery gave it the name Geghardavank - Monastery of the Spear.
The cultural highlight of the day - a hands-on masterclass in making Armenian lavash, the UNESCO-recognized traditional flatbread. You will roll the dough, stretch it over a cushion and slap it against the inner walls of a clay tonir oven, watching it puff and blister in seconds. Fresh lavash with local cheese, herbs and matsun yogurt. An experience that connects you directly to 3,000 years of Armenian culinary tradition.
Лаваш получился))