from 7 reviews
5 hours
Daily Tour
Armenian, English, Russian
Join our Garni, Geghard & Symphony of Stones tour, a popular day trip from Yerevan to see Armenia’s most iconic ancient sites. It lasts around 5 hours, and the sites are located not far from Yerevan.
1.Our first stop is the Arch of Charents, also known as the Arch of Ararat. This is a unique sightseeing spot from where one can have a breathtaking view of the biblical Mount Ararat.
2. The second stop is the Garni Pagan Temple. Garni is the only preserved pagan temple in Armenia. It was built in the 1st century AD and later served as a summer residence for the Armenian kings after the country adopted Christianity. The temple is surrounded on three sides by a deep canyon, and nearby you can witness the stunning geological formation known as the “Symphony of Stones” — columnar basalts created by ancient volcanic activity.
The tour also includes a walk down to these majestic natural formations, where you’ll find the Azat River and enjoy the surrounding beauty of the landscape.
3. Our final stop is the Geghard Monastery, a partly cave-carved monastery dating back to the 13th century. “Geghard” means “spear” — a reference to the spear that pierced the body of Jesus during the crucifixion. The monastery was named after this sacred relic, which was once kept here. Today, the spear is preserved in the religious center of Armenia, the Holy See of Etchmiadzin.
Geghard is set among dramatic cliffs and rivers, and its uniqueness lies in its architecture — a large portion of the complex is carved directly into the rock. Thanks to this, the acoustics inside are remarkable, and you might be lucky enough to hear traditional Armenian spiritual songs performed in the monastery.
Garni Geghard day trip from Yerevan is one of the most popular tours from Yerevan, combining history, spirituality, and breathtaking nature. Whether you’re exploring the Garni Temple — the only surviving pagan temple in Armenia — or visiting the UNESCO-listed Geghard Monastery There are countless things to do in Garni and Geghard, from admiring Armenia sightseeings
All private tours can be changed upon request.
Your private driver and guide meet you at your hotel in Yerevan. Garni is just 28 km from the city — one of the closest great half-day trips available from any capital in the region.
First stop at the most iconic pagan monument in Armenia — the only surviving Hellenistic colonnaded temple in the entire former Soviet Union. Built in the 1st century AD by King Trdat I, dedicated to Mihr the sun god, and funded in part by the Roman Emperor Nero. Destroyed by earthquake in 1679 and meticulously reconstructed between 1969 and 1975. Inside the complex you can also see the royal bathhouse with its extraordinary mosaic floor made from 30,000 individual stones — including one of the only surviving inscriptions in Armenian that reads: we worked and got nothing, believed to be the complaint of the craftsmen who built it. Views from the cliff edge across the Azat River gorge are spectacular.
Walk down into the Azat River gorge to the Symphony of Stones — a dramatic natural formation of thousands of hexagonal and pentagonal basalt columns up to 50 meters tall, created by slowly cooling lava flows millions of years ago. The columns are so geometrically perfect they look like the pipes of a giant cathedral organ, rising from the riverbed. One of the most photogenic natural phenomena in Armenia and one of the most striking geological sites in the entire Caucasus.
Drive 7 km up the gorge 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 — giving the monastery its name Geghardavank, Monastery of the Spear. The acoustics inside the rock-cut chambers are extraordinary.
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