Yoga / Arch of Charents, Azat Reservoir, Geghard Monastery, Garni Temple

• Arch of Charents
• Azat Reservoir
• Yoga
• Geghard Monastery
• Garni Temple

We continue our yoga classes in the nature and combine the health of the body with sightseeings!

Yoga is a science that helps balance the mind, body and emotions and get rid of oppressive thoughts. By training our body and soul, it contibutes to deep self-knowledge. Thanks to yoga classes in the nature, You will gain a new experience promoting to overall health, gain flexibility, get rid of excess weight, restore joint mobility and learn how to breathe correctly. Yoga in nature will become a source of unforgettable sensations for You. Come and convince Yourself!

Today we will start our tour from the Arch of Charents located on the road to Garni and Geghard. The Arch of Charents is one of the favorite places of tourists as it offers a bizarre view of the biblical Mount Ararat. The Charents Arch was built in 1957 by architect Rafael Israyelyan and is dedicated to the famous Armenian poet Yeghishe Charents, who liked walking here. The  words from the popular poem of Charents "I Love the Sun-Baked Taste of Armenian Words" are engraved on the arch. 

We will continue our path to the Azat reservoir. The picturesque area where it is located attracts tourists at any season of the year. The reservoir is surrounded by the Yeranos mountains. Those who like to take pictures will enjoy the area most of all.  

The yoga lesson will be conducted on the shore of Azat reservoir. 

The next stop of the trip is the Geghard Monastery complex, one of the most impressive masterpieces of the Armenian spiritual culture and architecture. A part of the monastery is completely carved into the rock. The famous spear, with which a Roman soldier pierced the body of Jesus, was kept in the monastery. It was brought to Armenia by the Apostle Thaddeus, one of the first preachers of Christianity. Now it is kept in Vagharshapat, in the Museum of History. The main group of monuments of Geghard includes the main church of Katoghike, a narthex, two churches carved into the rock, and a tomb-chapel.

On the way back, we will visit the famous natural monument "Symphony of Stones", located not far from the Garni pagan temple, in the gorge of the Azat River, which is included in the list of natural monuments of Armenia. The "Symphony of Stones" is basalt rocks in the form of straight pipes of about 50-m height, which, due to their amazing symmetry, look as man-made and resemble an organ from a distance, in connection with which the "Symphony of Stones" is also called the "Basalt Organ".

Our last stop is the Garni pagan temple, which we will see under the evening illumination, when the temple is totally transformed. The Garni Temple was built in the second half of the 1st century AD (77 AD). The temple was built in honor of the Sun God Areg - Mihr; 24 columns of the temple symbolized 24 hours of the day. After the adoption of Christianity, the temple became the "summer residence" of the sister of King Trdat III Khosrovdukht. In 1679, the Garni temple was destroyed by a strong earthquake and reconstructed from ruins only in the Soviet times. The restoration work began in 1969 and ended in 1975, exactly 19 centuries after its construction and three centuries after its destruction.

Departure: 10:00

Arrival: 20:00

Departure place: Hakob Hakobyan str. 1/ next to the Mergelyan Institute