2-day tour Exclusive Tour to "Lake Arpi" National Park, Arshakuni Tomb, Dashtadem Fortress, Monastery Marmashen, Gyumri city tour + barbecue on the shore of the lake

• Arshakuni Tomb
• Dashtadem Fortress
• "Lake Arpi" National Park 
• Marmashen Monastery Complex 
• Akhuryan River
• Spring Heghnar
• Gyumri city tour

1 day:

• Arshakuni Tomb
• Dashtadem Fortress
• "Lake Arpi" National Park 
• Barbeque at the shore of the lake
• Night at the hotel 

The first stop of the tour is the tomb of the Arshakuni royal dynasty in Aghtsk village. The relics of the Armenian kings of the pagan and Christian eras are buried there. The tomb is dated back to 364. During excavations, a stepped pedestal and fragments of a three-nave basilica were found in the upper part of the monument. According to Pavstos Buzand, the Persian king Shapuh II, after the capture of Ani-Kamakh in 364, tried to transport the relics of the Armenian kings buried there to Persia. According to the Persians, along with the relics, their “glory, luck and courage” will also pass to their country. However, Vasak Mamikonyan, having defeated the Persians in the province of Ayrarat, took away the relics of the Armenian kings and buried them in Aghtsk.

The next point is the Dashtadem Fortress. Written sources did not contain any information about the time of its construction. The castle-citadel is the most ancient fortification. It is assumed that the castle was built by the Kamsarakans in the 7th century on the foundation of the structure of the Urartian period. This is a quadrangular, hall-like, three-storey building fortified with towers, erected with purely hewn stones of reddish tuff.

The hall is vaulted, the walls are plastered from the inside, the floor is paved with slabs. There were no windows, lighting was carried out by means of light openings in the ceiling. An Arabic inscription has been preserved on the southwestern tower, indicating that in 1174 the Sultan of Ani ibn Shavur Shattadin fortified the castle-citadel from the outside with polygonal and round pyramidal towers. The internal premices of the towers had windows. The only entrance was opened in the southwest corner, the door was made of stone.

Then we will continue our way to the national park "Lake Arpi"

«Lake Arpi» National Park is located in the north of the Shirak region, nearby the borders with Turkey and Georgia. It is located at an altitude of 1500-3100 meters above sea level and occupies an area of ​​21.179 hectares. The National park is a place of distribution of a unique transcaucasian ecosystem. The variety of landscapes includes subalpine meadows, mountain ledges, lakes and swamps. It is a paradise for hundreds of species of migratory and non-migratory birds, some of which are registered in the international Red Book. According to scientists, more than 190 species of birds live in this area, 120 of them give birth to offspring here.

Lake Arpi is the habitat of the largest colony of the Armenian gull and the only breeding site of the Dalmatian pelican in Armenia. Other endangered species that can often be noticed in the park are the corncrake, black stork, common shelduck and common crane.

89 species of butterflies and about 700 species of vascular plants have been found in the Arpi National Park, including a number of endemics of the Caucasus and Armenia. But the most amazing fact is that  the park is the only habitat of the Darevsky's viper in the world!

On the shore of Lake Arpi we will have dinner: our traditional delicious fish and pork barbecue. Those who wish can walk in the forest and go fishing.

We will stay at the hotel situated in the territory of the national park. 

2 day:

• Breakfast at the hotel 
• Walk in the lake
• Marmashen Monastery Complex 
• Akhuryan River
• Spring Heghnar
• Gyumri city tour
• Return to Yerevan

We will start the day with breakfast and can spend our free time on the shore of Lake Arpi.

Then we will continue our journey to the Marmashen monastery complex (X-XIII centuries) located in the valley of the Akhuryan River. It is one of the best monuments of the Armenian architecture and was an important cultural and religious center of medieval Armenia. Marmashen suddenly opens up to visitors’ eyes, it is not visible from the road. The monastery made of red tuff fits the yellow-green mountainous landscape, and the Akhuryan River serves as a background. The monastery complex consists of the Large and Small (Upper) groups of monuments. Katoghike Church, three unnamed churches, a porch-gavit and a cemetery are within the Large Group. A church and the adjacent cemetery are within the Small (Upper) group of monuments. 

          «Spring Heghnar» memorial is also located in the territory of complex. The spring has a secret: water will come out of it only if you perform a certain action. If you do not know what action to perform, you will have to wait for a long time. Many people have no patience, so Heghnar remains dry.

          We will have a rest on the bank of the Akhuryan River, which is really beautiful.

The next point of our tour is Gyumri city, one of those rare cities that have managed to preserve the spirit of antiquity. The archaeological excavations are evidence of the fact that the first human settlements on the territory of modern Gyumri are dated back to the Bronze Age. In those times it was called Kumayri. In the chronicles of the 8th century BC this area is mentioned as a center of tribes settled in the ancient Armenian territories of Vanand, Shirak and Ayrarat.

Today's Gyumri is a city with low-rise buildings: multi-storey buildings are not being built here after the 1988 earthquake. The city has preserved its old, central part almost untouched. A huge part of the history of Armenia ... Gyumri is rich in churches, which are an integral part of the city and give originality to its architectural view.

The following places can be visited here: 

• Yot Verk Church, which is also called Surb Astvatsatsin Church (Holy Mother of God). A chapel built by the Kamsarakan princes was located in its place in XVII century,  where the image of the “Seven wounds” of the Holy Mother of God was kept, in connection with which the church erected later (1873-1884) in the same place was called Yot Verk (translated from Armenian as “Seven Wounds”).
• Surb Amenaprkich Church (Holy Savior) (1858-1872), which is reminiscent of the Ani Cathedral by its architecture. In the courtyard of the church there is a monument “To Innocent Victims, Merciful Hearts” dedicated to the victims of the 1988 Spitak earthquake and the rescuers, who participated in the elimination of its consequences.
• The Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator, which is more popular as "Geghtsonts Zham" ("Village Chapel" or "Chapel for Peasants"). It was built in 1870-1980. The church has three chapels and a small bell tower. During the Soviet years, the dome of the church was demolished and it was turned into a warehouse. The church survived the 1926 and 1988 earthquakes.
• Abovyan Street (former Aleksandrovskaya), which belongs to the old part of the city. It has preserved the spirit of the architecture of the 19th century and s built up with old, one- and two-storey houses. An old bathhouse, the Puppet Theater, the Academy of Arts, houses where famous people lived are located here.
•  Varpetats Street, where the museums of poets Shiraz, A. Isahakyan and actor Mher Mkrtchyan are located.
• The Gallery of famous Soviet artists sisters Mariam and Yeranuhi Aslamazyan. The sisters founded their own gallery in their native Gyumri in 1987 and donated over 600 of their original paintings, ceramics and graphic works to it. The Gallery of Sisters Mariam and Yeranuhi Aslamazyan stores the great collection of the sisters' works from all the museums of the world. The museum is located in a building of the 19th century, built of black tuff by rich merchants Keshishovs. The building was damaged by the 1988 earthquake, then for many years it served as a shelter for the people losing their houses during the earthquake. The museum was reopened in 2004. Yeranuhi's works are exhibited on the first floor, and Mariam's works are on the second floor. The gallery also exhibits ceramic plates made by Mariam Aslamazyan and pottery  made by Yeranuhi Aslamazyan.
• The Dzitokhtsyan House-Museum is a museum of folk architecture and urban life of Gyumri. The museum is located in the historical district of Kumayri. The house was built of red tuff famous in Shirak by wealthy merchant Petros Dzitokhtsyan in 1872. The architect came to the decision to build a house on a slope. The eastern part is one-storey, and the western part is two-storey. The building was not damaged after the earthquakes of 1926 and 1988. The Dzitokhtsyans left the city in 1918, since that time the house has served for various purposes: an orphanage for the girls, who lost their parents during the Armenian Genocide in Turkey, was organized here, the police and the district committee of the party were placed in the building in the Soviet times, and people also lived here. The opening of the museum took place here in 1984.
• S. Merkurov House-Museum was opened in Gyumri in 1984 in the house, where the sculptor was born. The building was built in 1869 and is a typical example of a merchant's mansion of the 19th century, made of red and black tuff. A carved wooden terrace is attached to the house. The museum building is adjacent to the neighboring building of the Dzitokhtsyan house-museum. The exposition of the museum presents the works of Merkurov, his documents and personal belongings. The author's copies of the death masks of famous people occupy a special place here. Merkurov is an author of more than 300 masks, including the original death mask of Lenin. Among the masks are those of H. Tumanyan, Khrimyan Hayrik, L. Tolstoy, A. Einshtein, N. Krupskaya. Merkurov House-Museum was damaged during the 1988 earthquake, but was restored in 2003.
• The Catholic Church Srbots Nahatakats (Holy Martyrs) is located next to the Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Gyumri. The name of the church is a tribute to the memory of the holy martyrs of the Armenian genocide. The construction work began in 2010 and completed in 2015. Hakob Jivanyan is an architect of the church, and the copper bells were made by sculptor Artush Papoyan. The church has a bell tower, a courtyard and a sacristy in the basement.
• The Russian Church of Archangel Mikhail (“Plplan Zham”, which in Armenian means “Shining Church”) is the next sightseeing of Gyumri. The church is a vivid example of a small classical Russian church built of Armenian black tuff. The church shines because of the metallic cover of the roof, hence it received the name “Plplan” (shining). The church was built in the southern part of the city, where there is an old cemetery called Patvi Blur (Honor Hill). The hill has been used as a Christian cemetery, where soldiers were buried, until the beginning of the 19th century, 
•  The Black Fortress, which was once a defensive structure and served as a military prison. A large, round black fortress is located on a hill overlooking Gyumri. The fortress was built in 1834. It had underground communications leading to the location of the current “Mother-Armenia” memorial and the Red Fortress. The fortress became a warehouse of artillery shells after the Russian-Turkish war, in 1877-1878. Today, the fortress is possessed by private individuals and after repairs it will serve as a place of festivals and various international competitions. The “Mother-Armenia” memorial built in 1975 is located nearby.
  
  

  Departure: 08:00

  Arrival: 22:00

  Departure place: Hakob Hakobyan str. 1