Orient Signature
The Armenia big buses often drive past — seven days of famous landmarks and the villages, canyons and workshops between them.
Length
7 days
Route
7 regions
Stay
3★ hotels and family guesthouses
Pace
Relaxed
Season
May–October. Lori is at its greenest in May and June.
How this journey feels
YerevanGarni & GeghardByurakanGyumriDseghDebed canyonSevan & Dilijan
Who this suitsTravellers who want the landmarks they came for — and then the country behind them. Excellent as a second visit, and honestly excellent as a first.
Arrival and, once you have landed properly, a city walk that skips the checklist: courtyards off Abovyan Street, the covered market, a wine bar, and dinner somewhere we would go on our own night off. Stories included.
Classic Armenia, because it is classic for a reason. Garni temple, the basalt columns of the Symphony of Stones, and Geghard carved into the cliff — broken up by a long lunch at a village house where the lavash comes out of the tonir in front of you.
Up Aragats to Amberd fortress at 2,300 metres and the village of Byurakan, whose observatory put Armenian astronomy on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register. Village dinner, astronomy stories, and stargazing after dark if the sky allows.
West to Armenia’s second city. The Kumayri district’s carved tuff streets, Marmashen monastery in its river gorge, a working blacksmith’s forge where you are handed the hammer, and an evening of Gyumri food and Gyumri humour — both of which the city takes seriously.
North-east onto the Lori plateau to Dsegh, the village of the poet Hovhannes Tumanyan — his house, his views, and an easy walk along the canyon rim where the Debed gorge simply opens under the fields. Dinner at a village guesthouse.
The canyon in detail: the frescoes of half-ruined Kobayr, reached by a short steep path most tours skip, and Odzun’s pink basilica on the plateau above. Slow lunch in a canyon village, and the afternoon at whichever monastery you want more of.
South over the pass: Dilijan’s forest and Sharambeyan Street, Sevanavank above the blue of the lake, and a last lakeside lunch before Yerevan and your flight. A gentle last day, on purpose.
In the price
Not included
Tick anything you would like added and it comes with your enquiry. Nothing is charged or confirmed here — a person replies with what it changes, if anything.
Every stop on the journey, in order. Distances are indicative, not a driving route.
Other journeys
Best for a long weekendShort break
YerevanGarni & GeghardKhor VirapAreniLake Sevan
The essential country in four days — Yerevan, the two great monasteries of the Azat valley, Ararat from the plain, and Lake Sevan.
The essential routeClassic journey
YerevanKhor VirapTatevSevanDilijanHaghpatGyumri
A week from the Ararat plain to the Debed canyon, taking in all three of Armenia's UNESCO World Heritage properties and the cable car to Tatev.
Grand tour
YerevanAragatsGyumriLoriDilijanSevanSyunikVayots Dzor
Ten days for people who would rather see six places properly than sixteen from a bus window — including the corners most itineraries skip.
Save an experience or start with a few preferences.
Saved on this device only.