Meet at the group hotel in Yerevan. A single transfer from Yerevan Airport is provided.

Our programme begins with a 2-hour walking tour of Yerevan City including the impressive Opera House and the incredible 'Cascade' monument, a stunning arrangement of gardens and waterfalls that climbs 100 metres to one of the city's highpoints and provides spectacular views of Mount Ararat (in neighbouring Turkey). We can take it easy over coffee in an open-air cafe. After lunch we visit the Yerevan Brandy Factory and the Closed Market or 'Pak Shuka' where we can get a real flavour of Armenia amongst the colourful stalls selling all manner of local produce - fruit, vegetables, spices and sweets. In the evening, we will enjoy a traditional Armenian dinner.

We begin our exploration of Armenia with a drive southwards from the capital to the popular monastery of Khor Virap (which means 'deep pit') built over the pit of imprisonment of the 3rd century Saint Gregory. The monastery sits on a hill, with great views over the border to Ararata and Little Ararat. Next stop on our loop around to Sevan Lake is at Norovank Monastery, a 13th century complex impressively situated in the rocky Gnishik gorge. Continuing our drive, we traverse pleasant mountainous terrain to reach the village of Yeghegis. Here, we take the opportunity to stretch our legs with the 3-hour round trip walk up to the crest of a ridge, where we find the ancient (10th century) fortress of Smbataberd. The completion of our drive to Sevan Lake takes us across the Selim Pass (2400m) where there is an amazingly well preserved 14th century caravanserai used by travellers on the Silk Road. Dropping down to the shores of Lake Sevan, we check in at our accommodation. Total drive time today will be around 5hrs.

This morning, we drive north beside Sevan Lake and on to the pleasant resort town of Dilijan and further up on wooded slopes of Mount Tchantinler, in the extreme north-east of the country, where we find Sanahin Monastery. This is a beautiful part of the country, the 'Armenian Switzerland' with lush forest and the town is home to lots of Armenian artists and other celebrities. We have another chance to enjoy some of the picturesque Armenian countryside, as we make our 4-5 hour walk across to the neighbouring Haghpat Monastery, which can be clearly seen in the distance. The sites are linked by a pathway between the villages which boasts splendid mountainous views. We will stop off to eat our picnic lunch in the bed of the Debed river gorge, one of the most spectacular in Armenia. The complex of churches at Haghpat Monastery is impressively located and there are great views across hills and valleys. We then transfer to our accommodation in Dzoraget or Dilijan. Drive time today will be around 2.5hrs.

From our hotel we transfer to the 6th century Odzun monastery. From here we walk to the village of Kobayr. We start above the Debet canyon and as our path descends we have dramatic views as the slopes drop to the canyon floor and river. As the path levels out we enjoy a delightful walk as the canyon opens out. After our picnic lunch we continue to descend and arrive at the village of Kobayr where we can have a stop for refreshments. Meeting our transport, we make the 5hr drive back to Yerevan and our hotel.

The Geghami Mountains extend north to south for around 70 kilometres and separate the Ararat Plain (to the west) from Lake Sevan (to the east). They are of volcanic origin and include a number of extinct volcanoes. The average height of the terrain is around 2500 metres, rising to 3597 metres at the summit of Mount Azhdahak. We start our walk at the village for Sevaberd (2100m), around a 1 hr drive from Yerevan. Our walk today ascends gently to the plateau and to Lake Akna where we camp for the night. It is very beautiful here. Very few tourists and people are seen, and there is a stillness which gives off a great peace.

We set off from Lake Akna past a nearby shepherds camp and ascending through rolling uplands and alpine meadows to the base of Mount Azhdahak (3597m). After lunch we have a short steep ascent along the zig-zag trail, across scree and possibly some snow patches. We are rewarded by views of its summit crater (complete with snow-melt lake) and by another fantastic panorama, encompassing Sevan Lake and Mount Ararat. We take time to enjoy this amazing place, before descending down the other side of the mountain and camp not far from its base near some shepherds camps.

A wonderful day of trekking, as we traverse the open mountainous landscape of Geghama. This part of Armenia is well known for the quantity and quality of its petroglyphs (ancient rock art, depicting lots of subjects, from ibex to astrological symbols) and we descend to one of the best of these sites on the volcanic landscapes at 3050 metres. This is also a great viewpoint, with Mount Aragats in one direction and Mt Ararat in the other. We continue through and pass Lake Vank with its standing stones before descending to our campsite.

The final day of our Geghama Mountains traverse. We leave camp and the pretty meadows and grazing land of the high plateau as we meander down from the mountains. Earlier in the season there are many wild flowers as we descend. We end our trek at Garni, where there is a rebuilt Pagan temple, like a mini 'Parthenon'. We meet the vehicle and have a quick visit of the nearby Geghard Monastery, which is partly hewn out of the rock. We then drive (2hrs) to Lake Kari at the bottom of Mt Aragats. If we have time we can take a short detour to the 11th century fortress of Ambred built on the slopes of the mountain at 2300 metres. Continuing our drive to Lake Kari Lich (3200m), where we camp and make sure we have an early night ahead of our ascent of Armenia's highest peak. There is an Astronomical observatory at the lake.

We make an early start to give us as much time as possible for the ascent and also to maximise our chances of getting good views. Aragats is an old volcano and its several summits are arrayed around a central crater lake (Kari Lich). Cloud tends to build up late morning around this lake. There are four summits on the Mt Aragats massif. The highest point is the North Summit (4090m) which is a long and technical walk. Depending on the group and the weather, our goal today is the Southern Summit at 3890m. After taking in the awe-inspiring summit views, we return to our camp for some refreshment, before jumping in the vehicle and returning to our Yerevan hotel, where we have a final celebratory meal.

A single transfer to Yerevan Airport is provided, where your holiday ends.