Romantic Road Trip: Monasteries, Wine & Spa

The great road trip for two, with no group and no fixed programme: on the first evening you taste Areni Noir made from indigenous grapes at a family winery in Areni, before driving up to Noravank Monastery — a quiet table above the red gorge as the cliffs glow in the low light. On the second day you follow the Arpa river past the quiet monastery of Gndevank to the thermal springs of Jermuk, and let the evening unwind at the spa. The third day carries you into the deep south: on “Wings of Tatev”, the longest reversible cable car in the world, you glide hand in hand over the Vorotan Gorge to the cliff monastery, before bathing in the warm pools of Satani Kamurj. On the fourth day, an unhurried drive back to Yerevan. Four days, three hand-picked hotels, no clock to watch — just the two of you, the wine and the light of the south.

1. 1

   Areni & Noravank: The First Evening for Two

   The start of four days on the road, with no return home tonight: a private wine tasting at a family winery in Areni and a visit to the 6,100-year-old Areni-1 cave, then up to Noravank Monastery against its red cliffs in the last light. The first night is spent amid the vineyards of Vayots Dzor — the south still lies ahead.

2. 2

   Gndevank & the Thermal Springs of Jermuk

   A drive along the Arpa river past the quiet monastery of Gndevank to the spa town of Jermuk; a walk to the bubbling mineral geysers, then a quiet evening at the thermal spa.

3. 3

   Wings of Tatev & the Warm Pools of Satani Kamurj

   A drive via Sisian into the deep south to Goris; on “Wings of Tatev”, the longest reversible cable car in the world, you glide over the Vorotan Gorge to Tatev’s cliff monastery, then a bathe in the warm pools of Satani Kamurj.

4. 4

   The Return to Yerevan

   An unhurried drive via Sisian and Yeghegnadzor back to Yerevan, with no clock to watch.