Tour in Georgia and Azerbaijan
Day 1: Arrival in Tbilisi
Arrival in Tbilisi International Airport. Transfer to the Hotel in Tbilisi and overnight in Tbilisi.
Day 2: Tbilisi – Mtskheta – Tbilisi (50 km 09:00 – 18:00)
Breakfast at the hotel. Afterwards, walking tour in old district of the city. Founded by Vakhtang Gorgasali, the Georgian King of Kartli (Iberia) and made into a capital in the 6th century, Tbilisi is a significant industrial, social, and cultural center. Tour includes following sightseeings: Metekhi Church, erected on the cliff, overlooking the Mtkvari River; the famous Sulfur Baths, also located in Old Tbilisi, on the other side of the river. In the same district, we lift up by cableway on Narikala Fortress. Called the mother fortress of Tbilisi, Narikala is an ancient symbol of city’s defence. It was established in the 4th century, around the period when the city itself was founded. Visit Meidani square and walk on Shardeni street with its fashionable, cozy cafes and art galleries, passing along the Sioni Cathedral and Anchiskhati Basilica. The tour takes you to Rustaveli Avenue, where attractions such as the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet theatre, Rustaveli Theatre, different art galleries and cafes will draw your attention and provide a cosmopolitan atmosphere.
*Getting thermal water procedure in Sulfur Baths will be relaxing part of the tour (price per person 15-20Euro)
Then we drive to Mtskheta, UNESCO world heritage site and former capital of Georgia – Mtskheta. Excursion
includes visit to “Jvari Church” or Holy Cross Church – Built in the VI century, it is placed on the hill
overlooking the conflux of the two rivers. According to the history, the church is also very notable monument
of the country. Next site is “Svetitskhoveli Cathedral”. The name translates as “a life-giving pillar”. The
Cathedral was built in XI century and became a cradle of Christianity in Georgia. The holy robe of Jesus Christ,
which was buried here, makes the Cathedral the most important place of the country.
Transfer and overnight at the hotel
Day 3: Tbilisi – Ananuri – Kazbegi – Tbilisi (320 km, 08:30 – 19:00) (For dates 20.04 –31.10)
Breakfast at the hotel. Today we drive to Kazbegi, mountain region of the country. On the way, we pass Ananuri Castle and Jinvali water reservoir of amazing beauty. Stop and see different local hand made things (thick felt, embroidery iconographic painting). A stunning drive from Gudauri along the Tergi River will bring us to Stepantsminda – the main town in the region. Visit Kazbegi surroundings. From center, we drive through beautiful valleys and woodlands to visit Gergeti Trinity Church located at 2170m. You may observe one of the highest glaciers in the Caucasus – Mt Kazbegi (5047m). Then drive back to Tbilisi and overnight.
Optional Day 3: Tbilisi – Davit Gareji – Tbilisi (160 km, 08:30 – 15:00)
(For dates 01.01 – 19.04; 01.11 – 31.12)
Today’s excursion will take you to the cave monastery David Gareja, where you can see valuable frescoes from the 19th century. For seeing this places we will need approximately 1 hour. On request, you can continue hiking to the monastery Udabno: the beautiful frescoes in the abandoned
Churches (takes 1,5-2 hours). Afterwards drive to Tbilisi.
Overnight in Tbilisi.
DAY 4: Tbilisi – Bodbe – Sighnaghi – Lagodekhi –Sheki (300 km, 08:30 – 19:00)
Breakfast at the hotel, then we drive to Kakheti. Visit of the Monastery of Saint Nino in Bodbe. Afterwards visit Sighnaghi, which is called “the city of love”. Tour of the smallest and most beautiful city of Kakheti, surrounded by the XVIII century city wall. A beautiful panoramic view of the Alazani Valley and Caucasus opens from here. Continue to Lagodekhi Nature Reserve and Georgian-Azerbaijani border.
Border formalities, transport and guide change. Drive to Ilisu village which is a municipality in the Qakh district of Azerbaijan and has a wonderful panoramic view. It has a population of 1,370. The village was settled in XIII century. A distance of 3 km for the first Ilisu village existed in the past have been people living in the area now known as Kendtala. The area of the ancient tombs on examples of epigraphic written in Kufic line proves it once again. Then continue to Sheki. Sheki is one of the most famous and ancient places of Azerbaijan. Situated 700 m (2297 ft.) above sea level like an amphitheatre surrounded by the mountains and forests of oak trees, this ancient city was long famed as a silk centre and an important stop on the Great Silk Route. There is an assumption that the name of the town goes back to the ethnonym of the Saks, who reached the territory of Azerbaijan in the 7th century BC. We’ll start our Sheki tour from visiting the 18th century Khan’s summer palace with magnificent frescos and exquisite stained glass work. Sheki History museum is famous with artifacts from several periods.
After we will visit the Albanian church located in Kish village. Legend says that the church was built in 78 AD, but the researchers place it a few centuries later. Overnight in Sheki.
Day 5: Sheki/ Chukhur Gabala/Lahij/Shamakhy (300km/4 hours)
Breakfast at the hotel. Checkout.
Drive to Gabala
Two-thousand-year old Gabala – the most ancient city of Azerbaijan, was for 600 years the capital of ancient Caucasian Albania mentioned in the works of antique historians of the 1st century. Later in the Arabian sources it was mentioned as Khazar.
Visit the ruins of an ancient walled city (Chukhur Gabala), dating back to the 4th century BC.
Then drive to famous Lahij village in Ismayilly district. Many of the 2,000 people living in Lahij are involved in ancient crafts such as engraved copper work and carpet weaving. In the mid-19th century, there were more than 200 workshops in Lahij. Traders discovered Lahij crafts many centuries ago, and sold them for high prices at bazaars in Baghdad [now Iraq], Shiraz [now Iran] and other Middle Eastern cities. Stop by a copper workshop for a impromptu lesson in ancient craftsmanship you’ll get to see coppersmiths use small mallets to decorate plates, trays, jugs, goblets and pitchers, just as their ancestors have done for centuries.
Visit the town of Shemakha, Diri Baba Tomb and Yeddi Gumbez. Shemakha was the capital of Shirvan Kingdom for several centuries. Yeddi Gumbaz (The Seven Cupolas) Mausoleum is the burial place for members of the royal families of the Shirvan shahs.
Arrival to Baku. Night at the hotel
Day 6: Gobustan/ Baku
Breakfast at the hotel.
Excursion to art- historical reserve Gobustan, where the petroglyphic drawings, barrows and housing objects have been remained which are dated from X – VIII centuries B.C. up to average centuries. The certificates of the Stone Age citizens and other periods, petroglyphic drawings, the human parking and the gravestone monuments are concentrated in Gobustan. Not far from there is *gavan chalan dash* is original tambourine-stone, like a huge flat wise plate. Rhythmical accurate motives could be taken from it by the percussion. It is considered that ritual dancing’s and ceremonies were accompanied by these sounds. The visiting of Gobustan will transfer you to another world, the world of the past mankind and will let you to feel the atmosphere of the thousand-year history of this place.
Drive to Baku.
Excursion to the Inner City:
City tour begins with a visit to the Upland Park.
Upland Park is located on a hill in the western part of the city. This is the best place to see the city and the Baku Bay. Later the tour proceeds along the waterfront promenade and a visit to the Old City which is also a fortress. Tourists will see the main attractions of the Old City, including the Palace of the Shirvan Shahs Palace, Maiden Tower, Karvansaray etc. The old town with its narrow streets and numerous labyrinths is a favorite walking place for residents and guests of our city. It is worth to note that approximately 1300 families stay in the Old City that gives a special identity to this place. Night at the hotel
Day 7: Transfer to the airport.
Breakfast, transfer to the airport, departure
Travelling dates:
From 23/01/2019 – To 30/01/2019
From 06/02/2019 – To 13/02/2019
From 13/03/2019 – To 20/03/2019
From 10/04/2019 – To 17/04/2019
From 24/04/2019 – To 31/04/2019
From 08/05/2019 – To 15/05/2019
From 22/05/2019 – To 29/05/2019
From 05/06/2019 – To 12/06/2019
From 19/06/2019 – To 26/06/2019
From 10/07/2019 – To 17/07/2019
From 24/07/2019 – To 31/07/2019
From 21/08/2019 – To 28/08/2019
From 28/08/2019 – To 03/09/2019
From 11/09/2019 – To 18/09/2019
From 25/09/2019 – To 02/10/2019
From 09/10/2019 – To 16/10/2019
From 23/10/2019 – To 30/10/2019
From 06/11/2019 – To 13/11/2019
