Few places in Armenia carry as much weight in the country's history as the 4 sites on this tour.

Start at Khor Virap Monastery, perched at the closest possible vantage point to Biblical Mount Ararat - and the very site where Saint Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned before going on to convert Armenia's king, making it the first nation in the world to adopt Christianity as a state religion.

From there, travel to Etchmiadzin Cathedral, founded in 301–303 AD and considered by many historians to be the oldest cathedral in the world. Its name translates to “the descent of the Only-Begotten,” referring to the vision said to have inspired its founding.

Within the same complex, visit St. Hripsime Church, a masterpiece of classical Armenian architecture dedicated to one of forty virgins who fled persecution in the Roman Empire, and St. Gayane Church, a three-nave domed basilica honoring another of those same martyrs. The day closes at the ruins of Zvartnots Temple, a 7th-century three-tiered circular structure so architecturally ambitious for its time that nothing quite like it exists anywhere else in Armenia today. Its name, derived from Old Armenian, means “the celestial ones” — a fitting name for a site still capable of stopping visitors in their tracks more than a thousand years later.

All four sites are part of Armenia's UNESCO World Heritage listing. This is a fully private tour - just your group, your pace, with hotel pickup and drop-off included.