Armenia Travel Guide; Best Things to do in Armenia

Welcome to Armenia! A country that flies under the radar but it's one of the most fascinating locations out there. And today we're going to take you on the ultimate itinerary to uncover Armenia's best-kept secrets. Nobody's here. It's crazy. From its ancient temples to its hidden dungeons. I never thought I would imprison myself on my own free will. It's quite a creepy experience to be honest. From proper local food spots to jaw-dropping natural wonders. But beware, by the end of this video you're going to have to adjust your bucket list because this place is going to It's going to be hard to leave this country. So we're going to start in the capital of Armenia and knowing that Armenia is one of the oldest countries in the world, it comes to no surprise that Yerevan itself is 30 years older than Rome. So today we're going to explore a real ancient city. Come on, let's go! So right behind me across the street is Yerevan's top attractions, the famous Cascade. 10 minutes in and we've already been kicked out of there because they said we're not allowed to record. Not the warmest welcome, however they said we can come back and record with our phone. So we'll still check it out. This whole complex is designed as a public space entirely for people to just come here and relax and immerse themselves in some contemporary art. But the real highlight here is the stunning view of the city from the top of the cascade. The only catch is you have to climb 572 steps. So better do this right up in the morning, first thing in the morning, just to have some energy. Come on! Almost at the end, doing good? Let's say I'm doing. Ladies and gentlemen, I present you the best view of Yerevan. Here the whole city is right in front of you and on a clear day over there you can see the symbol of Armenia, Mount Ararat. So I think we got off on the wrong foot with Armenia because we went to one of the offices and asked them if we can record and they said we give you full permission to record whatever you want. We even flew the drone from the main attraction with the security guy right next to me here watching us, who in the end ended up escorting us to our next attraction. So this is the Mother of Armenia statue. It is 22 meters tall and it is the tallest monument in Yerevan. Sounds a bit like Georgia, no? It is. This statue is actually very common to the post-Soviet countries because last year indeed we were in Georgia and we saw Mother of Georgia statue. You can find one in Kyiv, Ukraine, Motherland monument and now this one. Standing tall over Yerevan, Mother Armenia holds her sword symbolizing the strength and the idea that peace is maintained through the ability to defend and to protect the nation. And we sincerely hope that Armenia will never be attacked and will never ever have to defend itself. Yeah. But in Yerevan it's not just the parks that invite you to explore. The entire city feels like it was made for walking. You never know what you're going to discover. Whether it's a majestic stone church with its domes or an ancient blue mosque. It dates back to the 18th century making it one of the oldest remaining structures in center of Yerevan. It is also the only remaining mosque in all of Armenia. It's as if every corner is inviting you to explore further. To come across a hidden gem like this retro Volga. A painter absorbed in his masterpiece or simply finding an artist performing traditional music as you stroll through the city. No wonder so many people come to Armenia and here we find a restaurant that displays all its famous guests. First of all we have Charles Aznavour who Armenians are extremely proud of for being partially Armenian. They even dedicated a square in his name. Also they have Kim Kardashian who if you didn't know her parents are also Armenian. With her she brought Kanye West, George Clooney and even the King of England. I don't think we have the budget like King of England so I think we'll find another place. The great thing about Yerevan is that the city is filled with fantastic restaurants. Many with open kitchens where Armenian culinary masterpieces are crafted. However while exploring as much of the city as possible we came across a local baker and the unique thing about the bakers here is that they use traditional tandoors to bake the bread the old-fashioned way which makes it taste so much better. It smells so good. I'm already eating it. It's so fresh. It's always delicious. The other great thing about those on a budget is that Yerevan has some of the cleanest water in the world so don't be afraid to go stick your face in one of these waters. They're called Pulpulak and they're the iconic feature of Yerevan's landscape. There's more than 2,700 of them in the city alone so you're bound to come across at least one of them. So fresh. But if water is not for you, you can switch to brandy because Armenia is home to some of the best brandy in the world. Even Winston Churchill said it himself that this is his So our evening plans a little bit more posh this time. So last year in Georgia we visited Belay for the first time for both of us. We saw Sukushvili and we absolutely loved it. So this time we're in Armenia and we decided to go to their Belay because it's right here in Yerevan and it's supposed to be just as incredible full of fighting swords so I think we couldn't miss But I think we'll end for today because tomorrow we are leaving Yerevan and we're going to explore a little bit more of Armenia. And today we're going to explore a totally different part of Armenia and prepare to be transported back to the first century. I think it's going to be something you wouldn't expect to see in Armenia but it's going to be spectacular. The Irshanli cliff, a true architectural marvel and the only surviving Greco-Roman building in Armenia with its 24 towering columns preserved to perfection. Can you just imagine how many rituals and ceremonies have taken place here? Okay so you know the best thing about Armenia is not the nature, it's not the architecture, is that we're in the middle of summer and one of the main attractions and there's no tourists here. You can count literally on your fingers how many tourists are here. That's what makes it so great here. And right next to the temple there's a place where they make old-fashioned traditional bread and we already know how bread is important to Armenia so this is a must-place visit. Oh my gosh it's like an Italian pizza mama stretching it out. Absolute pro. That was impressive. That was very impressive. How did it stick? Now you're doing it. Super. Now I'm making the bread. I'm the bread maker. Oh she doesn't trust you to do it. No this one no. I would mess it up. Oh my god. And now it's time to taste this masterpiece with some homemade cherry compote. So crispy. So fresh. Seriously this is what I love about Armenia. You go anywhere and on every corner you'll find a fresh bakery, all kinds of different breads. It's going to be hard to leave this country. And now let us take you away from the man-made into the natural wonder of Romania. Come on. Shaped by ancient volcanic activity millions of years ago this awe-inspiring site showcases the dramatic results of lava cooling and forming into magnificent columns that resemble a gigantic organ. Hence the name for this place Symphony of Stones. Honestly it's such a unique place. I don't think anywhere in the world you can walk through the gorge. Which has such unique and different patterns. Yeah I think only in Armenia. And our last attraction for the day is perhaps one of the most unique churches in the world. Gekhard Monastery is famous in Armenia for three reasons. The first is the stunning location. Situated in a picturesque valley surrounded by towering cliffs and lush greenery. Second it's this rock-cut architecture with many of its structures carved directly into the cliffs making it one of the most impressive cave monasteries in the world. I hear music inside. Let's go check it out. And the third reason why this monastery is so famous is perhaps the most fascinating one. It has to do with its name which is Gekhard. Which translates to spear in Armenian referring to the spear that according to tradition was used during Christ's crucifixion. That sacred relic was held right here at the monastery for centuries. I don't think I've ever seen a church quite like this. There's not a lot of fancy paintings but everything is about those little details and architecture. Really astonishing. But little did we know just how big of an impact religion had on Armenia. Until the next day. Everything in Armenia is absolutely beautiful but the roads... From nowhere we got the watermelon. They were just passing by and then gave me the watermelon for free. I love people of Armenia and I love their watermelons. It's so big. I think it's one of the most beautiful watermelons I've ever seen. And the sweetest. Thank you Armenia for organizing the most luxurious and unique picnic in my life. The best food ever. You know watermelons from strangers with the breathtaking view like this. This is what makes traveling worth it. Today we're going to start at the spiritual center of Armenia. For those who didn't know Armenia is actually the first country to adopt Christianity and it's also home to one of the first Christian churches and that's what we're about to show you. Come on. The country adopted Christianity in 301 AD and that is when this cathedral was built making this the oldest cathedral in the entire world. Interesting coincidence Armenia was the first to accept Christianity and my country Lithuania we're the last. You can think of this place as the Vatican of Armenia with the Catholics of all Armenia much like the Pope lead the Armenian church. So you cannot go inside because as you can see they're still doing some repairs and some paintings but it's still a lovely place to come here and you can walk around. It's a very nice park. There's other structures and buildings you can enjoy and hopefully by the time you come here they finish repairing and you can go inside and see for yourself. Right next to the first church there's an ancient temple you can come see and it's supposed to have a clear view of Mount Ararat in the backdrop however it is a little bit cloudy so we can't see that but we're still here we're going to still come check out the temple and I think it's still going to be worth it. Zvartnas Cathedral was built between 643 and 652 AD and it was designed to be one of the most impressive cathedrals of its time. So this is what the temple looked like it was quite huge however there was an earthquake and it got destroyed. It would have been nice to see it but I think the ruins are just as beautiful to be honest. But even now exploring these ruins it gives us some sort of an idea of what life, what it used to look like here. So this is like an ancient clock that would tell them the time they would just put something in here and it would say it's this time. I don't know what it says but it's this time. Right there behind us is Mount Ararat. You could see it was not so cloudy. Oh it'd be so beautiful. But shortly we found even a better viewpoint of Mount Ararat at a monastery overlooking the breathtaking mountains right next to the Turkish border. This view is spectacular but it's not the only reason this place is famous for. The most interesting thing is that this place was built on top of a former prison that held Saint Gregory who is nowadays credited as the guy who converted Armenia to Christianity. Nowadays you can still climb down to the dungeon and see for yourself where he was held captive for 13 years. Oh my god it's creepy here. We have to be very careful. So he was imprisoned in this dungeon for 13 years. I can't imagine what it would be like because there's not even a single speck of light coming in and there's nothing to do here. How he didn't go crazy, that's another question. I never thought I would imprison myself on my own free will. It's quite a creepy experience to be honest. But Armenia is not just about the churches. As we shortly stumbled upon something completely different. Many claim that this is the greatest invention ever. Our last stop for the day is in the village of Areni which is famous for having the first winery in the world. So we got the tickets. It's about two dollars and a half. Hi! They don't allow cameras so we're switching to the phone. We found the world's oldest dog. Hello baby. Who can record a video with you here? Are you gonna say goodbye to this one? We always find dogs at wineries. Just 17 years ago archaeologists made a groundbreaking discovery right inside of these caves. The world's oldest winery. This place dates back to over 6,100 years and here they found an entire wine production facility with items ranging from grape seeds to storage jars. This discovery makes Armenia one of the most interesting wine regions in the world. But of course we wouldn't come to the oldest wine region and not go to a winery. There are a few wineries in this village. We chose to see one of the most famous one which produces 500,000 bottles of wine every single year. And what we learned here is that the seeds that they use are the same seeds found in those caves. And scientists believe that these grapes were the ancestors of the famous Pinot Noir. Now in France they produce expensive wine with these sort of grapes. So technically you can say Arrheni is like the Bordeaux of Armenia. So this winery is actually offering free tours and afterwards they even give you free wine tasting. However we have to drive home so we're not able to try it. But we hope that you try it when you get here and you let us know in the comments what it tastes like. For now we have to get home so we'll see you tomorrow. Bye! So for our last day we're going to show you a different part of Armenia. A place the locals call is the Switzerland of Armenia. And inside of these Swiss mountains there's a lake that is the biggest one in all the Caucasus. Just to give you a perspective of the size it is 12 times the size of Paris. And I mean I can see the similarities of why they call it the Swiss area because it's such a beautiful surrounding with the mountains all around. I really feel like we're in Luxor in Switzerland. You know now that the sun's come out you can definitely feel the summer vibes. You see people enjoying the water, swimming. It is a little bit cold to my liking but you can still hop on the jet ski or a boat and still enjoy this beautiful weather. The one thing we learned about Armenia is that you can't call something a main attraction and not have a monastery. And it's the same here. This beautiful monastery is overlooking this entire lake. Absolutely stunning! I think it's absolutely incredible end of our trip to Armenia. From here we are going back to Yerevan to catch a flight back home. And what we spent here four days but we really got to taste for this beautiful country. I think we can confirm and say that they have a really really rich history. Absolutely breathtaking nature. And the most important they have very kind people. You know when you go to major touristy destinations it's so hard to find something authentic there. But here people are so sincere and they are so eager to show you their beautiful country. And that's just a very different feeling. And I think that's what makes it worth to come to countries like this to get to feel this. So we really hope that you will also come and you will love this country as much as we did.