Garni & Geghard: History, Nature & Lavash Baking

This is the most popular day trip out of Yerevan for a reason. In a single loop through the Kotayk region you move from ancient sun worship to rock-cut Christian sanctuaries to a wall of basalt columns that looks like it belongs on another planet, and it never feels rushed. We start at Garni, the only surviving pagan temple in Armenia and the whole former Soviet Union, then follow the Azat River gorge past the Symphony of Stones on our way to Geghard, a monastery carved directly into the mountain and once home to the spear that pierced Christ at the Crucifixion. We close the day in Goght village, hands in dough, learning how lavash has been baked in a tonir for generations.