Armenia in Spring

Tour Code: ARM01

A 11-day tour to Armenia, a hidden gem of the Caucasus region.

11 days from
£3,495 (Inc flights)
Land only price from
£2,595
book now

Highlights

Summary

Summary

Nestling in the snow-capped Caucasian Mountains and overlooked by Mount Ararat just over the border in Turkey, Armenia is one of the Western Palaearctic's best kept birding secrets. Despite its small size, not much bigger than Wales, and the fact that it is landlocked, this former Soviet Republic is home to over two-thirds of Europe’s regularly occurring bird species including many that are rare or difficult to find elsewhere.

  • Colony of Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters near Armash Fish Ponds
  • Caspian Snowcock and Caucasian Grouse
  • Lammergeier and Levant Sparrowhawk plus several eagle species
  • Radde’s Accentor, Rock Thrush and White-winged Snowfinch
  • Marbled, White-headed and Ferruginous Ducks among a host of other wetland birds
  • Moustached, Great Reed, Paddyfield, Menetries’ and Upcher’s Warblers
  • Look for Asian Crimson-winged Finch, Wallcreeper, Ortolan Bunting and Rose-coloured Starling

Grading

Slow-paced day walks but in this mountainous country some of the walking will inevitably be on paths of varying steepness.

Caucasian Black Grouse and Caspian Snowcock are found in the high mountains as well as a very good selection of more widespread alpine species such as White-winged Snowfinch, Eurasian Crimson-winged Finch, Alpine Accentor and Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush. Juniper scrub below the snowline holds Radde’s Accentor, Ring Ouzel and Bluethroat, (the latter like many other species in the Caucasus, a very distinctive local subspecies). Broadleaf woodland further north resounds to the song of Mountain Chiffchaff, Green Warbler and both Semi-collared and Red-breasted Flycatchers while the gorges and mountain steppe landscape nearer the Turkish border provide habitats for White-throated Robin, Finsch’s Wheatear, Menetries’ and Upchers Warblers plus many other predominantly Middle Eastern species which reach their northern limit here. The fishpond complex at Armash is renowned for its breeding populations of White-headed, Marbled and Ferruginous Ducks plus Pygmy Cormorant, White-tailed Lapwing and many others species; this area is also a magnet for migrants and is also home to a small colony of Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters.

Throughout this largely unspoilt and sparsely populated country, bird of prey populations remain healthy with several species of eagle to be expected and we have a good chance of encountering Lammergeier and Levant Sparrowhawk. Our eleven day tour covers each of the country’s main habitat types but being such a small country, with generally good infrastructure, travelling times between areas are short allowing us to maximise the amount of time spent in the field. While our primary focus is on the regional specialities of the Armenian Caucasus we are sure to see a very good cross section of more widespread European species too.

DETAILED INFORMATION
Itinerary

Outline Itinerary

Day 1
Fly Yerevan
Day 2/3
Lake Sevan and Dilijan National Park
Day 3
Dilijan National Park
Day 4
Pambak Mountains
Day 5
Selim Pass and Arpa River Valley
Day 6
Karkatar Mountains and Noravank Gorge
Day 7
Arpa River valley and Syunik Plateau
Day 8
Fish farms in the Ararat Plain and Urts Mountains
Day 9
Vedi Hills
Day 10/11
Yerevan and inbound flights
cloud_downloadDownload Full Itinerary
What's Included

What's Included?

  • Flights
  • Accommodation:

    Comfortable tourist hotels, each room with private facilities.

  • Food:

    All food is included in the tour from breakfast on Day 2 to breakfast on Day 11.

Reviews
Dates & Prices

Dates & Prices

2025

Departures Availability Cost
Mon 12th May – Thu 22nd May SPACES £3,495
Book Tour Show Details
Flights:
Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.
Flights are included in the tour cost
Regional Departures:
On certain tours it is possible to depart from a regional airport (rather than London). If a regional departure is possible, we indicate that here.
Regional Departures are available. Call 01962733051
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
£2,595
Single Room Supplement:
Single Room Supplement.
£295
Tour Leader:
Please note that, whilst we assign leaders to particular tours well in advance, we reserve the right to make changes if necessary
Vasil Ananian
Vasil Ananian

Tour Leader: Vasil Ananian

Vasil Ananian is a conservationist and freelance ornithologist living and working in Armenia. He is an avid birder and co-organized and guided the first birding tours in the country, with over 25-years of guiding experience. His other nature interests include mammal, herp and Odonata faunae of Armenia.

Thu 22nd May – Sun 1st Jun SPACES £3,495
Book Tour Show Details
Flights:
Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.
Flights are included in the tour cost
Regional Departures:
On certain tours it is possible to depart from a regional airport (rather than London). If a regional departure is possible, we indicate that here.
Regional Departures are available. Call 01962733051
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
£2,595
Single Room Supplement:
Single Room Supplement.
£195
Tour Leader:
Please note that, whilst we assign leaders to particular tours well in advance, we reserve the right to make changes if necessary
Vasil Ananian
Vasil Ananian

Tour Leader: Vasil Ananian

Vasil Ananian is a conservationist and freelance ornithologist living and working in Armenia. He is an avid birder and co-organized and guided the first birding tours in the country, with over 25-years of guiding experience. His other nature interests include mammal, herp and Odonata faunae of Armenia.

2026

Departures Availability Cost
Mon 11th May – Thu 21st May SPACES £3,495
Book Tour Show Details
Flights:
Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.
Flights are included in the tour cost
Regional Departures:
On certain tours it is possible to depart from a regional airport (rather than London). If a regional departure is possible, we indicate that here.
Regional Departures are available. Call 01962733051
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
£2,595
Single Room Supplement:
Single Room Supplement.
£295
Tour Leader:
Please note that, whilst we assign leaders to particular tours well in advance, we reserve the right to make changes if necessary
Vasil Ananian
Vasil Ananian

Tour Leader: Vasil Ananian

Vasil Ananian is a conservationist and freelance ornithologist living and working in Armenia. He is an avid birder and co-organized and guided the first birding tours in the country, with over 25-years of guiding experience. His other nature interests include mammal, herp and Odonata faunae of Armenia.

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Bargain Birdwatching Holidays


Our bargain birdwatching tours suit keen birders who want an active, fast-paced birding holiday with a dedicated focus on searching for birds rather than on looking at the area’s other wildlife or cultural highlights.


We offer a wide selection of long-haul holidays to many destinations in South America, Africa, Asia, Australia and elsewhere.


What can I expect?


    

  • An expert English-speaking local ornithologist leader
    • 

  • Outstanding value for money
    • 

  • Dawn-to-dusk birding with limited time for rest, relaxation and outside interests
    • 

  • Enviable bird lists
    • 

  • Focused searches for endemics and regional specialities
    • 



Who are these tours best suited to?


    

  • Keen & active birders – whether expert or making their first visit to a country or continent
    • 

  • People looking for an action-packed bird-focused tour
    • 



Where can I go?


Naturetrek's selection of birdwatching holidays includes many South and Central American countries including Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and Panama.


In Africa our selection includes Malawi, Ethiopia and South Africa, while in India and Nepal we offer a choice of 17 bargain birdwatching tours! Here are a few more choices:



 


 




 


Our specialist recommends...







"I’d recommend our ‘Nepal’ holiday visiting Chitwan National Park and Koshi Tappu Reserve, and ‘India – Bharatpur & Chambal’ within Asia. Try ‘Ecuador – Cock-of-the-rock’ for a superb introduction to Andean birding, while, if you want a bit of luxury, the accommodation we use on our ‘Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park’ tour is top class.” 

Paul Stanbury - Operations Manager




 


All Bargain birdwatching Tours

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Birding Tours Led by Expert Naturalists


The majority of our wildlife tours focus primarily on birds, allowing us to offer a huge choice of bird holidays. On most of our birdwatching tours we aim to see a wide variety of species, while taking time to enjoy other wildlife as well as cultural highlights and architecture.


Naturetrek Birdwatching Tours


We have one of the largest selections of professionally organised, small group birdwatching holidays around the world and all of our birdwatching tours are accompanied by at least one professional ornithologist leader with detailed knowledge of the area.


The majority of our bird tours have a relaxed, flexible approach which allows more time for photography, detailed wildlife exploration, leisure time and the region’s people, culture, history and architecture, while allowing the group to see a wide range of bird species.

Here is a small selection of our many bird holidays:



Our Bargain Birdwatching Selection


Our Bargain Bird Tours are intensive birdwatching holidays suitable for the serious birder. They are led by expert English-speaking local guides (and not accompanied from the UK by a tour leader). You can expect a higher-paced tour and to spend long hours in the field.


 




Our specialist recommends...






"Try Coto Doñana & Extremadura for an excellent introduction to Europe's wetland and steppe birds. I would recommend our bargain holiday, 'Nepal – A Birdwatching Tour' for those interested in Siberian rarities and Ibisbill, while Costa Rica offers a chance to search for arguably the world's most beautiful bird, the Resplendent Quetzal."

Byron Palacios - Tour Leader




  


 


All Birdwatching Tours

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Prefer to Travel in a Private Group?

For any interested natural history club or society, we can arrange for a private departure of this tour.

Enquire
Why Naturetrek?

Why Naturetrek?

At Naturetrek we craft expertly-guided group and tailor-made wildlife holidays and cruises to all seven continents. On one of our holidays, you can be assured that our passionate team will enable you to experience and enjoy the best of the world's wildlife and natural spectacles in as comfortable and rewarding a manner as possible, caring as best we can for the environment in the process. We are proud to provide:

  • The widest choice of wildlife holidays worldwide
  • Tours managed and led by naturalists, for naturalists
  • Outstanding value and exceptional customer service

Furthermore, as a Naturetrek client, our office team are always to on hand to help you – so if you have any queries about your holiday, whether before or after you have booked, we will be delighted to answer them on the phone. Please just give our team a call!