Private tour to Old Orhei and Curchi Monastery from Chisinau

-What you can expect-
Discover the popular Old Orhei archeological complex, Manastirea Curchi (Curchi Monastery) and the natural reserve “Orheiul Vechi” (Cave MonasteryComplex) on a full-day, private tour from Chisinau.

You have the opportunity to visit the most beautiful and famous places in Moldova. This excursion will start from Chisinau and you will first go to the picturesque Old Orhei archeological complex, which can be reached only after a 1-hour walk through fascinating hills and peaks.

Next you will visit one of the most picturesque sites of Moldova, the Cultural and Natural Reserve “Orheiul Vechi” (Cave Monastery Complex). Here you will see an Orthodox cave monastery called “St. Maria Dormata” expanded and modified inside the cliffs by the monks over the centuries and preserved in a functional state even today.

After lunch, you will explore the most beautiful Monastery from Moldova: the Curchi Monastery in Orhei is one of the most important architectural monuments of Bessarabia, and it is also considered to be one of the most beautiful and famous monasteries of the region. The monastery's main church, the cathedral Naşterea Domnului (1872), was built in baroque style, inspired by the church of St. Andrew in Kyiv, was designed by the Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli. The cathedral has the highest dome in Moldova, rising to a height of 57 meters. The monastery has a religious and cultural past of two centuries and a half. This monastery was considered before and now “the most beautiful and famous monastery in Bessarabia”. According to some legends, Curchi Monastery was founded by Stefan the Great, and the architectural ensemble was formed later in the 18th-19th centuries.

The monastery was reopened in 2005, but still badly in need of repair. Then in 2006, under the patronage of the former president of Moldova, a large fund-raising campaign, "Curchi Monastery: From Ruins to Elevation”, was organized to support the restoration of the monastery. Today the monastery is undergoing a complete renovation.