We arrived at the monastery located on a hillock close to the Araks River at the border with Turkey. It overlooks river pastures, stork nests, vineyards, and Mt Ararat majestically towers above it. Khor Virap monastery has been repeatedly rebuilt since the 5th century. Legend says the...
We took an impressive “flight” on the famous Wings of Tatev above the ravine of Vorotan River to the Tatev Monastery. It is the longest cableway (🎫7000 AMD/return) worldwide (5752 m), recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. It takes 12 minutes to reach a monastery built by...
Our last stop today was one of the most spectacular sites in Armenia, the Noravank Monastery. It was founded by Bishop Hovhannes in 1205 and sensitively renovated in the 1990s. We arrived right time at sunset, the reddish hues of the dramatic cliffs surrounding the monastery were...
We drove around the largest lake in the Caucasus (1240 sq km) and one of the largest freshwater high-altitude lakes in the world, set at 1900m above sea level. Its colors and shades change with the weather, forming dazzling azure to dark blue hues. We stopped near the elevated site...
Our next stop was Haghartsin monastery, hidden in a verdant valley, just 13km northeast of Dilijan. It was built between the 10th and 13th centuries and has three churches, one named for Gregory the Illuminator, another for the Virgin Mary, and the third for St Stephen. The monastery was...
We arrived in Dilijan early, so we continued to visit the Goshavank monastery complex founded in 1188 by the saintly Armenian cleric Mkhitar Gosh, buried in a little chapel overlooking the main complex. This monastery features the main church (Surp Astvatsatsin), smaller churches to St...
According to Google, there should be a nice road, H24, from Stepanavan to Hnevank monastery. Actually, it starts as a ruined road turning after a few kilometers into a total off-road – narrow, steep, winding, dirty road, full of big stones, especially on the part before Dzoragiugh village...
It was not easy to drive from Sanahin to Odzun. We arrived there late, so we decided to overnight on the cliff before the village. In the morning, we bought locally made bread, and then we visited St Astvatsatsin Church. It was built on the site where legend tells us St Thomas buried...
Sanahin is another famous monastery listed by UNESCO, packed with ancient graves, darkened chapels, and medieval study halls. The inner sanctum of the cross-shaped Surp Astvatsatsin (Holy Mother of God Church) is the oldest structure, dating back to 934. Its adjoining gavit was built in...
Our first stop in Armenia was a beautiful monastery occupying a commanding position overlooking the Debed gorge. Founded around 976 by Queen Khosrvanuch, who funded the construction of the domed Church of the Holy Cross (Surp Nishan) at the center of the complex, it saw a building boom in...