Monastery · near Goght, Garni community, Kotayk
Geghard Monastery
Գեղարդի վանք · Այրիվանք · Geghard · Geghardavank · Ayrivank
A monastery at the entrance to the upper Azat valley near Goght, where towering cliffs enclose a main church and chambers cut directly into the rock.
Where it is
40.1405, 44.8186
Why go
Much of Geghard was excavated rather than built. The main complex was completed in the 13th century: beside the cathedral and its narthex are eastern and western rock-cut churches and the family tomb of the Proshyan princes, all hollowed out of the cliff. The present name, Monastery of the Spear, comes from the relic of the lance that wounded Christ, which tradition says the Apostle Thaddeus brought here; its early name, Ayrivank, meant the monastery in the cave. The monastery is part of the Monastery of Geghard and the Upper Azat Valley World Heritage property and is a standard day trip from Yerevan.
Near Geghard Monastery
Archaeological site
Garni Temple
A Greco-Roman colonnaded temple of grey basalt on a cliff promontory above the Azat River gorge, attributed to King Tiridates I and reconstructed by 1975 after a 1679 earthquake brought it down.
8 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Mountain
Mount Azhdahak
The highest summit of the Gegham range, an extinct volcano rising to 3,597 metres on the Kotayk–Gegharkunik boundary, with a small snowmelt lake in its summit crater.
15 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Monument
Charents Arch
A memorial arch near Voghjaberd on the way to Garni, built in 1957 to a design by architect Rafael Israyelyan and dedicated to the poet Yeghishe Charents, looking out towards Mount Ararat.
16 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Mountain
Mount Hatis
A mountain rising south-east of the village of Kaputan in Kotayk province, climbed as a day hike of about 11 km from the neighbouring village of Kotayk.
20 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ