UNESCO World Heritage Yerevan & Around
Etchmiadzin Cathedral (Vagharshapat)
Considered the oldest cathedral in the world, founded around 301–303 AD, and the centre of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Photo: Gor Davtyan / unsplash.com / Unsplash License
Landmarks & places to visit
A mountain country of monasteries and stone
An independent guide to Armenia's cave-carved monasteries, Roman-style temple, cliff-top abbeys and Lake Sevan.
Old churches in high country
Armenia is small, mountainous and very old. One of the first countries to adopt Christianity, it is dotted with stone churches, monasteries and carved crosses in dramatic gorges and on high plateaus.
Most sights lie within a few hours of the capital, Yerevan, so a short trip can take in a temple, a monastery and a mountain lake.
Featured landmarks
- UNESCO World Heritage
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Yerevan & Around
Garni Temple
A first-century Greco-Roman temple on a gorge edge, the only standing pagan temple of its kind in the former Soviet Union.
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UNESCO World Heritage Yerevan & Around
Geghard Monastery
A thirteenth-century monastery partly carved into the cliff, with rock-cut chapels and remarkable acoustics.
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UNESCO World Heritage Lori
Haghpat and Sanahin Monasteries
Two medieval monastic complexes in the northern Lori region, together a UNESCO World Heritage site.
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Yerevan & Around
Khor Virap Monastery
A monastery beside the Turkish border with the classic view of snow-capped Mount Ararat, where Saint Gregory the Illuminator was held in a pit.
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Vayots Dzor
Noravank Monastery
A thirteenth-century monastery in a red-rock canyon, known for its two-storey Surb Astvatsatsin church and fine stone carvings.
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Syunik
Tatev Monastery
A ninth-century monastery on a cliff above the Vorotan Gorge, reached by the Wings of Tatev, one of the world’s longest reversible cable cars.
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Yerevan & Around
Yerevan Cascade
A giant limestone staircase with fountains and modern sculptures, leading up to views of the city and Mount Ararat.
Explore by region
Regions of this country, from the capital to the far corners.
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Yerevan & Around A temple and a cave monastery within an hour of the capital · 6 places -
Lake Sevan A blue mountain lake with a lakeside monastery · 1 place -
Syunik Gorges and cliff-top monasteries in the south · 1 place -
Vayots Dzor Red canyons, old wine and a hilltop monastery · 1 place -
Lori Forested gorges and the monasteries of the north · 1 place