Geghard Monastery
Partly carved into the rock face, a UNESCO World Heritage site
- Area Kotayk
- Type Monastery
- Time needed 1h 15m
Geghard is a monastery partly hewn out of the cliff at the head of the Azat gorge, 37 km east of Yerevan, and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Its rock-cut chambers have acoustics good enough that choirs record in them.
Open in the planner →Getting there
Around 40 minutes by road from central Yerevan, through Garni. There is no regular public transport all the way; most people come by taxi or on the standard Garni–Geghard half-day tour.
What you see
The main church of 1215 is conventionally built. Everything that makes Geghard remarkable is behind it: two chambers cut entirely from living rock, one of them a burial vault for the Proshyan princes with a carved lion-and-eagle relief on the ceiling, and above them an upper chapel reached by an outside stair, where the sound of a single voice carries for seconds. A spring runs inside the rock on the left as you enter.
What to pair it with
Garni temple and the Symphony of Stones, always — they are 20 minutes down the same road and the three together make the standard first day out of Yerevan. Havuts Tar is a hike from Garni for anyone wanting more.
When to go
Morning, before the tour buses. The upper chapel is worth timing: if a group with a singer arrives, wait and listen. Winter puts snow on the gorge walls and almost nobody there.
What is hard about it
The stair to the upper chapel is steep, uneven and has no handrail in places. The chambers are dark and your eyes need a minute. The approach is lined with stalls selling sweet sujukh and dried fruit, which some find charming and others find a gauntlet.
Common questions
Why is Geghard called the spear monastery?
Geghardavank means 'monastery of the spear' — the lance said to have pierced Christ was kept here for centuries. It is now in the Echmiadzin treasury.
How long do you need at Geghard?
Around 75 minutes, which gives time to find the upper chapel and sit in it.
Can you combine Garni and Geghard in one day?
Easily. They are 20 minutes apart and together make a comfortable half day from Yerevan.
Nearby
- Garni TempleFirst-century Hellenistic temple above the Azat gorge
- Symphony of StonesBasalt columns lining the Garni gorge like organ pipes
- Havuts TarRuined monastery reached by a hike across the Azat gorge
- Kecharis Monastery11th-century complex in the ski town of Tsaghkadzor
- TsaghkadzorMountain resort with a cable car up Mount Teghenis
- PtghnavankRoofless 7th-century basilica above the Kasakh
More of the same kind
- Aghjots MonasteryMonastery tucked into the Khosrov forest edge
- SaghmosavankMonastery on the rim of the Kasakh canyon
- HovhannavankCanyon-edge monastery with carved portals
- Tegher MonasteryAustere 13th-century monastery on Aragats