Ptghnavank
Roofless 7th-century basilica above the Kasakh
- Area Kotayk
- Type Historic site
- Time needed 30m
Ptghnavank is a roofless seventh-century basilica standing above the Kasakh river gorge at Ptghni, north of Yerevan. The dome and most of the vaulting are long gone, leaving tall fragments of wall with some of the finest early carving in the country.
Open in the planner →Getting there
About 15 km from Yerevan, roughly 16 minutes by road, on the edge of the village between the capital and Abovyan.
What you see
The surviving walls are high and heavy, built of large blocks, with carved window surrounds and relief panels, including hunting scenes, that are unusual for their date. Enough of the apse and the piers stands to read the plan of a domed basilica. Grass grows inside the shell and the gorge drops away immediately beyond.
What to pair it with
Combine with Garni and Geghard further up the Azat valley, or with Zvartnots and Echmiadzin on a western loop instead.
When to go
Morning or late afternoon for raking light on the carvings. It is open ground with no shelter, so avoid midday in summer and expect mud after rain.
What is hard about it
It is a ruin with no facilities, no ticket desk and very little explanation, and it holds the attention for twenty or thirty minutes at most unless early Armenian architecture is your subject. The approach through the village is unsignposted and the ground around the walls is uneven.
Common questions
Is there a roof or any interior?
No. The building is an open shell, with the dome and vaults lost. You walk inside the walls in the open air.
Why is it considered important?
For the quality and unusual subject matter of its seventh-century relief carving, and for what the surviving fabric shows about early domed basilicas.
Is there anything else in the village?
Nothing substantial for visitors. Treat it as a short stop on the way to or from the Garni and Geghard valley.
Nearby
- Garni TempleFirst-century Hellenistic temple above the Azat gorge
- Geghard MonasteryPartly carved into the rock face, a UNESCO World Heritage site
- 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
More of the same kind
- Zvartnots Cathedral ruinsRuins of a 7th-century circular cathedral
- MetsamorBronze Age metallurgy site and museum
- DvinRuins of Armenia's early medieval capital
- Areni-1 CaveCave where the world's oldest leather shoe and winery were found