Khor Virap Monastery Tour

Day 1: Arrival

Day 2: Departure to the Cradle of Civilization

Khor Virap Monastery - This fortified monastery is the place of pilgrimage and one of the most worshipped ones in Armenia and the holy site for the Armenian Apostolic Church. The monastery was erected in the 6th – 17th centuries above the dungeon where St. Gregory the Illuminator, the Baptist of Armenia, had been kept for the disseminating of Christianity until tsar Trdat decided to adopt this religion. The dungeon where the holy elder was tortured used to be the tsar's dungeon (“Khor Virap” – “deep pit”). The pit swarming with poisonous snakes and scorpions served as a prison. According to the legend of St. Gregory, the Illuminator stayed in that pit for 13 years.

Day 3: Departure

Transfer to the airport. Departure home!.

For prices and availabilities please contact us.

Know More About Khor Virap Monastery:

Khor Virap's notability as a monastery and pilgrimage site is attributed to the fact that Gregory the Illuminator was initially imprisoned here for about 14 years by King Tiridates III of Armenia. Saint Gregory subsequently became the king's religious mentor, and they led the proselytizing activity in the country. In the year 301, Armenia was the first country in the world to be declared a Christian nation. A chapel was initially built in 642 at the site of Khor Virap by Nerses III the Builder as a mark of veneration to Saint Gregory.

Over the centuries, it was repeatedly rebuilt. In 1662, the larger chapel known as the "St. Astvatsatsin" (Holy Mother of God) was built around the ruins of the old chapel, the monastery, the refectory, and the cells of the monks. Now, regular church services are held in this church. It is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in Armenia.

Know Before You Go
Catch a marshrutka at 11 AM from behind Yerevan’s main train station. The marshrutkas will leave when full and have no set times. Warning: Taxi drivers will tell you such a bus does not exist. It does so just do not listen to them. Ask a local and they will point you in the right direction. If there are no marshrutkas on the way back, then hitchhiking is very easy. Alternatively, you can take a taxi to a nearby highway and catch a marshrutka to Yerevan there. The taxi drivers will know where it is. There is a shop to buy food and water if needed.