DESTINATION OF THE MONTH SEP‘2024 

September is the best month to visit Armenia’s tourist attractions. The temperature drops and the summer holidays are over, so there are fewer people.

Visiting Garni and Geghard is the most popular day trip from Yerevan, partly because they are easy to get to and partly because the church at Geghard is impressive with detailed carvings and rooms carved into the cliff.

Located several miles from Garni, along the river Azat gorge to the northeast, on the amphitheatre-like slope of steep rocks, amidst severe and majestic nature is Geghard or Geghardavank monastery well-known for its rocky sights. The direction there is shown by the figure of a lioness on a high pedestal standing right at the abrupt turn after which you suddenly see the monastery.
The half of the monastic complex is indeed cut from granite monolith. The other half consists of natural grottoes and caves which were used as cells.

• Opening Times: 9am to 6pm
• Entrance Fees: Free
• Parking costs: 100 AMD
• Restrooms: 100 AMD
• Restaurants: None close to the monastery but see below for Garni where there are many options

How to Get to Geghard

• Car Rental/ Taxi: Drive time from Yerevan is 1 hour by taxi or rental car. The road is generally in good condition but there are limited signposts outside of Yerevan.
• Group Tours: Leave every day in high season and cost 7,000-11,000 per person. All tours stop at Garni and Geghard
• Public Transport: Marshurutkys leave from Yerevan when they are full (typically every 30 min) and stop in Goght. For the last 4km a taxi will cost 3,000-3,500 AMD. There is no public transport covering this last stretch

Garni is remarkable with a number of historical and architectural monuments of the Hellenistic and early Christian era. The most prominent among them are Garni temple and the fortress of the same name. Moreover, there you will find the ruins of the royal palace and baths built according to the Roman methodology. The museum-reserve is situated on the territory of 5 hectares, 28 kilometers away from Yerevan. In 2011 the complex received the prestigious award of the UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize.Garni is only one building and you will probably spend no more than 30 minutes at this sight.

• Opening Times: Summer hours are 10am -9pm and winter hours are 10am -5pm
• Entrance Fees: 1500 AMD per person. This was the only attraction we visited in Armenia with an entrance fee
• Parking costs: 100 AMD.
• Bathrooms: Free
• Restaurants: Outside Yerevan there are not many restaurants. Garni is one of the exceptions making it a good place to stop for lunch
  

How to Get to Garni

• Car Rental / Taxi: Drive time is 45 minutes from Yerevan. The road is generally in good condition but there are few signposts to find your way out of Yerevan so use maps.me or google maps for directions. To learn more about what to expect when renting a car read my post on driving in Armenia.
• Group Tours: Leave every day in high season and cost 7,000-11,000 per person. Tours also stop at Geghard.
• Public Transport: Marshurutkys leave from Yerevan when they are full (typically every 30 min) and stop in Garni.

If you have limited time in Armenia, I think Garni and Geghard deserve a visit .

Article by July S

References:
www.advantour.com/armenia/garni.htm
www.armenia.travel/destination/geghard-monastery/
www.whc.unesco.org/en/list/960/
www.viator.com/tours/Yerevan/Garni-Geghard/d22425-9498P1