Khor Virap Monastery is one of the highlights of Armenia. It’s located near the closed Turkey-Armenia border at the foot of the famous Mount Ararat, famous for it’s role in the Noah’s Ark story. My day trip to Khor Virap was my favorite day in Armenia.
A Little Khor Virap History
Once upon a time, there was a 7-meter-deep hole where St. Gregory was imprisoned for 13 years. St. Gregory was trying to spread the Christian faith to the region, but the King did not want this, so he put St. Gregory in a hole with snakes. Secretly, the local women brought him food that sustained him all those years. Eventually, the King went mad and St. Gregory cured him by converting him to Christianity. This was the start of the adoption of Christianity by Armenia. The first country to do so in the year 301.
Later, the chapel and monastery of Khor Virap were built around this hole. Surprisingly, Khor Virap has not been designated as a UNESCO world heritage site, but it probably should be.
Things to Not Miss at Khor Virap
- Snake Pit – You can climb down to the exact spot where St. Gregory was imprisoned. Don’t go here if you’re claustrophobic, the ladder for the climb down and up is pretty tight.
- The chapel. At a certain time of the morning, there are some great sun rays that shine through the window. This makes the chapel very atmospheric.
- The hill behind the Monastery. From here, I could see just how close we were to the Turkish border – probably only 100 yards away. The barbed wire fence was very high and the only action was an occasional patrol vehicle. At one point, Mt Ararat was part of Armenia but during the Soviet occupation, Ararat and an area containing several Armenian churches was given to Turkey as a gift from the Soviets. I sat there for a while reading the history of Armenia in the Lonely Planet book.
- Stroll from the main road to the Monastery, and get pictures of the Khor Virap Monastery with vineyards in the foreground and Mt. Ararat in the background.
- The Cemetery. It’s worth a walk around the cemetery to see the beautiful stones.
How to Dress for Khor Virap
Khor Virap is an active monastery, so dress conservatively. I wear a headscarf when I’m visiting the religious sites of Armenia, one of several Armenia travel tips you should know before you visit Armenia.
Getting to Khor Virap from Yerevan
If you don’t have a car, it’s possible to get to Khor Virap Monastery on the Yerevan to Khor Virap bus. In Yerevan, you must catch the bus at the metro station Sasuntsi Davit (or David of Sasun) which is near the train station. Ask around and many people can point you to the bus. At the time I visited, there were only buses at 9:00 am and 2:00 pm so I recommend taking the 9:00 to give you enough time at the monastery. Sit on the right side of the bus for incredible views of the looming Mt. Ararat. The bus arrives around 10:00 am. On my exit of the bus, the driver asked for my language and handed me a tiny slip of paper that said “Buses to Yerevan: 1:20, 3:20, 5:40”. I walked the last kilometer on the driveway to Khor Virap with beautiful views of the walled monastery and Ararat in the near distance. Please check locally for bus times, they may have changed since my visit.
If you do have a car, it’s an easy drive to Khor Virap if you use a good map app, like MapsMe. There is a parking lot/ car park at Khor Virap.
Hotels Near Khor Virap
There are no hotels near Khor Virap, so I recommend staying in the capital city of Yerevan (Check Rates and Availability) and day trip to the monastery. Alternatively, if you have a car and would like to stay in the countryside, check out this unique stay at the Eco Lodge in the Caucasus Wildlife Refuge, which is 27 km from Khor Virap.
An Amazing Story of the Kindness of Strangers and a Solo Female Traveler
I visited Khor Virap on my own. I was feeling particularly lonely because it was Thanksgiving in America and I was missing family. My visit to Khor Virap ended well before the 1:20 return bus to Yerevan was to pass, so I started walking to the main highway where I planned to have something for lunch and try to catch a bus sooner than 1:20. As I was walking on the country road, a white van pulled up. I asked if they were a bus and a woman in the back said no but they would help me get a bus to Yerevan. I had recognized these 3 ladies as other visitors at the monetary. The older women in her sixties said something to the 2 girls in their 20’s. The girl that spoke English told me that they were going to visit their cousin in a nearby village and they wanted me to come with them. After a couple hours, they would then return to Yerevan and help me get there.
Since I didn’t have to go back to Yerevan until evening for the opera, I decided to go along. We got out of the van (I think the 3 ladies were just hitchhiking there, as we didn’t pay anything to the driver of the van), and then walked to a house with Anna, Liana, and Larissa. There we met an Armenian woman with dark hair and blue eyes. She served us snacks of walnuts and dried apricots and then went off to the kitchen to bring out lunch. Her husband came home and then the 6 of us had lunch. What a great way to spend Thanksgiving – having a homemade lunch with my “Armenian Family.” There was loads of food – lavash bread, pickles, a hot green bean dish with an orange sauce, fried potatoes, cold potatoes with onion and cilantro, a sort of local chutney, and red bean salad. It was all wonderful. At one point, Anna asked “Don’t you like the food?” She thought since I was eating slow I didn’t like it. They ate very fast!
She gave a big bag of lettuce and some preserves to Larissa, the aunt and we set off walking to catch the bus. The walk thru the country was nice. Lots of bare fruit trees. We stopped to pick some mint that was growing next to the road. Larissa told us about an accident she had in this village as a youngster where she tried to jump over a creek and broke her ankle. After a short wait, we were on the bus. On this bus, we saw a fighter jet making maneuvers. The girls said it was common to see this and they weren’t sure if they were Russian or other. I hugged them all as they got off the bus in the south of Yerevan as I continued to the metro station and then took a subway back to town.
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