Ararat · History & faith

Khor Virap

About this place

A monastery on a hill in the Ararat plain, close to the border with Turkey. Tradition holds that Saint Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned here before Armenia adopted Christianity. It offers one of the closest views of Mount Ararat.

Photos

Khor Virap on its hill below snow-capped Mount Ararat — Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Khor Virap Monastery on the Ararat plain — Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mount Ararat rising above the clouds behind Khor Virap — Photo: Andrew Behesnilian (MrAndrew47) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Getting there

Partially verified

≈ 42 km from Yerevan
≈ 45 min by car

Approximate road distance and driving time from Republic Square, Yerevan, without traffic. Actual times on mountain roads are usually longer.

Source: OpenStreetMap / OSRM · checked on 9 November 2026

Location

Verified

Location verified against published sources.

Open in Google Maps

Source: en.wikipedia.org · checked on 9 November 2026

Entrance fees

Not verified

Entrance fees are paid at the site and are not part of the tour price.

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