BarevTripEtchmiadzin & Zvartnots from Yerevan: sights, hours, directions
Etchmiadzin and Zvartnots are one UNESCO World Heritage site (no. 1011, inscribed in 2000): Etchmiadzin Cathedral with the churches of Hripsime and Gayane, plus the ruins of the Zvartnots Cathedral. Both places are in Armavir Province, 17–20 km from the centre of Yerevan — 24–26 minutes without traffic, and about 7 km, 11 minutes, from each other. Zvartnots is open daily from 10:00 to 18:00, on Sundays until 16:00; a ticket costs 1,500 AMD, and children under 12 enter free. After restoration the cathedral was rededicated on 29 September 2024 and is open to pilgrims and guests; entry is free. With a BarevTrip driver both places are part of a 6-hour trip together with Khor Virap: 39,000 AMD for a sedan and 55,000 AMD for a minivan, for the whole car; entrance tickets are not included in the price. “Zvartnots” is also the name of Yerevan’s airport; here we mean the ruins of the 7th-century cathedral.
At a glance
- Region
- Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin), Armavir Province
- Opening hours
- Not confirmed — check on site
- Tickets
- Free entry. Free according to 2026 guidebooks; there is no official statement. The Manoogian Treasury and the Ruben Sevak Museum next door are paid: 2,000 and 500 AMD for foreign visitors (institution's price, paid on site; per the Mother See's official site on 7 November 2026)
- Season
- No seasonal closures found. There is no official schedule for the cathedral: guidebooks give roughly 08:00–18:00 in daylight; the Treasury is open Tuesday–Sunday from 10:30 and closes at 16:45 or 17:30 depending on the page of the Mother See's site. Mother See: +374 10 517110
- Restrictions
- An active cathedral: during services, especially on Sundays, visitors may not be let in (guidebooks, 2026). Covering your shoulders and knees is advice, not an official rule; no official rules on photography, flash or drones were found
- Official website
- www.armenianchurch.org/en/mother-see
checked November 7, 2026
Contents
What site no. 1011 includes
Three areas with a total of 74.3 ha: the cathedral and Gayane Church (30.2 ha), the churches of Hripsime and Shoghakat (25.3 ha), and the ruins of Zvartnots (18.8 ha). Criteria (ii) and (iii): the influence on church architecture in the region and outstanding testimony to the spirituality and innovation of the Armenian Church since its founding. Ownership differs: the ruins of Zvartnots are state-owned, the other monuments belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church. The other Armenian sites on the UNESCO lists are in the article on UNESCO sites in Armenia.
History by date
Event
- early 4th century
- the first church on the site of the cathedral
- 480s
- the present cross-shaped plan of the cathedral
- 618
- Hripsime Church
- 630
- Gayane Church
- mid-7th century
- Zvartnots, completed around 662
- 10th century
- Zvartnots collapsed, probably in an earthquake
- 1694
- Shoghakat Church
- 1900–1907
- excavation of Zvartnots
- 2012–2024
- restoration of the cathedral; rededicated on 29 September 2024
The cathedral was closed to visitors from 2018 until autumn 2024.
What to see
The cathedral is a working church and the residence of the Catholicos of All Armenians. Next to it are a 17th-century bell tower and the Treasury. Hripsime is a model four-apse church; Shoghakat stands next to it. Gayane is a domed basilica with a narthex of 1688. Zvartnots is the base of a round cathedral with three tiers and a cross inside; by the reconstruction it was about 45 m high, and the top has not survived.
Hours and tickets
These amounts are the institutions’ prices, paid on site, not BarevTrip prices.
Hours
- Zvartnots
- daily 10:00–18:00, Sunday 10:00–16:00
- Etchmiadzin Cathedral
- daylight hours, roughly 08:00–18:00; during services visiting is limited
- Manoogian Treasury
- Tuesday–Sunday, 10:30–16:45
- Ruben Sevak Museum
- Tuesday–Sunday, 10:30–17:30
- Hripsime, Gayane
- working churches, daylight hours
Entry
- Zvartnots
- paid: 1,500 AMD; children’s, student and pensioner ticket — 750 AMD; children under 12 free
- Etchmiadzin Cathedral
- free
- Manoogian Treasury
- paid: 2,000 AMD for foreign visitors
- Ruben Sevak Museum
- paid: 500 AMD for foreign visitors
- Hripsime, Gayane
- free
The Zvartnots museum runs tours by prior booking: 3,000 AMD in Armenian, 5,000 AMD in Russian or English. This is a museum service, not BarevTrip; the booking phone is +374 93 013132.
What this means for the trip: reach the Treasury before 16:00. Entrance tickets are not included in the price of the trip — they are bought on site, separately; it is safer to have cash in drams.
How to get there from Yerevan and how long it takes
Distance
- Republic Square — Zvartnots
- 17.3 km
- Republic Square — cathedral
- 20.3 km
- Zvartnots — cathedral
- 6.7 km
- Cathedral — Gayane
- 0.9 km
- Cathedral — Hripsime
- 2.2 km
Time without traffic
- Republic Square — Zvartnots
- 24 minutes
- Republic Square — cathedral
- 26 minutes
- Zvartnots — cathedral
- 11 minutes
- Cathedral — Gayane
- 2 minutes
- Cathedral — Hripsime
- 4 minutes
Times are without traffic; from your hotel the time will differ. Hripsime is a separate stop by car, it is far on foot. From the cathedral to Gayane it is 2 minutes by car or about ten minutes on foot. The catalog allows 40 minutes for Zvartnots and 90 for the Etchmiadzin Cathedral, Hripsime, Gayane group; 130 minutes together. For the Treasury and the rest of the complex together, allow 1.5–2 hours.
When to go
The catalog runs tours year-round. Zvartnots closes at 16:00 on Sundays at any time of year. The ruins are in the open air. A weekday and the morning are best: during a service, especially on a Sunday, you may not be let into the cathedral. For winter trips, see the answer “Where can you go from Yerevan on a winter day trip by car?”. Clothing is advice, not a rule: shoulders and knees covered; women may find it handy to have a headscarf.
What to combine in one day
The catalog offers two options, price for the whole car:
Stops
- Echmiadzin, Zvartnots & Khor Virap
- Zvartnots Cathedral ruins · Echmiadzin Cathedral, St. Hripsime, St. Gayane · Khor Virap Monastery
- Echmiadzin, Sardarapat & Zvartnots
- St. Hripsime Church · St. Gayane Church · Echmiadzin Cathedral · Sardarapat Memorial and Museum · Zvartnots Cathedral ruins
Sedan / minivan
- Echmiadzin, Zvartnots & Khor Virap
- 39,000 / 55,000 AMD
- Echmiadzin, Sardarapat & Zvartnots
- 38,000 / 53,000 AMD
The default pickup is at 09:00; the catalog for the tour with Khor Virap advises 9:30. Zvartnots opens at 10:00, so with a 09:00 pickup it is easier to start with Etchmiadzin rather than Zvartnots. More on Khor Virap is in the article “Khor Virap: the monastery by Ararat — what to see and how much time”, on Geghard in the article “Geghard Monastery: entry, hours and how to get there from Yerevan”; the choice between Garni and Khor Virap for one short outing is in the article “Garni or Khor Virap: what to choose with one day in Yerevan”; other combinations are in the answer “Garni, Geghard and Khor Virap in one day from Yerevan: how to organise it and what does a private car cost?”. On the view of Ararat from Khor Virap, see “Khor Virap from Yerevan: when to go for the Ararat view and how much is a private car?”. On trips with children, see “Day trips from Yerevan with kids: where to go and how to get there?”. A route outside the catalog is put together through a custom route, all trips are in the tour catalog, and the order of booking and payment is on the how it works page. The tours have an option of a qualified guide for a fixed surcharge shown on the trip page; the driver does not give a tour.
By tradition
According to the tradition recorded by Agathangelos (5th century), Gregory the Illuminator saw Christ descend from heaven and point out the site of the church with a golden hammer: hence “Etchmiadzin”, “the Only-Begotten descended”. By the same tradition, the Roman virgins Hripsime and Gayane fled the persecution of the emperor Diocletian and were executed in Vagharshapat in 301; two churches stand on the sites of their deaths. Shoghakat is linked to a “ray of light” that fell on the martyrs. In the account of Movses Kaghankatvatsi, a Byzantine emperor was present at the consecration of Zvartnots.
What to check on site
- Hours of the cathedral and churches. The guide is 08:00–18:00; during services visiting is limited, and at weekends entry is not always possible. Mother See: +374 10 517110.
- Zvartnots on Mondays and in winter. The museum is open every day; it is best to call the day before: +374 93 013132.
- Parking and waiting. The car parks are included in the price of the trip. Ask the driver on the day where he will wait.
Photos
Questions about this trip
Is this one UNESCO site or two?
Is Zvartnots the airport?
Is Zvartnots open on Mondays?
Can I go with children?
Do I need cash?
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Sources and date of check
- UNESCO open data, dataset whc001, record 1011 · checked November 7, 2026 · sections 1, 2, 3
- ICOMOS, evaluation no. 1011 (October 2000) · checked November 7, 2026 · sections 1, 2, 3
- Zvartnots Museum-Reserve — official site: hours, tickets, tours, phone · checked November 7, 2026 · sections 4, 9
- Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin — Museums at the Mother See: the Manoogian Treasury and the Ruben Sevak Museum, hours and tickets · checked November 7, 2026 · section 4
- Catholicos’s message of 29.09.2024 — rededication of the cathedral · checked November 7, 2026 · section 2
- The Armenia Guides — Echmiadzin Cathedral (updated 2026-09-25) · checked November 7, 2026 · sections 4, 6
- Churches to Visit — Etchmiadzin (checked in September 2026) · checked November 7, 2026 · sections 4, 5
- OpenStreetMap — Gate of St Gregory the Illuminator, the entrance to the Mother See complex (way 563738112) · checked November 6, 2026 · At a glance
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