Tatev Monastery: cable car, tickets, closures, road from Yerevan

What it is and where it stands

The monastery stands about 200 m south of Tatev village, on the right bank of a tributary of the Vorotan, on a promontory that drops into gorges to the east and south-west, at 1,493 m above sea level; Goris is about 25 km away. The state list of monuments of Syunik Province enters the complex as a monument of republican significance (Government of Armenia decision No. 2322-Ն of 29 December 2005).

Tatev is not yet on the UNESCO World Heritage List: Armenia has announced the nomination “Tatev Monastery and the Vorotan Gorge”. Armenia’s sites on the main list and the tentative list are covered in the article “UNESCO sites in Armenia: three monuments and the tentative list”.

The Wings of Tatev cable car links the lower station near the village of Halidzor with the upper one by the monastery walls. The figures are from the operator’s technical section:

The Guinness World Records entry (of 16 October 2010) calls it the longest non-stop double-track cable car in the world.

© BarevTrip

The history in dates

What to see on site and nearby

Inside the fortress wall there are three churches, a gallery, a bell tower, Gavazan and service buildings. The main church of Saints Peter and Paul has murals of the 10th century; the church of St Gregory the Illuminator adjoins it. The gate church of the Holy Mother of God stands above the entrance to the enclosure, and steps lead up to it. The tomb of Grigor Tatevatsi is at the south entrance of the main church. 20 m to the north-east is the Dzit Han oil mill: per the operator, it was restored in 2010 and now holds a museum and the photo exhibition “Memory of the Abandoned Gorge”.

© BarevTrip

© BarevTrip

Nearby, outside the monastery grounds:

The BarevTrip catalogue does not list these points as separate stops: a visit to Devil’s Bridge is an unplanned stop at a rate known before booking, or part of your own route.

The cable car: schedule and closures

The Wings of Tatev cable car runs Tuesday to Sunday and on public holidays. The last trip is at 17:30 from December to February, at 17:45 in March, April, October and November, and at 18:45 from May to September. The stations are open from 10:00 to 18:00, and until 19:00 from May to September. The first trips, the intervals and the full table by period are in the answer to the question “Tatev and the Wings of Tatev in one day from Yerevan: how long is the drive and when is the cable car closed?”

What follows from this:

• Monday is a day off. The cable car runs on public holidays; before a holiday Monday or the start of January, call the operator.
• Extra non-operating days are possible because of weather and for technical reasons; the operator posts notices on its website and social media.
• On a day when the cable car is closed, and when it stops in bad weather, a road runs to the monastery through Devil’s Bridge: per the operator, about 40 minutes along the serpentine of the Vorotan gorge. The Tatev Monastery stop stays in the catalogue; there will be no cable car ride that day. If Monday is the only day you have free, say so in the comment on your request and we will discuss an option.

© BarevTrip

Hours and tickets

The prices are the cable car operator’s, payable on site, not BarevTrip prices.

How to get there from Yerevan and how long it takes

For the distance and the driving time per the operator, see the answer to the question about Tatev in one day; from Republic Square to the car park at the monastery, without traffic or stops, it is about 250 km and about 3 h 45 min.

With a 09:00 pickup there is a margin before the last cable car trip in every season: to the lower station with stops in Areni and Noravank it is about 5 h 25 min, of which about 4 h 10 min is driving. If you move the pickup later, count from that.

© BarevTrip

Parking: there is a free car park at the monastery about 100 m from the upper station, and a free car park for customers at the lower station. Whether you ride the cable car up and back, or up by cable car and down by car, you settle with the dispatcher when booking.

The driver does not give a tour: under Armenia’s Law on Tourism that is a guide’s job. The trip has an option of a qualified guide for a fixed surcharge, shown on the trip page.

When to go

The operator sells tickets all year and writes that Syunik is a high-altitude region. The BarevTrip catalogue: Tatev Monastery & Wings of Tatev runs all year, Grand South Loop: Khor Virap, Noravank, Tatev, Karahunj & Sevan from May to October, because the road over the Selim pass may be closed in winter.

Our advice for winter: leave no later than 09:00 and keep a margin for the weather. In winter the way back is in the dark on a mountain road; BarevTrip drivers have 5 or more years of experience, including driving in the regions of Armenia, on mountain roads and in winter (about our drivers). The Ministry of Emergency Situations publishes a daily road bulletin. Short winter options are in the answer to the question “Where can you go from Yerevan on a winter day trip by car?”.

What to combine in one day

Catalogue prices, for the whole car.

Tatev with Dilijan or Gyumri in one day is not in the catalogue: a day with Tatev takes 12–14 hours, with the reasons in the answers to the questions “Garni, Geghard and Khor Virap in one day from Yerevan: how to organise it and what does a private car cost?” and “How many day trips from Yerevan do I need to see the main sights of Armenia?”. On the neighbours along the route: Noravank, Khor Virap, Lake Sevan, Garni or Khor Virap. A minivan takes up to 7 passengers; we do not yet accept groups of 8 or more.

By tradition

By tradition, the monastery’s name comes from the Armenian “ta tev”, “give wings”: the master, having finished the building, stood on the edge of the gorge, asked the Holy Spirit to give him wings, and jumped — and wings were given to him. This is a folk tradition.

By another version, the monastery is named after Eustathius, a disciple of the Apostle Thaddeus, on whose grave a church was built in the 4th century; the state list of monuments records the monastery as the “monastery of the Holy Apostle Eustathius”.

What to check on site

• Ticket and holidays. The operator’s support line issues the ticket: +374 60 46 33 33 or +374 96 46 33 33. Before a holiday Monday and 1 January, call the day before: the schedule has no list of holidays. Take cash in drams.
• Child ticket. The height limit is 140 cm; with a child in the group, first call the operator and book, then buy at the ticket office.
• The cable car arrangement. Whether you ride the cable car up and down, or one way by car, you settle with the dispatcher when booking.
• Travel time. We counted from Republic Square without traffic; from your hotel and at rush hour the drive will take longer.
• Weather. In winter leave no later than 09:00: trips are cancelled in bad weather, and the way back is in the dark.