Harichavank

Harichavank has fabric from the seventh century onwards, with the small early church of Surb Grigor, a larger domed church of 1201 and a gavit joining them, and it served as a summer residence of the catholicos in the nineteenth century, which is why there are extra buildings around the yard. The best-known feature is a chapel on a spike of rock that has separated from the cliff, reached across a gap, which is a striking piece of siting.

What you actually see

• The seventh-century church - Surb Grigor, the oldest surviving part of the complex.
• The 1201 church - the larger domed building with carved reliefs on the drum.
• The rock chapel - a chapel on a detached pillar of rock beside the monastery.
• The gavit - the vaulted hall linking the two churches.

When to go

May to October is the season; the Shirak plateau is cold and snowy in winter. Spring and early summer are the greenest. The complex is generally open.

Honest expectations

The rock chapel is viewed from across a gap rather than entered. Nineteenth-century additions clutter the medieval core. The village has no facilities.

Nearby

Gyumri is northwest, and Artik is nearby on the Shirak plateau.