Overview
Ashtarak is a small city in Central Armenia 20 km northwest of Yerevan. It features the best-preserved Armenian church of the 7th century, Karmravor.
Understand
Ashtarak is located at the intersection of roads leading to Gyumri and Yerevan. Due to such a convenient location the settlement appeared here long time ago. However, it didn't play any significant role until the second half of the twentieth century, when Ashtarak acquired the status of a city and started to host Institute of physics of Armenian Academy of Sciences. The name of the city means "a tower" in Armenian.
Ashtarak does not look like the regional center nowadays: it's a sleepy town, where it's easier to meet a chicken rather than a car. A trip here is a good opportunity to escape a rush of Yerevan for a few hours.
Get in
Public transport is the cheapest option and provides good connections.
Ashtarak Bus Station. Stop in front of the now abandoned Soviet-era bus station. Buses to Vanadzor don't call here nor go through the city, but bypassing it to the north.
From specific destinations: Yerevan – There are minibuses #502, #503 departing from Yerevan's Kilikia Bus Station. Ask the driver to stop at Ashtaraki Hraparak (the main square), otherwise you'll be dropped out at the not so centrally located bus station.
By taxi Taxi drivers will be happy to drive you from Yerevan to Ashtarak or anywhere else.
By car The road from Yerevan to Ashtarak is M1 motorway (4-lane road in a good condition). There is another quite OK road from Echmiadzin (17 km), which is convenient if you want to visit Echmiadzin and Ashtarak on the same day from Yerevan.
Get around
Everything is within walking distance.
See
Karmravor Church. The church was built in the mid-7th century and has been preserved without significant alterations. It features a single reddish clay tile domed roof (hence the name Tsiranavor, which means "reddish"). There are ancient khachkars around the church, and a stone gates with preserved engravings. It is a small church but quite interesting.
Surb Sarkis Church. S. Sarkis was built in the 19th century supposedly upon older foundations. It looks to be a new church because of extensive restoration work, but a small number of the older original stones carved with decorative relief and inscriptions (replaced with new stone and now sitting next to the foundation of the building) show its age to be much older. It offers a fine view to the three churches of Tsiranavor, Spitakavor, and Karmravor.
Surb Mariné Church. S. Mariane was built in 1271 or according to some sources 1281. It has a beautiful umbrella dome that rests above.
Ashtarak Bridge. The reddish stone arch bridge was built in 1664 as part of the old road to Yerevan. It features two equal sized smaller pointed arches on either side of a larger central pointed arch.
Spitakavor Church. Spitakavor meaning "whitish" is a triple-aisled basilica built in the 5th-6th centuries (most likely between 540-557). The front façade is whitewashed and has a lengthy inscription. Walls remain but the roof has since collapsed. Note: Some confusion about the name of the churches of Spitakavor and Tsiranavor has seemed to have occurred due to the misplacement of the Russian markers located inside the two structures. The ruins aren't impressive: if you aren't an expert, you can skip it.
Tsiranavor Church. Tsiranavor meaning "apricotish" is a small church built between the 13th to 14th centuries. Its roof has since collapsed, but walls remain. It also doesn't look very appealing and can be skipped.
Central square. The center life in this quiet town. There is a monument to Catholicos Nerses of Ashtarak, a taxi rank and a pair of nice pre-revolutionary buildings.
Nearby Further north is Ohanavan village with Hovhannavank Monastery. . This restored monastery is perched atop the cliffs and has a great view of Mt Ara.
Saghmosavank Monastery. just east of Artashavan village shares the same great views of the gorge and Mt Ara. You can hike from one to the other in the gorge. Great architecture, carvings, details.
Aparan Alphabet park. The monument includes the ornamental carvings of the 39 letters of the Armenian alphabet and monuments to Armenian greats, including a statue of the 12th-century Armenian scholar Mkhitar Gosh.
Do
House museum of Perch Proshyan. Perch Proshyan, the writer of the second half of the 19th century, was born here. There is a funny milepost at the entrance showing distances to the Hermitage, the Louvre and other world-famous museums.
Learn to cook Syrian-Armenian fusion cuisine in Old Ashtarak restaurant. The history of Old Ashtarak Restaurant reflects various layers of the history of Ashtarak and of the forced relocations of Armenians and their everlasting quest to live in their homeland. Using a recipe perfected and passed down through generations, Talar will teach you how to make the popular ishli kufta and filo pastry.
Tatoents Qotuk. Tatoents Qotuk is one of the most historic and cozy corners of Ashtarak, in a two-story house, with a 200-year-old, seven-arched cellar, now used as a restaurant. Here you can taste delicious local food, take part in different cooking classes and enjoy their captivating storytelling and warm hospitality.
Eat
"Pascal & Diodato". One of the few options in Ashtarak to eat. The choice of dishes according to Armenian standards are rather big, espresso, desserts. Good reviews, WiFi.
"Pirozhok". Simple eatery near the bus station.
Ashtaraki Dzor Restaurant Complex. Well worth a stop for a reasonably priced meal and night-time entertainment show, all outdoors, and long popular with Armeniansm, though perhaps in decline.
Old Ashtarak. Nicely restored old Ashtarak house with garden, offering good Arabic cuisine at reasonable prices.
Drink
OME anti-cafe. Beautiful old traditional style house with garden hosting an anti-cafe. You pay by the hour and get free drinks and snacks. Games available. Non-smoking.
Sleep
There is only one very average hotel in Ashtarak, but Yerevan with plenty of sleeping options is half an hour's drive away.
Hotel "Ashtarak". A big Soviet hotel with a very little renovation. Deluxe rooms look better, but they're significantly more expensive.
Make Ashtarak your own.
Before committing, pick one main reason for this visit and two nearby experiences that support it. Check the guide’s transport sections against current operator information. A convenient base can save more time than adding another attraction.
- Choose your arrival point and one base. Write down the real transfer time, not just the map distance.
- Build a first-day plan with room to settle in. Cluster the places you want to see rather than crossing the city repeatedly.
- Use actual accommodation and transport quotes in your budget. Add fees to the quote before comparing it.
- Keep one uncommitted block. Weather, energy and a good local recommendation can all change your plan.
Source transparency
This guide adapts licensed text by Wikivoyage contributors. It is not a claim that Lakhou has visited or independently verified every listing. We converted the source to plain text, selected practical sections and removed price sentences and private contact information. The planning framework and any related-business booking recommendations above are Lakhou editorial additions.
Original revision 5300595 · Contributor history · CC BY-SA 4.0. Reused text and adaptations on this page are available under that license. Source revision date: 2026-06-30. This is not a date of field verification.
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