Garni Temple

One of the most visited tourist attractions in Armenia is Garni Temple. Located in the Kotayk Province and about a 40-minute drive from Yerevan, the capital, the route is scenic and spectacular. Stunning images of the valley and Mt. Ararat in the background will welcome you along this picturesque landscape.

Situated at the edge of a triangular cliff and once part of an ancient fortress, the construction date is estimated to be circa 77 A.D. The temple is built with Greco-Roman influence and in its former glory came with a royal summer palace, hot bath complex, and a small church. Look down below and you can see the Goghi and Azat Rivers.

 Garni Temple was dedicated to the sun goddess Mythra. Armenians shared Zoroastrian practices with Persia (and by the time of Garni Temple, with the Eastern Roman Empire, which had adopted Mythra as a patron goddess), and worshipped fire as an ultimate gift from the gods, an entity in itself. There is plenty of history here as activity began here since the 3rd millennium B.C. by ancestral Armenians who developed the region into one of he greatest metallurgical and trading powers in Mesopotamia and Asia Minor.

To get inside take the 9 unusually high stairs to the top to see cella. It was kind of underwhelming to see the inside since it was so bare but luckily there was a musician inside playing the flute and the reverb inside made it sound remarkable. Next to Garni Temple were the remains of where the palace once stood. Just a few steps away is where the bathhouse once stood. Take a peek inside and see the way the baths were heated when it was time for the elites to relax. At the very end pay attention to the artwork on the floor that managed to survive after all these centuries. 

Garni Temple is one of the most visited and iconic historic sites that Armenia has to offer. It’s very accessible and the surrounding area of the valley is spectacular and a place you can visit any time of the year.

Happy traveling.