Geghard is cut into a cliff. Some of its chapels are built out of the mountain, others hollowed from it, and the effect is of a monastery that grew out of the rock instead of being placed on it. It sits at the head of the Azat gorge, about forty kilometres east of Yerevan, in a narrow valley where the walls rise vertically on three sides and the stream chatters below. The name means the spear, from the relic of the lance that pierced Christ, brought here by the apostle Thaddeus according to tradition and kept for centuries before being moved to Echmiatsin. The monastery was founded in the early Middle Ages, but most of what you see dates to the thirteenth century, when the princely Proshyan family built the rock-cut chapels. Together with the upper Azat valley it is a UNESCO site.
Inside, the main rock-cut chamber is dark, cool and very echoey, and the acoustics are the reason musicians and choirs love it. If anyone is singing when you arrive, stand still. Outside, small caves in the cliff hold khachkars and carved crosses, and pilgrims tie scraps of cloth to the trees.
The ride is one of the pleasures of Armenia. From Yerevan you go through Garni, a larger village of nearly seven thousand with fuel, shops and the only Greco-Roman temple standing in the country, a colonnaded first-century building above the gorge. From there the road narrows, climbs gently, and follows the Azat past basalt columns, orchards, and little stalls selling dried fruit and fruit leather. Surface and traffic are friendly enough, though tour buses fill the last stretch at midday, so aim for early morning or late afternoon. Watch for loose gravel on bends and for the occasional cow in the road.
Garni is the last place for fuel, so top up there. Goght, closer to the monastery, has a few small shops and cafes, and in season there are women on the approach road baking gata and lavash for visitors. A picnic by the river, with bread, cheese and herbs, is better than any restaurant. Mid-autumn brings gold into the poplars, and the place is beautiful, but winter can leave the road icy for days at a time.