We arrived in Dilijan early, so we continued to visit the Goshavank monastery complex founded in 1188 by the saintly Armenian cleric Mkhitar Gosh, buried in a little chapel overlooking the main complex. This monastery features the main church (Surp Astvatsatsin), smaller churches to St Gregory of Narek and St Gregory the Illuminator, and a library that is said to have held 15,000 books. A fourth church, topped by a bell tower, was built on top of the library in 1291. Goshavank is considered one of the principal cultural centers of Armenia of its time. Historians believe it was abandoned after the Mongol invasion in 1375. It appears to have been reoccupied between the 17th and 19th centuries and restored from 1957 to 1963.
Parking location – Goshavank: 40.729533N 44.997086E (🚻,🅿️ – 300 AMD)