Ararat Marz is the province that dominates the view from Yerevan: a broad, hot, flat valley carved by the Arax river, with the double peak of Mount Ararat — now just across the border in Turkey — looming over everything on a clear day, impossibly large and impossibly close. The mountain gave the region its name even though Armenians can only look at it.
Most of the valley is agricultural — vineyards, orchards, and fishponds on the flat ground, brown hills rising steeply on either side. The Khosrov Forest State Reserve protects the upper Azat and Vedi river valleys, where the landscape turns green and the terrain becomes genuinely wild.
The main reason travelers come here is Khor Virap monastery, which sits right at the Turkish border among the ruins of ancient Artashat. It is the legendary site where Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned before converting Armenia to Christianity in 301 AD — the combination of monastery and mountain backdrop makes it one of the most photographed spots in the country. The ruins of Dvin, the medieval Armenian capital, lie nearby and reward visitors interested in archaeology. The fishponds at Armash, in the flat southwest of the province, are one of the richest birdwatching sites in the Caucasus.