Khor Virap is located some 30 kilometres south of Yerevan and can be visited as a day trip, possibly combined with Garni.
The monastery has a great setting: it sits on a bluff on the Ararat plain, with Mount Ararat looming directly across the Turkish border. On a clear day the view of Ararat from here is one of the iconic images of Armenia — the enormous snow-capped volcano rising above the flat valley, tantalisingly close but unreachable (the Turkish-Armenian border is closed).
The name means "deep pit" in Armenian, and refers to the dungeon where Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned for 13 years by King Tiridates III before converting him to Christianity in 301 AD — an event that made Armenia the world's first Christian nation. Visitors can descend into the pit, now a small chapel, via a steep metal ladder.
The main church of St. Astvatsatsin (Holy Mother of God) dates mostly from the 17th century. At the entrance, vendors sell white doves — releasing them is a traditional offering. Animal sacrifice (matagh) also takes place here on Sundays and feast days.
A taxi from Yerevan costs around 3,000–4,000 AMD each way. Many organised day tours combine Khor Virap with Areni village (for wine tasting) and Noravank Monastery in Vayots Dzor.