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Photo: Z galstyan, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The monastery of Aghjots Vank contains the church of S. Poghos Petros (S. Paul and Peter) of 1270, an adjoining gavit of the 13th century, the church of S. Stepanos, and numerous khachkars.
Aghjots Vank ; also known as the Saint Stephen Monastery of Goght, is a 13th-century monastery situated along a tributary of the Azat River Valley within the Khosrov State Reserve located half a mile walk from the hamlet of Mets Gilanlar, and near the villages of Goght and Garni in the Ararat Province of Armenia. Not far from this location and also within the reserve is the fortress of Kakavaberd and the monastic complex of Havuts Tar.
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A medieval Armenian fortress with large sections of walls still intact, first mentioned in the 9th-10th centuries. Towers at the northeastern side are 8 to 10 meters tall. Within the fortress are the ruins of a church and other structures.
11th- to 13th-century walled monastery. Just before entering through the wall surrounding the Havuts Tar monastery, a trail leads to the right up a hill and through a slightly wooded area. At the end of this trail not too far away, are the ruins of a small chapel with two khachkars nearby to the left and one to the right.
Revered 11th C monastery, much of it carved out of the solid stone of the mountainside, in dramatic canyon setting. Monastery and canyon are a UNESCO World Heritage site. The fortified compound encloses the main church, holy springs, an upper chamber with unparalleled acoustics and many intricate khachkars. The "Geghard" was supposedly the Roman spear that pierced Jesus' side; this relic was long housed here but is now in Echmiadzin.
crossing the Azat River. This is the starting point of the trail leading to Havuts Tar Monastery, which is about 5-6 km away from the bridge.