Individual / Temple of Ptghni, Church Complex of Surb Poghos-Petros, Nekhuts Monastery, Thermal Spring Bath

• Temple of Ptghni
• Church Complex of Surb Poghos-Petros
• Nehuts Monastery
• Thermal  Spring Bath

The first stop of the tour is the Temple of Ptghni (Ptghnavank). This early medieval monument of the Armenian architecture was erected by Prince Manuel Amatuni at the end of the 6th - beginning of the 7th centuries. The northern wall, the eastern part of the southern wall and the eastern arch bearing the dome have been preserved. The temple was illuminated by a row of wide windows. There are rectangular sacristies with small apses on both sides of the semicircular apse.

The Temple of Ptghni is notable for its rich decoration: cornices, window edges, portals are decorated with floral and geometric relief ornaments. Rider Manuel Amatuni spearing a lion is depicted on the left, on the arcade of the southern entrance, in its horizontal part and the scene of the struggle of Sahak Amatuni against a lion is depicted on the right. The relief image in the center of the arch of the southern portal is also noteworthy: the Mother of God with angels on both sides, as well as a lion sitting under a palm tree.

The next stop of the tour is the church complex of Surb Poghos-Petros. The complex consists of the churches of Surb Poghos, Surb Petros, a chapel and a cemetery. The Church of Surb Poghos was built in the 12th-13th centuries and is a construction with a square plan. The vault and gable roof collapsed. There is a construction inscription on the northern wall, according to which, the church and gavit were built by Aslan and his brother Virapshah. The church was repaired by believers, as a result of which the construction lost its original appearance.

The Church of Surb Petros (the 13th century) is located on a steep hillside and is a single-nave hall with a vaulted gable roof. The church is built of black and orange tuff.

On the north side of the churches, in the rocks, there is a cave, where in the 1980s  archaeologist G. Ghazaryan discovered tools of the Stone Age. 

The next stop of the tour is the Neguts Monastery. The monastery is located 1 km northwest of Arzakan village and surrounded with dense forests. It consists of a church, an adjoining gavit and a separate small chapel. The monastery was built in the 10th-11th centuries. Inscriptions of the 13th century have been preserved on the walls of the gavit. There is a cemetery with many cross-stones near the monastery.

  The last stop of the tour is a hot mineral spring in Arzakan village. In the Middle Ages Arzakan village was known as Artavazdakan. There are many hot mineral springs in the village, which are very useful for health. The natural healing mineral water, which springs from the bowels of the earth, is considered as the analogue of the world-famous mineral waters of Vichy (France), Borjomi (Georgia) and Dilijan (Armenia). The temperature of mineral water is up to 54º C. Thermal spring water has a curative effect on a person's whole body and helps improve the functioning of the cardiovascular and nervous systems, as well as the gastrointestinal tract.

Departure: 10:00

Arrival: 20:00

Departure place: Hakob Hakobyan str. 1

1 person - 50.000 AMD,

2-3 persons - 35.000 AMD,

4-10 persons - 27.000 AMD,

11-20 persons - 22.000 AMD,

21-30 persons - 12.000 AMD