Visit Echmiadzin; Echmiadzin is the Vatican of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the place where Surp Grigor Lusavorich saw a beam of light fall to the earth in a divine vision, and where he built the first Mayr Tachar ( Mother Church of Armenia). Though its rich history and symbolic importance make it a revered destination for Armenian Christians, we find the compound's churches and museums underwhelming. The main cathedral, Mayr Tachar, stands in a quadrangle of hedges and lawn surrounded by 19th-century buildings. The original church was consecrated in AD 303 but later fell in ruin and was rebuilt in 480-483. More work and expansion occurred in the 600s, the 1600s and 1700s, and a major restoration of the exterior was being undertaken at the time of writing (2017). At the rear of the church, through a door on the right of the altar, is the Cathedral Museum; The Cathedral Museum houses precious objects and relics collected by the church, including the Holy Lance, the weapon used by a Roman soldier to pierce the side of Christ while he was still nailed to the cross. The spearhead is set into an ornate 17th-century gold-and-silver casing and was brought to Echmiadzin from Geghard Monastery. There are also clerical vestments and crowns, illuminated manuscripts, processional crosses, a hand-shaped reliquary of St John the Baptist, and a beautiful beaten-gold reliquary dating from 1300 that is said to contain a relic of the True Cross. The Palace of the Catholicos is the home of the present Catholicos, Karekin II, who was enthroned in November 1999. He is the supreme prelate of the 1700-year-old Armenian Apostolic faith. On its 2nd floor is the Pontifical Residence Museum, a series of galleries showcasing the art collections, treasured possessions and personal effects of the Catholicoses and kings of Armenia. Also in the grounds is the Rouben Sevak Museum, where paintings collected by Mr Sevak are displayed. The gardens of Mayr Tachar have a 1915-23 Genocide Monument and many fine khachkars assembled from around the country. There are also a number of contemporary churches, seminaries and libraries in the compound, the most notable of which is the Holy Archangels Church next to the main gate. This was designed by Jim Torosyan and consecrated in 2011. There are three other churches of note in Vagharshapt, the most notable of which is Surp Hripsime, built in 618 as a replacement for an earlier chapel on the site where St Hripsime was slain after she refused to marry the pagan King Trdat III, choosing instead to stay true to her faith ( she was a Roman nun who had earlier fled here to escape marriage to the Roman emperor Diocletian). The small chamber at the back of this church has a niche that contains a few of the rocks purportedly used to stone Hripsome to death. The church is located on the main highway near the entrance to town (near the bypass). Other churches include Surp Gayane, a short walk from Lomitas Sq past the main gate of the Holy See. St Gayane was the prioress of the 32 virtuous maidens who accompanied St Hripsime to Armenia. The original 5th-century chapel over her grave was rebuilt as a church in 1630 It's a fine orange-toned building with a plain interior and some fine khachkars in its grounds. Less interesting but still worth a visit is Surp Shogahat, a sturdy stone structure with simple, elegant lines. It was rebuilt on the foundations of a chapel to one of the companions of Hripsime and Gayane. You'll find it on Nalbandyan St, behind Surp Hripsime.

Visit Zvartnots Cathedral; Catholicos Nerses II (known as 'the Builder') sponsored the construction of the 'Celestial Angels Cathedral' in the 7th century. Destroyed in the 10th century, its evocative ruins now stand in a semi-industrial landscape near Zvartnots Airport and were included on Unesco's World Heritage List in 2000. It was originally dedicated to-and housed relics of- Surp Grigor Lusavorich, the first Catholicos of the Armenian Church. A model in the on-site museum shows what it may have originally looked like. The ruins lay buried until the 20th century when they were excavated and the cathedral was partially reconstructed in a polygonal form with plenty of columns supporting carved arches. There are plenty of interesting sculptural remnants surrounding the main structure- look out for the carved eagle capital in particular. The recently opened museum in the southwest corner of the site displays artefacts found during the excavation. It also has a series of informative panels about medieval Armenian architecture. Around the cathedral are the ruins of the palace of the Catholicos and the wine press and stone tanks of a massive medieval winery. Zvartnots is no the Vaharshapat-Yerevan Hwy, near the delightfully named village of Ptghunk, 17km from Yerevan and 4km from Echmiadzin

The last stop of the excursion is Sardarapat. Set on a hill, the stunning orange tuff memorial at Sardarapat commemorates the battle in May 1918 when forces of the first Armenian republic turned back the Turkish army and saved the county from a likely annihilation. Designed by Russian-trained architect Raphael Israelyan and built in 1968, it is a popular pilgrimage destination for Armenians. The State Ethnographic Museum at the site is in two parts: battle paraphernalia in the first hall, and an excellent ethnographic collection upstairs. Sardarapat is about 10km southwest of Armavir, signposted near the village of Araks.