Matosavank Monastery, Dilijan

Matosavank entrance fee and opening hours

Matosavank is free. It is an unstaffed ruin in the woods with no ticket office, gate or keeper, so in practice you can visit at any hour. Go in daylight: the forest gets dark early and the ruins are easy to walk past.

Wikivoyage notes that Dilijan National Park has an entrance fee that is hard to pay on the trails; unofficially, nobody collects it at Matosavank. Outside Yerevan, Armenia runs largely on cash — carry Armenian dram in small notes for minibuses and taxis, and use the GG or Yandex Go apps if you want the taxi fare fixed upfront.

Is Matosavank worth visiting?

Yes, if you like forest walks, silence and places with nobody around, and an hour on a steep path doesn’t put you off. Matosavank is the most atmospheric of Dilijan’s forest ruins: moss on the walls, grass on the roof, cool and damp inside even in midsummer. Paired with Jukhtakvank, it is the best short hike into the national park straight from town.

Skip it if you only have time for one headline monastery with a tidy courtyard — go to Haghartsin instead. And don’t attempt it in heavy rain, snow or at dusk: the trail is steep and muddy, and the ruins are easy to miss.

What to see at Matosavank

• The foundation inscription above the church door, which dates the monastery to 1247.
• Khachkars at the entrance — two carved cross-stones on either side of the door, with fragments of older carved stones beside them.
• The gavit — a square vaulted hall with a single narrow west window and old gravestones set in the floor.
• The book depository on the south side, a vaulted room with its own door; one wall is half collapsed.
• The 1251 khachkar, one of the latest dated stones at the site.
• The medieval cemetery to the south-east, its rough headstones and khachkar pedestals scattered among the trees.
• The forest itself — in spring the forest floor is dotted with violets, cowslips and anemones.

A short history

The church of Surb Astvatsatsin — the Holy Mother of God of Pghndzahank, “the copper mine” — was finished in 1247 under Avag Zakarian, son of Ivane of the Mkhargrdzeli family. Avag had submitted to the invading Mongols and went on to command the combined Georgian and Armenian forces under the Great Khan Möngke.

The monastery is small: a single-nave church of rough stone, a gavit to the west and a book depository to the south. It is on Armenia’s list of protected monuments but has never been restored, which is exactly why it feels so wild today.

Matosavank vs Jukhtakvank

Short on time? Jukhtakvank is closer. For the real forest-monastery feeling, go to Matosavank — or best, loop through both.

Monasteries around Dilijan compared

Every monastery and church in and around Dilijan rated by YesGo. Tap a column heading to sort.

Nearby — add to your day

38

Jukhtakvank Monastery

Dilijan, Armenia

45 min · Free · 15 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Jukhtakvank Monastery

How to do it right

• Do it as a loop: Jukhtakvank first — just 10 minutes from the plant — then over the footbridge to Matosavank and back down to the start.
• Bring a torch: the gavit and book depository are dark even at noon.
• Late spring to early autumn is best; after rain and in winter the trail is slippery.
• Going by taxi? Ask the driver to collect you at the plant in 1.5–2 hours — you can’t call a car from the forest.
• Afterwards, head down to Old Dilijan for lunch and the craft workshops.
• If you want one monastery and no walking, choose Haghartsin.

Questions