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Abovyan
City in Kotayk, Armenia

Abovyan

Abovyan or Abovian is a town and urban municipal community in Armenia within the Kotayk Province.

Plan a trip to Abovyan→From Gyumri

It is located 16 kilometres northeast of Yerevan and 32 kilometres southeast of the province centre Hrazdan. As of the 2022 census, the population of the town was 46,434.

Get in

Getting to Abovyan

  1. 01
    Zvartnots International Airport
  2. 02
    Yerevan Train Station
  3. 03
    Central Bus Station
  4. 04
    Northern Bus Station
See

Worth seeing

Churches in Yerevan are open from early morning till very late evening. There is no entrance fee ever charged. If you manage to find the priest you can ask him to bless you and any object (of non-violent usage) that belongs to you (including friendship and other relationships).

  1. 01
    Katoghike
  2. 02
    Katoghike Tsiranavor Church of Avan
  3. 03
    St Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral

    Yervand Kochar St (Metro: Zoravar Andranik).

  4. 04
    Saint Sarkis Cathedral

    Israyelyan street (at the border of the city centre, on a picturesque gorge of Hrazdan River, Metro: Yeritasardakan 2 km).

  5. 05
    St Astvatsatsin of Nork
  6. 06
    St John The Baptist Church
Do

Things to do

Hrazdan Gorge partying (try around the start of the children railway and from there going northwest). Only in summer. Visit one of the themed restaurants in the Hrazdan Gorge to see the locals partying. The food does not tend to venture far from barbecue and crayfish, but it is usually good barbecue, and the prices range from very reasonable to the unreasonable.

  1. 01
    Climb the Cascades

    Ararat, then head across the street to the amusement park inside Victory Park for some cotton candy and a ride on the rickety Ferris wheel.

  2. 02
    Yerevan Water World
  3. 03
    Yerevan Zoo
  4. 04
    Spartak Stadium

    Agatangeghos St (Metro: Zoravar Andranik 300 m).

  5. 05
    Botanical garden of Yerevan

    The collection includes more than 200 species of endemic, rare and declining plants.

  6. 06
    Children's Railway Park

    Hrazdan Gorge (Close to Parajanov Museum).

Eat

Where to eat

Stands selling Armenian-style "pizzas" called "lamehjun" or "lahmajoun" are prevalent throughout Yerevan. This cheap snack consists of a thin layer of dough topped with an herb and meat paste.

  1. 01
    Master Class

    28, 20 Tumanyan St (a couple of spaces from Abovyan Street, semi underground.).

  2. 02
    Mer Taghe

    A small lahmejun joint on Tumanyan, and their lahmejuns have a big following.

  3. 03
    OST

    Cheap cafe, lots of food options and drinks.

  4. 04
    Meghedi

    Cheap cafe, lots of food options and drinks.

  5. 05
    Tumanyan Shaurma

    A local chain with a dozen restaurants around Yerevan.

How locals move

Getting around Abovyan the local way

  • Get inYou may be denied entry and turned around at the border, which, if you've come by marshrutka/minibus, means that you will be stranded until you are able to find a new bus or hitchhike back to Tbilisi.
  • Get inThere are marshrutkas from Tbilisi to the border for about 17 lari to Yerevan.
  • Get inAlso, several marshrutkas leave daily from Akhalkalaki into Armenia (Gyumri).
  • Get inMarshrutkas pass through Ninotsminda, so it is possible to jump on there.
  • Get inIn both directions, marshrutka leaves quite early in the morning.
  • Get inKapan and Kajaran are more frequently served by marshrutkas, but it is a long and mountainous (and therefore expensive) stretch to the border from there.
  • Get aroundMost inter-city travel is by 14-seat minibuses or buses.
  • Get aroundUnlike many countries in Eastern Europe, many Armenian marshrutkas do not sell tickets beforehand, and do not issue tickets at all.

From Wikivoyage: Armenia, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Marcin Konsek (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.