Haghartsin lies in a valley home to a dense forest. The monastery consists of a group of well-preserved buildings. The oldest part is the St Gregory church (10th century), but the church gavit was built later. Then St Stephen's church was built in 1244, followed by an interesting large refectory (1248), and the bigger Mother of God church was added in 1281. At the southeast corner of this last church, a large walnut tree is estimated to be over 700 years old.
If you believe in miracles, try burning a candle here. Even though we're just a bunch of atheists, we were so desperate with the rainy weather that we tried our luck with these yellow thin candles they sell all over Armenia: the day after was bright and sunny and that's when we got those great shots at Goshavank, Haghartsin and Lake Sevan!!!