Northwest of Yerevan lies the province of Aragatsotn, whose name means "lying at the foot of Aragats Mountain". The verdant town of Ashtarak is the region's administrative centre and is also believed to be one of the most ancient sites where primitive man settled. Two interesting churches to visit in Ashtarak are the church of Karmravor (red coloured), and Tsiranavor (orange coloured).

The road from Ashtarak continues to the village of Buryakan, first mentioned in a source of the 10th century and now famous for its astrophysical observatory established in 1947.

Further up Aragats mountain lies Amberd Fortress and Castle dating from the 10th-13th centuries, part of the family estate of the Pahlavouni Princes. It is one of the few feudal castles in Armenia which has been more or less preserved to our day.

The fortress was built on a promontory surrounded on three sides by ravines and is a most beautiful spot. Beyond the fortress walls built of massive basalt blocks lies a now ruined castle but fragments of its water supply, as well as the baths and a secret passage to the canyon are preserved. In 1206 a church was built on the territory of the fortress, commissioned by the famous Armenian warlord Vahram Pahlavouni. You can visit Amberd Fortress in a half-day excursion from Yerevan