BYURAKAN - the medieval city Byurakan extremely rich in historical monuments ,is located on the slope of Mt.Aragats in the South-Eastern part. Passing the monument to the 1915 heroic battle of Van, you'll reach Byurakan, one of the largest and best-known villages of Armenia, which is etymologized as ,,10.000 springs,,.

Byurakan is the cradle of astronomical achievements of the Armenian nation. The observatory was established in 1946, it is located at 1500 altitude above sea level. It is one of the largest centers in the world, and named after academician Victor Hambartsumyan. The observatory has a one meter diameter Schmidt Telescope, one of the largest ones in the world, as well as a 53 centimeter Schmidt Telescope and 50 and 40 centimeter mirror telescopes. The main directions of the scientific research are: Galaxy and its components , radio-astronomy, astral cosmogony, extra-galactic astronomy. The Byurakan Observatory is a branch of the National Academy of Sciences.

There are also many holiday houses in Byurakan

AMBERD – 7 km to the North from Byurakan, near the slopes of Aragats- a town fortress named Amberd was constructed in 7 th century and was preserved until the end of 14 th century. Amberd stands on a rocky eminence, again one of the impregnable fortresses of medieval Armenia. The fortress is located at 2300 meters above sea level. The church inside the fortress was built in 1026.