Byurokan near Аragatsotn

Just 10 km from Ashtarak on Mount Aragats slope there is a big settlement of Byurokan which is considered the cradle of Armenian astronomy. There is the world famous observatory of academician Victor Ambartsumian which was founded in 1946 and is one of the world's largest ones.

The basic occupation there is the studying of the Galaxy and its components, radio astronomy, star cosmogony, and extragalactic astronomy. Other places of interest include Agavazdik church (18 th century), St. Hovannes church (5 th – 10 th centuries), and the khachkars.