[4] Khor Virap's notability as a monastery and pilgrimage site is attributed to the fact that Gregory the Illuminator was initially imprisoned here for 13 years by King Tiridates III of Armenia.

[2][5][6] A chapel was initially built in 642 at the site of Khor Virap by Nerses III the Builder as a mark of veneration to Saint Gregory.

[7] Khor Virap is located on a hillock in Pokr Vedi; the village is 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the main highway.

[10] King Artashes I, founder of the Artashesid dynasty, established his Armenian capital at Artashat (also known as Artaxtisata) around 180 BC.

In addition, Gregory's refusal to offer sacrifice to the goddess Anahita provoked the king to torture him and condemn him to imprisonment in the Khor Virap.

His survival was attributed to a Christian widow from the local town who, under the influence of strange dream vision, regularly fed Gregory by dropping a loaf of freshly baked bread into the pit.

After unsuccessfully trying to woo her, he ordered that she be dragged into his presence by putting a collar around her neck in hopes to persuade Rhipsime to agree to marry him.

Tiridates went mad and is "said to have behaved like a wild boar while torments fell on his household and demons possessed the people of the city".

[15][16] It was then that Tiridates's sister, Khosrovidhukt, had a vision in the night, where an angel told her about the prisoner Gregory in the city of Artashat who could end the torments with the words "when he comes he will teach you the remedies for all your ills".

[18] The pit where Gregory was imprisoned is southwest of the main church, underneath St. Gevorg Chapel which is a small basilica replete with a semicircular apse.

It is also extremely humid down the pit in the summer months so be cautious and don't bring candles down as this adds to the heat.

[19] The 17th century church built around the pit is a simple structure surrounding a large courtyard which looks like a fort complex.

"[20] Archaeological sites were excavated starting in 1970 in the thirteen hills (maximum height 70 metres (230 ft)) around Khor Virap and up to the valley of the river.

[22] In addition to ancient coins and potshards, excavations have unearthed well preserved mud-brick fortifications on the northern slope of the third hill from the northeast.

[24] As a pilgrimage centre, people visit Khor Virap for baptism or subsequent to a wedding to perform a matagh animal sacrifice.

Early European visitors to Khor Virap included Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (c. 1700),[26] James Bryce (1876),[27] and H. F. B. Lynch (1893).