I visited this WHS in Spring 2021. It is quite remote being around 17-18 hours by car from Istanbul but it certainly didn't disappoint. Possibly since I haven't visited Armenia or Georgia yet, I was able to appreciate this Armenian city in ruins a bit more since all the architectural details and what's left of the few paintings was pretty new to me.

Using Kars as your base still leaves a good 45 minute road trip to get to and from the ruins of Ani. Before starting your visit, keep in mind that toilets and water/food facilities are only available near the entrance gate, and the vast plains and gorges can be quite windy and chilly or extremely dry and hot depending on when you're visiting. The farthest point we hiked to was a good 1.5-2 hrs walk away from the entrance gate. At least when we visited, the entrance gate is never completely closed after sunset and closing hours to avoid locking any visitors in the "open-air museum". The whole atmosphere is kind of surreal, especially when you glance over to the destroyed bridge, and realise that what could easily be a convenient border between Turkey and Armenia (Yerevan is less than 100 km away!), is in fact a highly guarded and sensitive border for both countries. Lots of refugees and migrants live in tents and work in the vast fields not far from the ruins. At the same time, this surreal border between Turkey and Armenia seems to have locked the passage of time and apart from some low quality restorations or reconstructions and vandalism, reviews on Ani that are almost 20 years old (such as Els') are pretty much valid for a visit in 2021.

I recommend having or printing a map of the ruins (available for free here: www.virtualani.org/citymap.htm). I had circled the ones I really didn't want to miss and also wrote down their name in Turkish from Google but this wasn't necessary as there are some information boards near the main sites. I also opted for an afternoon visit mainly for better lighting for photography. The whole ensemble within the impressive city walls, together with the citadel and palace, in such a deserted and desolate natural surrounding, really give the impression of an abandoned city in ruins. For me, the absolute highlights of my visit were the Fallen Minaret with its breathtaking view from its arched window of the destroyed bridge in the deep gorge; the ruins of the Chapel in the Monastery of the Hripsimian Virgins deep down in the gorge; the Church of St. Gregory of the Abughamrents; and the Church of Saint Gregory of Tigran Honents with its mostly vandalised wall paintings. The Cathedral of Ani and the remaining half of the Church of the Redeemer had wooden supports when I visited and really reminded me of another quite remote WHS in Turkmenistan, that of Konya-Urgench. When compared to 20 years ago, the main sites have been restored or reconstructed and while some restoration attempts where very positive, on the other hand the reconstruction efforts were very very poor (the worst reconstruction effort is most certainly that of the Merchant's Palace). 

I always wanted to visit Ani and Eastern Turkey by car to be able to explore the area around Van Lake and it really was a treat during our long road trip round Turkey.