Tsakhkadzor
Height difference:
1966-2819 m
Track length:
27 km
Season:
19 December — 5 April
Tsaghkadzor is the largest and most famous ski resort in Armenia, located near the town of the same name at the foot of Mount Teghenis. Through the whole city, crossing the very center, the mountain river Marmarik flows with the purest cold water. Tsaghkadzor is located in the Kotayk region of Armenia, 60 km north-east of the capital Yerevan and Zvartnots airport. The legendary Lake Sevan is located at the same distance. In good weather, climbing to the top of Teghenis, you can clearly see Sevan and the surrounding mountains, as well as see the biblical Mount Ararat, to which Noah’s ark moored.
Due to its high-mountainous and geographical location, the resort has a special microclimate – mild winters with temperatures from 0 and below, only sometimes it drops to -15. The average January temperature is -3 degrees, and snow falls here up to one and a half meters.
Skiers and snowboarders ride on the slopes of Teghenis and Tsakhkunyats mountains. Tsaghkadzor is designed for different levels of skiers, even beginners have something to do here, since there is a special school. All tracks are tidied up by snow groomers.
As a feature of the resort, visiting tourists note the calm, almost family atmosphere and the absence of queues for the ski lifts even on New Year’s Eve.
Working Hours
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09:30 — 17:30 | 09:30 — 17:30 | 09:30 — 17:30 | 09:30 — 17:30 | 09:30 — 17:30 | 09:30 — 17:30 | 09:30 — 17:30 |
Season
Most often, the ski season in these parts lasts from early December to late April.
Ski pass prices
Day ski pass in main season will cost you AMD 12000 (adult) and AMD 12000 (children).
Slopes
Medium:
1.5 km
Hard:
9.2 km
Impossible:
16.3 km
Total length of tracks 27 km. The vertical drop is 853 meters. Modern snow-compacting equipment is used on the tracks. If necessary, the artificial snowmaking system is activated. You can ride confidently and without fear both day and evening, when the trails are illuminated by powerful floodlights. Highly professional instructors conduct group and individual lessons for adults and children.
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Black Run “Adrenaline”
It starts at the top of Mount Teghenis and is intended only for expert skiers. The track is not leveled and all obstacles are of natural origin. Despite the fact that its length is 3 km, it can be tiresome in autumn, as there are narrow slopes, embankments and sharp turns along the way. At times the trail narrows a lot, and there are deep ravines along its edges.
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Red Spring Slope
It also originates at the top of Teghenis. Approximately in the middle of the way it merges with another “red” track, and at the bottom it intersects with the “blue” ones. The track is characterized by many turns, and you need experience to enter them, slowing down in time. Tilt angles are at least 25 degrees.
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Red route Asma
This word translated from Armenian means “great”. It also starts at the top of Teghenis and has a large number of turns at its beginning. Here she is great for carving. Then the track branches into two, one of which is much flatter and simpler than the other. You can experiment by taking different paths.
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Red route Tsaghkadzor-1
This trail begins with winding hills, which are dangerous to go down without proper preparation. She runs past the hotel and the first-aid post. After numerous obstacles, bumps and ravines, an almost straight downhill slope begins with a large angle. This is the place where you can reach maximum speed. However, you need to be able to extinguish it in time so that no one can be crippled during the crossing of blue and red tracks. Therefore, for beginners, descending this route may entail certain consequences. The route ends with a connection with another red route among virgin lands of hornbeam and oak forest.
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Presidential Circuit
This track is characterized by a straight and rather gentle slope with few turns. It runs through the forest and is generally accessible even for beginners.
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Kotcharyan Blue Slope
This is the easiest and safest track in the entire resort. Its tilt angles are much less than 25 degrees, so it is impossible to gain high speed. This track can be called educational, and not only for adults, but also for children. The track is also suitable for starting skiing when you need to warm up your muscles.
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Sportive Slope
This track is designed for athletes who know how to evenly distribute the load and calculate their strength. It consists of several segments of different difficulty levels. After warming up on the Kotcharyan track and continuing the descent, you find yourself on a high slope. Here you can make a deep descent at high speed with its subsequent extinguishing. An easy 90-degree turn leads to a rapid dangerous descent surrounded by cornices. After the adrenaline rush you can finish your descent effortlessly and relax at a nearby restaurant. The Sportive track, although it includes sections that can be passed by a beginner, but becomes dangerous when suddenly there are sharp rapid descents. This track is designed for complex sports training.
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Tsaghkadzor-2 Slope
This is an easy, gentle track with few obstacles. It runs along the edge of an oak-hornbeam forest and has branches on its way. In general, the exit on it looks more like a pleasant walk.
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Tsaghkadzor-3 Slope
Represents a short arcuate route that connects several other trails. This is a kind of jumper with a short descent. It has a little developed branch that leads deep into the forest. The peculiarity of the route is that it is a hemisphere without any intersections. This is a quiet, uncrowded corner where you can be alone with your thoughts for a while.
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Air Slope
Translated from English it means “air”. This is the route where you can feel the state of free flight and completely surrender to the power of speed and wind. On this site, you can get a fair share of adrenaline due to the performance of a long downhill. However, don’t forget about safety. After passing half the way, you will need to reduce the speed so that the descent ends without consequences. The AIR trail has no obstacles, it was created specifically for unhindered descent.
Lifts
Baby lift:
1
Chairlift:
5
Vacationers are taken to the top 6 cable cars: 5 chairlift. There is one children’s lift for beginners and children. The total length of the cable cars is 64 km, which are capable of transporting up to 4994 passengers/hour.
The construction of the Tsaghkadzor ropeway (2004-2008) was carried out by the Italian company Leitner. The first lift (1137m, capacity 1200 people / hour) is a 4-seater chair lift; the second (1458m, 800 people / hour), the third (1624m, 800 people / hour) and the fourth (926m, 800 people / hour) – 2-seater chairlifts. You can change from one ski lift to another without taking off your equipment: skiers and snowboarders have comfortable drag lifts. And more recently, for those tourists who have not yet gotten on their skis, a separate 5th cable car lift (1030m, 800 people / hour) was launched.
Ropeways
- Station N. – 1969 m K. – 2233 m 1137 m Chair – 73 Seats – 292 1200 people;
- Station N. – 2233 m K. – 2476 m 1388 m Chair – 141 Seats – 282 800 people;
- Station N. – 2475 m K. – 2819 m 1624 m Chair – 96 Seats – 192 600 people;
- Station N. – 2210 m K. – 2354 m 926 m Chair – 56 Seats – 112 525 people.
- Training rope N. – 2263 m K. – 2530 m 267 m 320 people
The opening hours of the resort may vary depending on the days of the week, holidays and weekends, as well as weather conditions
Infrastructure
The resort has a well-developed infrastructure that provides a comfortable stay for everyone who is in Tsakhkadzor. Guests of the city are offered a choice of several dozen hotels, hotels, apartments, restaurants. Almost all hotels have swimming pools, massage rooms, beauty salons, baths, saunas, fitness centers, children’s clubs and playgrounds, game rooms, board games. The resort has a casino “Casino Senator Golden Palace” and an entertainment center “Entertaiment Center”.
The best places for catering here are: Restaurant “Yasaman” Restaurant “Caucasian Captive” “Cappuccino Lounge Cafe”.
Summer season
Many people come to Tsaghkadzor in the summer. And above all because of the healing air of these places, which restores and improves the functions of the circulatory system. It is impossible not to say a few words about the delicious and hearty Armenian cuisine, with its incredible kebabs and traditional dishes, as well as excellent Armenian wine and obligatory cognac, which you will definitely want to try. As for the sights, this is first of all the “visiting card” of the city – the Kecharis monastery, which is a classic of Armenian architecture of the Middle Ages. This is a whole complex consisting of 4 churches, two chapels and an old cemetery of the 12th century.
For lovers of museums, there is an interesting place here – the Orbelli Brothers Museum. The museum is dedicated to the fate of the Orbelli dynasty of scientists, it contains more than 1,700 exhibits from personal belongings, household items, books, photographs and more. The museum organizes guided tours, where a professional guide will tell you in detail what the outstanding family did.
The Museum is located at the address: Ekhpairneri Street, No. 12. Telephone – + 374223-60552.
Visitors, walking around the city, will definitely pay attention to the unusual wooden houses with carved fragments. It turns out that a very small Christian community “Molokans” has lived here for a long time, whose worldview differs in many respects from traditional Christianity. Molokans settled on the lands of Tsakhkadzor back in 1846, and they settled here. They have their own village, called Darachichag (and earlier – Konstantinovka), a special House of Prayer and a hospitable disposition. Come and study the culture and customs of a small group of a special branch of Christianity.
The city also houses the museum of the poet Osip Mandelstam. He lived here in the 30s of the last century and, inspired by nature, wrote many poems.
Those who love sports should visit the main sports complex. It was built back in 1968 for the training of Olympic athletes; during the Soviet era, it was here that our national team trained. Now it is an excellent modern complex, where athletes from the CIS countries come, but there is something to do for non-Olympians as well.
The cable cars are also an attraction of the resort, and they operate all year round. As mentioned above, if you climb to the top of Teghenis, you can see a panorama for tens of kilometers around and see the main treasure of Armenia, Mount Ararat and the world famous beautiful Lake Sevan. Therefore, all tourists, without exception, take tickets for the cable car.
Winter season
In winter, people go to Tsaghkadzor primarily to ride. Thanks to the well-prepared slopes, designed for different levels of training and a working ski school, everyone will be satisfied.
After skiing, the guests of the resort will find quite rich après-ski bars, restaurants with a local flavor and “live” music, which is fashionable to dance to, spa treatments and saunas in hotel complexes.
For lovers of cultural life, the same places that are visited in summer are suitable.
History
Tsaghkadzor in Armenian means “Gorge of Flowers”, and people settled in these places back in the III-V centuries. Armenian kings and nakharars (princes) hunted in the forests located in a picturesque valley in the southeast of the Tsakhkuni Mountains. The privileged class liked the flourishing area with a mild, healthy climate. From century to century Tsaghkadzor passed into the possession of Armenian princely families.
In the Middle Ages, this area was in the possession of the powerful Varazhnuni clan, the rulers of the estates of the Armenian kings, then passed to the Pakhlavuni clan, whose representatives built several temples here. In the 17th century, the area was conquered by the Turks and Kurds, in the next century, battles were often fought there during the clashes between the Turks and Persians.
When Eastern Armenia joined the Russian Empire (1828), Tsaghkadzor entered the Erivan province. Thousands of Armenians from Western Armenia and Persia settled in the valley. Summer residences began to be erected here again – now the cream of the provincial society.
The town retained the status of a famous resort even under Soviet rule. Not only Armenian citizens rested here – people from all over the USSR came to Tsaghkadzor. In the vicinity of the town, two dozen pioneer camps and several large rest houses were built. In Tsakhkadzor, located at the same height as Mexico City, on the eve of the 1968 Summer Olympic Games, which were to be held in the Mexican capital, the Main Sports Complex of the USSR was erected. Here, teams from many countries of the world were preparing for performances at the Olympiads and world championships. And after the construction of the cable car was completed on the slopes of Mount Teghenis in 1972, Tsaghkadzor also became a popular ski resort. After the collapse of the USSR, the city quickly overcame the crisis and became one of the leading tourist centers of independent Armenia and the South Caucasus. Large funds have been invested in the development of the city’s infrastructure and roads; the road leading from the city to Zvartnots International Airport is in perfect condition. Olympians train here again, now from independent Armenia and other CIS countries.
Today Tsaghkadzor is a modern resort with a well-developed tourist infrastructure, excellent ecology and a high level of security. It is a cozy resort town offering world-class services and services at very attractive prices.