Tsaghkadzor

Tsaghkadzor is where Armenians go to ski, a small town on the flank of Mount Teghenis with a gondola running up in stages to about 2,800 metres and runs of mixed difficulty below it. The Soviet Olympic training base is still here and gives the place its particular architecture. In the town, Kecharis monastery dates from the eleventh century, four churches and a gavit in grey stone within a walled yard, and it is worth the walk whether or not there is snow.

History

First mentioned in the 3rd century as Tsaghkunyats Dzor, valley of flowers, the place became a favourite hunting ground and summer residence of the Arsacid kings and later passed to the Varazhnuni, Kamsarakan and Amatuni families, and in 1033 Prince Grigor Magistros of the Pahlavuni family built Kecharis Monastery here, adding the Surp Nshan church in 1051. Seljuk invasions struck the region in the middle of the 11th century, under Safavid Persia from the 16th century the place was known as Darachichak, a summer resort of the elite of the Erivan khanate, and on 8 October 1827 an earthquake wrecked its churches; it passed to Russia in 1827-1828, was renamed Tsaghkadzor in 1947 and grew into a major Soviet resort (Wikipedia, Tsaghkadzor).

Highlights

• The gondola - a staged lift running up Teghenis to around 2,800 metres.
• Kecharis Monastery - four eleventh to thirteenth-century churches in a walled precinct.
• The runs - mixed-difficulty pistes on the mountain flank above the town.
• The summer trails - walking routes through beech forest and up to the ridge.

When to go

December to March for snow, though cover varies year to year and warm winters cut the season short. May to October is good for walking and the lift often runs for the view. Weekends and holidays are crowded.

Things to know

Snow reliability is the weak point and some winters barely deliver. The resort is small by Alpine standards with a limited number of runs. Prices rise sharply in the New Year holiday.

Nearby

Bjni is down the valley, and Yerevan is an hour south.

Key facts