Tzaghkadzor , Kecharis

Tsaghkadzor / Tsaghkadzor is a city located in Kotayk Region, 5 km north-east of the province center of Hrazdan (the Republic of Armenia). The city distance from Yerevan is 50 km, at a height of 1841 meters above sea level. Tsaghkadzor received its city status in 1984. The main part of city is spread on the eastern slope of Mount Teghenis. It is considered to be one of the leading tourism centers of the country. The population is about 1,700 people. Before the establishment of the Soviet Union, Tsaghkadzor was turned into a health-resort of the Yerevan State where the high-ranking officials spent their summer holidays. The city became densely populated including Russians. In Soviet times there were about three dozens of pioneer camps and rest-homes. In 1967 the Sport Complex of the USSR was built in Tsaghkadzor, which brought the city a great fame and renown. In 1969 the Ropeway was built on the slopes of Mt. Teghenis, which became the “visiting-card” of the city and made winter vacation more attractive and popular. In post Soviet times Tsaghkadzor preserved and developed its traditions of a resort center. Many buildings built by commercial-industrial, bourgeois high-ranking officials of Yerevan and Tbilisi were nationalized as country-houses. After the declaration of independence, the city underwent difficult days, but since 2000, it developed rapidly acquiring a new luster and characteristics. Today Tsaghkadzor is a city with well-built squares, streets, luxurious night lighting, modern hotels and rest-homes. It is attractive both in summer and winter. The integral part of the city is the Ropeway, 5 stations of which were built during 2004-2007 by Austro-Italian Company “Leitner”. These 5 stations are in the line with current international standards by the level of their technical equipment and services. 30 km ski ways were also built. In winter months thousands of winter sports lovers coming from abroad and different parts of the country prefer to have their rest here, in Tsaghkadzor. The city has modern hotels and rest-homes providing high-quality services. Hotels here are for any taste and different categories. Hotels have the experience of organizing reception according to the international standards and are ready for receiving guests all year round.

Kecharis monastery complex / The monastery complex of Kecharis is situated in Tzakhkadzor (Gorge of Flowers). A healthy climate and picturesque scenery – forested mountain slopes and blossoming valleys – provided favorable conditions for building there a settlement in which remnants of ancient structures have survived. In the 11th century the settlement was a possession of the Princes Pakhlavuni who founded a monastery there, the construction of which continued till the middle of the 13th century. In the 12th-13th centuries Kecharis was a major religious center of Armenia which had a higher school. The main group of the complex consists of three churches, two chapels and a vestibule, to the west of which, quite a distance away, there was another church with its own vestibule at the side of a road leading to the forest.