There is no doubt that a winter holiday spent on a ski resort is definitely one of the best ways to enjoy the magic of the snowy season. Scenic routes, ample off-piste opportunities, well-groomed slopes, a unique après-ski scene are waiting for you in Tsakhkadzor – one of the main tourism and leisure centers in Armenia, to give your sore body a little pampering.

Tsakhkadzor is a fast developing cozy resort town, famous for its shining fields of snow, ropeway chair-lift, numerous respectable hotels and resort houses, as well as chic restaurants, recreation centers, camping and sport installations that have lured the skiing elite from around the world for many years.

Tsaghkadzor, which means “Valley of flowers”, is a small and cozy city located in the Armenian province Kotayk on 1,800 meters above sea level. The town is situated on the southeastern slope of Mount Teghenis and it is surrounded by a picturesque nature and forests.

As a settlement Tsaghkadzor is known from ancient times. Founded in the 3rd century AC, the economic and cultural life began to rise during the Zaqariants' reign during the 13th and 14th century. During the soviet times, Tsaghkadzor has been developed as an important spa town, ski and health resort. The Soviets built the ski lifts and some other sporting facilities to prepare their athletes for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

12 years later, Armenia began to modernize the city and its ski lifts. A lot of luxurious hotels and sanatoriums have been built and the ski lifts from the Soviet times have been replaced with modern ones.

Exercise your favorite winter sport

Snowboard skiers, cross-country skiers come to the ski resort in Flower Gorge, Tsakhkadzor. There is every opportunity to exercise your favorite winter sport since the slopes do not crust and the undisturbed snow supports the boards perfectly.

The ski resort in Tsakhkadzor on the hills of Mount Teghenis is 40 minutes away from the airport. Trails of all levels of difficulty start from the peak of the mountain, which you can reach via Litner ropeway. You will find no line for the ropeway in Tsakhkadzor. The highest point of skiing is 2819m which is just 10m lower than the highest one in Courchevel.

When the weather is clear you will see Sevan from the first level of the ropeway, and Ararat from the peak of Teghenis. The third level of the ropeway is a trail for true extreme lovers. If you go through the passage and then along the ridge of the neighboring mountain, the plane fields and the snowboard slope, you will finish with 8km of continuous drive – a skier’s paradise! Along with breathtaking trails, the cozy resort town also boasts great hotels and restaurants that do not practice a dress-code and offer high class services for affordable prices.

Stopover on the way to Lake Sevan

During the summer Tsaghkadzor is mainly visited by locals, who escape from the heat of the capital Yerevan. The local people like the nature and the fresh air in this region. The international tourists visit Tsaghkadzor because it is a good base for a stopover before visiting the Lake Sevan which is only 25 km away.

Tsaghkadzor is Armenia's biggest ski resort

In winter the city is quite crowded with skiers. Opened during the Soviet times and modernized after the year 2,000, Tsaghkadzor is quite a modern ski resort today. On the slopes of Mount Teghenis there are five ski lifts starting at an altitude of 1,966 meters. The highest lift ends close to the mountain's peak on 2,918 meters above sea level. Skiing in Tsaghkadzor is cheap: A one-day-pass costs 11,000 AMD which is less than 23 USD. It is possible to rent the whole ski equipment for 5,000 AMD per day (9 USD) or to book a ski instructor for 7,000 AMD (12.60 USD) per hour.

In Tsaghkadzor you wlil find more than 80 hotels and apartments. There is also the General Sports Complex offering accommodations and other facilities such as a swimming pool (50 m), a professional gym, four boxing rings, cross-country ski trails, and an indoors sports hall for mini-football and basketball.

The winter sports season in Tsaghkadzor normally starts in mid-December and stretches well into March; Depending on the weather and the amount of snow it is often possible to ski in April, too.

Kecharis Monastery

Reaching Tsaghkadzor for skiing, you should pass by Kecharis Monastery.
Tsaghkadzor's religious and cultural center is the Kecharis Monastery, which was completely reconstructed in 2001. It is a medieval Armenian monastery complex which was originally built in the year 1003. After the Seljuqs destroyed the monastery, the Armenians reconstructed and expanded it. They added the Surb Haruthjun chapel and built a third church in the 13th century.