Tsagkhadzor
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Tsagkhadzor
Tsagkhadzor (Armenian: Ô¾Õ¡Õ²Õ¯Õ¡Õ±Õ¸Ö€, also Romanized as Tsakhkadzor), is a spa town and a popular health resort in Armenia, located north of the capital Yerevan in the Kotayk Province (marz). According to the 2011 official estimate, the population of the town is 1,600, down from 3,400 reported in the 1989 census.
Tsagkhadzor was known as Tsaghkunyats Dzor during the medieval period. In the 11th century, the town was known as Kecharuyk or Kecharis derived from the Kecharis Principality under the Armenian Pahlavuni family. Later, during the 17th century, the towns was called Darachichag by the Turkic invaders, keeping the name until 1947, when it was renamed Tsagkhadzor.
Tsaghkadzor literally means valley of flowers in Armenian. The name of Tsagkhadzor is associated with the name of the nearbyTsaghkunyats Mountains, located to the west of the town. Tsagkhadzor is located 50 kilometers north of the capital Yerevan and 3 kilometers east of the provincial centre Hrazdan. Surrounded with alpine meadows, the town is situated on the southeastern slope of the Teghenis Mountains, at a height of 1841 meters above sea level.[2] The Tsaghkunyats mounatain range is located to the west of the town.
The infrastructure of tourism is highly developed in Tsaghkadzor, with many luxurious hotels, resorts and amusement facilities. The Tsagkhadzor ski resort is located just above the town, on a height of 1750 meters above sea level. During the recent years the ski resort was fully modernized. All ropeway lifts are manufactured and operated by Leitner Group. The current structure replaced existing soviet era lifts, mostly following their path. There were initially three consecutive lifts stretching from the foot of the mountain (1969m above sea level) up till the mountain peak (2819m), with the first and second lifts ending at 2234m and 2465m above sea level respectively. In 2006 a fourth lift was added, stretching from the end of the first stage towards an opposite hilltop, thus adding two trails, both leading down to the foot of the slopes.[5] Apart from the lifts the resort offers ski and snowboard rental as well as skiing instructors. The skiing season in Tsagkhadzor normally starts in mid December and stretches well into March with the top slopes often fit for skiing in April.
