Tsaghkadzor: Kecharis & ropeway — hours, tickets, getting there

What it is and where it stands

The town lies at about 1,800 m — the town’s website gives 1,841 m. In the Middle Ages the settlement was called Kecharuyk, after the monastery, and its present name means “valley of flowers”. In Soviet times a sports complex and the ropeway were built here, and Tsaghkadzor became a ski resort and a place for summer holidays among the forests. The monastery stands in the north-western part of town, and the lower station of the ropeway is on the western edge, at the foot of Teghenis.

© BarevTrip

History by date

Sources give different years for the main church of Kecharis: the state list of monuments says 1003, the town’s website 1033; the builder is named as Grigor Magistros Pahlavuni or, according to recent research, Prince Grigor Apirat. One thing is certain: the early 11th century. In the Middle Ages the monastery had a school, and books were copied here.

What to see on site and nearby

Kecharis Monastery. The churches stand close together on a level platform. In the centre is the church of St Gregory the Illuminator; a gavit on four pillars adjoins it on the west, with a sundial on its south facade. Above the west entrance to the church a medieval Deesis painting survives: Christ between the Virgin and John the Baptist. To the south stands Surb Nshan, and further south, inside the same enclosure, Katoghike, whose carving is richer than that of the neighbouring churches.

Around them lies a cemetery of the 11th–17th centuries: the state list counts 37 khachkars there, a stele of the 6th–7th centuries and nine gravestones of the 13th–14th centuries in front of the church entrance. East of St Gregory’s stands the khachkar of the architect Vetsik. 120 metres to the west, on the road to the forest, is the small church of Surb Harutyun of 1220 with its own gavit and cemetery. Trips in the catalog set aside 30–45 minutes for Kecharis: enough for the main churches, the gavit and the khachkars, and with 45 minutes also for the walk to Surb Harutyun.

The monastery publishes no official dress code; guidebooks advise covered shoulders and knees, men take off their hats, and a headscarf is optional for women. The churches are not heated. There are no toilets or café on the grounds: they are by the car park.

Ropeway. It is a chairlift with open chairs, not cabins. Three lines in a row, with changes, lead to the upper station at 2,819 m; according to the operator, the ride to the top takes 32 minutes. The climb is about 850 metres, so take a warm windproof jacket for the top. On a clear day Ararat is visible from up there. In winter the lift serves the ski runs; the rest of the year people ride it for the view. Sources describe differently which lines are open outside the ski season, so ask at the ticket office how far up you can go that day.

At the lower station there is a ticket office, a free car park and a free toilet; the operator mentions three restaurants on site. Trips in the catalog set aside 60 minutes for the ropeway. With the way down, the summit does not fit into that hour, so if you want to go to the top, tell the driver in advance.

© BarevTrip

Orbeli Brothers House-Museum. In the centre of town, 250 metres from Tsaghkunyats Square, stands the house where the physiologist Levon Orbeli was born. In 1972 it became a house-museum of the three Orbeli brothers: it holds about 2,000 items — books, manuscripts, photographs, personal belongings. The museum is not part of the trip programmes; you can drop in if there is time left.

Hours and tickets

The amounts below are the institutions’ prices, paid on site, not BarevTrip prices. Entrance tickets are not included in the price of the trip — they are bought on site, separately; it is safer to have cash in drams.

The operator does not say how many lines a single ticket covers or whether a card is needed with it, and there is no off-season price on its website: ask at the ticket office. Nor does it say whether the ticket office takes cards — bring cash. The lift has open chairs; wheelchair access has not been surveyed.

How to get there from Yerevan and how long it takes

From Republic Square to the Kecharis car park it is 57.8 km and 55 minutes without traffic, and to the car park at the ropeway’s lower station 59.3 km and about 58 minutes. The two car parks are 1.6 km apart, 3–4 minutes by car: on foot it takes much longer, so it is easier to drive. From Tsaghkunyats Square in the centre to Kecharis it is 660 m and 9 minutes on foot, and to the Orbeli house-museum 250 m and 3 minutes.

On the “Lake Sevan & Tsaghkadzor” trip the order is: Sevanavank Monastery and lake viewpoint (60 min) → Lakeside walk and fish lunch on request (45 min) → Tsaghkadzor, Kecharis Monastery (45 min) → Tsaghkadzor ropeway (60 min). We visit the lake first, so the lifts are already running when you reach Tsaghkadzor. The calculated schedule with the default 09:00 pickup, without traffic:

The full route is 158 km and takes about 2 h 34 min without traffic (the catalog gives 150 km), while the stops take 3.5 hours. The trip page gives 6.5 hours: the remaining time is a buffer for travel to and from the hotel, driving along the shore and traffic. If you change the order and start with Tsaghkadzor, with a 09:00 pickup you will be at the ropeway by its 10:00 opening. You can change the order of the stops for free by telling the driver at the start of the trip; a stop outside the programme or a different route is paid as an “unplanned stop or change of route” at a rate known before booking, and only with your consent.

When to go

All three trips with Kecharis and the ropeway are open in the catalog all year round.

Ararat is visible from the top only on a clear day: if the peaks are in cloud, the time is better spent at Kecharis and on a walk around town. In winter you need non-slip shoes and a warm jacket. Every car has working air conditioning and heating; the drivers have at least 5 years of experience and have driven across Armenia’s regions, including on mountain roads and in winter conditions. Winter trips from Yerevan, including skiing in Tsaghkadzor, are covered in the answer Where to go from Yerevan in winter for a day; the Yerevan → Tsaghkadzor transfer takes you to a hotel at the resort.

What to combine in one day

Kecharis and the ropeway together are part of three trips in the catalog, price for the whole car:

Two more trips: in Garni, Geghard & Lake Sevan Tsaghkadzor is a 60-minute stop on the way back, without separate stops at Kecharis and the ropeway; Yerevan → Tsaghkadzor is a one-way transfer to your hotel, about an hour. Prices are on the trip pages.

About the lake, see the article Lake Sevan; about Garni and Geghard, Garni Temple and Geghard Monastery; about Dilijan, Dilijan. Sevan and Dilijan in one day are covered in the answer to that question, other combinations in the answer on what to combine in one day, and trips with children in the answer on trips with children. All routes are in the trip catalog, and the order of booking and payment is on the how it works page. Places outside the catalog are put together through your own route: an estimate within two hours, around the clock; it is a request for an estimate, not a booking, and nothing is charged.

By tradition

Two traditions are retold by the AUA university catalog.

• The princess’s garden. The daughter of one of the Pahlavuni princes asked for a garden of the most beautiful flowers to be laid out in the valley. One spring the wind scattered the flowers across the gorge — hence the name Tsaghkadzor, “valley of flowers”. The princess asked her father to build a monastery so that the monks would pray for the flowers to return; that is how Kecharis came to be. The prayers did not help, and the flowers spread across the whole region.
• The silver chain. A silver chain, a gift of Grigor Magistros, hung from the dome of the church. When the monastery was sacked, the chain was stolen, and the settlement was nicknamed Zinjirlu, “with a chain”, after it.

What is certain is something else: the name Tsaghkadzor really does mean “valley of flowers”, and the monastery has stood here since the early 11th century. If you want to hear these and other stories on site, add a guide to the trip: the driver does not give tours.

What to check on site

• The ropeway ticket. The operator does not say how many lines a single ticket covers, whether the plastic card is needed or what the ride costs outside the ski season — ask at the ticket office.
• How far up you can go. Outside the ski season, sources differ on which lines are running.
• The summit and time. The summit with the way down does not fit into the 60 minutes of the programme: if you want to go to the top, arrange extra time in advance.
• Kecharis hours. There is no official schedule: come in daylight.
• In winter. The paths at the monastery can be icy, and it is cold and windy at the top: you need non-slip shoes and a warm jacket.
• Cash. It is not confirmed whether the ropeway ticket office takes cards; bring drams.
• The Orbeli museum. Reference sources give different hours: check them on site before your visit.