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Dilijan (Armenian: Դիլիջան) is a spa town in the Tavush Province of Armenia. It is one of the most important resorts of Armenia, situated in Dilijan National Park. The forested and reclusive city is home to numerous Armenian artists, composers, and filmmakers and features some traditional Armenian architecture. The Sharambeyan street in the centre, has been preserved and maintained as an "old town," complete with craftsman's workshops, a gallery and a museum. Hiking, mountain biking, and picnicking are popular recreational activities. The city's population is steadily declining from the 23,700 reported in the 1989 census, to 14,846 in the 2001 census, with an estimated 15,600 by 2009.
The Armenian government is planning to turn Dilijan into a regional financial capital, beginning with the move of much of the Central Bank's operations to Dilijan in 2013.
Monuments
The "Rotondo": a domed building erected in the early 19th century by the efforts of many wealthy businessmen. It was designated to serve as a summer resort complex. The Rotondo overlooks the picturesque mountains and forest of Dilijan. The structure has been a source of inspiration for many artists and poets, including Yeghishe Charents.
The Amphitheatre: the Dilijan amphitheatre is located at the city center. Inspired by the structure of "Rotondo", the amphitheatre was built by N. Danielyan.
Khanjian's villa: an early 20th century circle shaped villa, situated on the hill that overlooks the centre of the town. The villa represents the Armenian modernism of the early 20th century. It was built as a rest house for Aghasi Khanjian; the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Armenia.
Memorial to Soviet Armenia: built in 1970 by the artists A. Tarkhanyan, S. Avetisyan, K. Vatinyan, symbolizing the 50th anniversary of the Sovietization of Armenia. Five edges of the monument symbolize each decade of the 50 years.
Memorial to the World War II: built near central park in 1975 by K. Vatinyan and S. Mehrabyan to commemorate the local martyrs during the World War II.
Nearby attractions
- Haghartsin Monastery: one of Armenia's most popular monasteries, Haghartsin is nestled in lush forested mountains about a half hour drive from Dilijan. The monastery is in good condition and has a resident priest who sometimes gives tours. There are a few different churches, a large gavit, a huge dining hall, khachkars and a massive hollow tree. A slightly sweet bread is often being baked in an old oven.
- Goshavank Monastery: located to the north of the town, surrounded with a traditional village, and has a groundskeeper who opens the main church building up for visitors, and can give a tour. This is the one church in all of Armenia where entrance to one of the chambers is not free. The chamber is nice, but you can certainly enjoy the rest of the complex without it, especially since it may not be offered in English. There are excellent carved details and khachkars here, but the "lacework" khachkar at Goshavank is one of the most impressive in the world.
- Jukhtak Vank Monastery: small 12th century monastery located just at the edge of Dilijan, only at a 10 minute hike from the Dilijan Mineral Water plant. Huge iron bands hold one of the two churches together, preventing its It has two separate churches, Surp Astvatsatsin and Surp Grigor with their surrounding cemeteries.
- Matosavank Monastery: located in the forest opposite to Jukhtak Monastery. It is easy to miss, and not terribly interesting from the outside, but the inside is a cool, moist, green, mossy world unto itself. The low light illuminating bright green algae covered khachkars is very soothing, and the environment transports you far from your daily life.
- Dilijan National Park: or the Dilijan Reserve, occupying 24,000 hectares, is well known for its forest landscapes, rich biodiversity, medicinal mineral water springs, natural and cultural monuments.
- Other historic monasteries: Saint Gregory of the 10th century, Saint Stepanos and Saint Astvatsatsin of to the 13th century with a number of khachkars in the complex.
Dilijan National Park
The forests of Dilijan cover an area of more than 34000 hectares. For the enrichment of the natural life around Dilijan, the state forest reserve was founded in 1958 to become known as Dilijan National Park later in 2002. Woods cover 94% of the park territory and with around 40 types of trees and 18 types of bushes, being mostly oaks, beeches, hornbeams, maples, elms, willows, etc.
The national park is also rich in its fauna, including brown bear, wolf, marten, otter, lynx, sylvan cat, Persian squirrel, sylvan dormouse, hedgehog, chamois, European red deer, wild hog, pheasant, quail, partridge, Caspian turkey, culver, bald eagle, lammergeyer, pygmy eagles, golden eagle, hawk and others.
Lake Parz is one of Dilijan's most attractive natural sites. It is situated in the northern part of the town at a height of 1400 metres above sea level. It has an area of 2 hectares and an average depth of 8 metres.
To the east of the Lake Parz, at a distance of 3 kilometers from Gosh village, Lake Tzlka is located at a height of 1500 metres. Aghstev River with its tributaries passes through the town and the surrounding forest. Its origins are from the northwestern part of the Pambak mountain range, at a height of 2980 metres. Aghstev River has a length of 133 kilometres. Many tributaries flow into Aghstev such as Bldsan, Ghshtoghan, Haghartsin and Getik rivers.
Source : Wikipedia
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