Dilijan National Park
Tuesday, January 23, 2024Dilijan National Park is one of the four national parks of Armenia. Occupying an area of 240 km², it is located in the north-eastern Tavush Province of Armenia. It is known for its forest landscapes, rich biodiversity, medicinal mineral water springs, natural and cultural monuments, and extensive network of hiking trails.
Dilijan National Park was established in 2002 on the basis of the state nature reserve, which in its turn was established in 1958 on the basis of the former Dilijan and Kuybishev forest enterprises. The territory of the newly established national park has stayed unchanged.
The change of the status of Dilijan State Reserve to Dilijan National Park was conditioned by several objective reasons, such as inevitability of commercial activity in the area, presence of numerous settlements, including Dilijan town with its mineral water resorts, Yerevan-Ijevan railway line passing through its whole territory and others. Currently, the general plan of the national park is under development, including the clarification of the borders and mapping of economic, recreational and buffer zones of the national park.
Between 2017 and 2018, significant redevelopment of the park's tourism offer was undertaken, including the rehabilitation of the existing ecotourism trail network, together with the addition of an 80 km-long section of the Transcaucasian Trail.