The famous spa resort Arzni is located 22 km north of Yerevan, in the picturesque canyon of the Hrazdan River, on the left bank plateau.
The name of the town is connected with one of the greatest historical epics in the Armenian history.
Once upon a time a battle between Ara Geghetsik (the Beautiful) and Shamiram (Semiramis) broke out on this slope. Ara Geghetsik was the king of Armenia, son and heir of the king of Aram. The Assyrian queen Shamiram fell in love with the beautiful king and wanted to become his wife. She sent him rich gifts, asking Ara to visit her home, marry her and become the king of Assyria.
Remaining faithful to his homeland and to his people, Ara refused Shamiram. She repeated her request several times and each time got a refuse. After that the queen marched her great army towards Armenia hoping to capture Ara. Just before the start of the battle Shamiram ordered her generals to capture Ara alive, but the brave king was killed during the battle.
Hoping to revive him, Shamiram called aralezes (according to the Armenian mythology, ara lezes (licking Ara’s wounds) are spirits having a shape of dogs that licked the wounds of soldiers who died in a battle, and thus healing them). She ordered her soldiers to find Ara’s body and bring it to her. But no one, except Shamiram, knew Ara by sight, so the soldiers showed her every corpse they found, saying these words: “Ar, zni...” (“look here”). That’s why this place was named Arzni.
The resort appeared near saline-alkaline carbonate sources. The climate here is moderate: winters are mild and summers are cool. The sun shines 2236 hours per year.
Arzni is located at an altitude of 1,300 m above sea level. If you ever visit this small cozy town, you will see a beautiful spa resort with sanatoriums, hotels, baths, and other buildings, including a mineral water bottling plant. There are also three healing centers for adults and a children sanatorium.
Arzni sources are very helpful for treatment of various diseases connected with cardio-vascular system and digestive system. The healing mineral water is used for baths, drinking cure, inhalations (steam treatment), and other purposes.
Archaeological excavations revealed that Arzni mineral waters were used for medical purposes even in ancient times. While cleaning one of the springs, workers found ancient coins from different countries. Not far from the resort, on the shores of the Hrazdan river, Paleolithic open air encampment was found - its length is 2 km and width is 0.5 km. This archaeological material is of great value for studying the life of the prehistoric man in the territory of Armenia.
In addition, there are two churches built in the sixth and seventh centuries in Arzni. So tourists coming here for spa therapy can also visit interesting historic sites and enjoy beautiful nature.
The resort works all year round.
Cafe and restaurant
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Artificial Stone Factory
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Travel Agency
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Armenian Heritage
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