Eight-year-old Edmon Khachatryan visited Dilijan’s Rope Park to test his strength. He is inviting his friends to Dilijan, but he warns that the second and third parts of the rope way are difficult to pass. It’s not for everyone.
The rope park can become Dilijan’s new business card. It is located in the central park of the city, which has already been remodeled. This park is a favorite among tourists and locals.
The mayor of the Tavush region, Hayk Chobanyan, visited the park. In an interview with Aravot Daily, he said, “We are working with a wonderfully implemented project. In my opinion, these types of projects are not as common in our environment. Children who live in the city especially need to get in touch with nature. They need to be physically active, but they won’t do that unless there is some allure and motivation to it. We created an environment with our colleagues that forces children to develop, become physically active, play, and become more daring by climbing trees and other activities. This is important even in the 21st century, where abilities and opportunities are endless.”
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The project for developing Dilijan is being implemented by the Tourism and Urbanism Foundation, which has been implementing all the tourism and urban development projects established by the Initiatives for Development of Armenia Fund (IDeA) since July of 2020. These projects also include plans for development in other parts of Dilijan, Gyumri, Artsakh, and Yerevan.
According to the mayor, the IDeA fund has already made serious investments in the region. Thanks to the education center program, Dilijan has already become a touristic center for education and culture.
Volunteers from the community participated in the efforts to rebuild the park. In addition, there were local investors. The rope park is a new model of social entrepreneurship, which has the intention of maintaining green landscapes. Part of the profits from the park will go towards future development of the park, and the other part will go towards funding salaries and other expenses.
The director of the Dilijan community center, Armine Hovhannisyan, said, “We asked residents what they wanted to see in the park and if they were willing to help. Many residents expressed willingness to help. The paintings of Armenian and Russian folktale characters were redone by local artists. And all of this happened during a pandemic. It was so interesting, when we tried to follow the guidelines and come to work in small groups, residents would approach us and say that they wanted to help. We plan on building benches with the help of the community. This park was a dream of Dilijan’s residents and children. We already have a trampoline for children, we have Rope Park, which will become a business card for Dilijan, and we have a coffee shop. We will soon have the city we dreamed of with the involvement of the community.”
If it weren’t for the pandemic, the park would’ve opened on June 1st, which is International Children’s Day. Construction ended at the end of May and 4,000 people have already visited the park over the past few months. The park has attractions, a playground, and an amphitheater for events. It cost $350,000 to rebuild the park. The ferris wheels were installed with donations. The park has created new job opportunities and a boost for tourism.
By the way, there is no age limit for visiting the park.
Hripsime Jebejyan
