To call Dilijan a city is a stretch, much like the very layout of the town itself is: stretched out and scattered in more of a village sense than anything else. A small hub in the middle that has seen better days as the Soviet era industry collapsed, as well as much of the town's reliance on its tourism from the Soviet era sanatoriums. Though this park is quite a surprise, with a unique mixture of history within it, but also the changes to our more modern era and interests. From a little rope obstacle course up in the trees, to the overgrown attractions from decades before. Monuments scattered around, stray dogs jumping around together in the long grass.
I have walked through this park a few times now, and the first time was an interesting series of discoveries, leading to two previously mentioned points of interest: the World War 2 monument that stands upon a hill with an eternal flame at the bottom. And the ruins of an early abandoned mansion that belonged to one of Armenia's earlier Soviet politicians. This park surrounded by rich history, with a nice amount of preservation. You start the walk from a little lake, which I'd argue is more of a little pond. In summer, people around can hire boats and paddle around the area. The town's main cafe is also just over the water, where the old Soviet era bus stop is found. Though that has fallen decay and hasn't received the attention it deserve.
Inside the park is a hut that offers tourism advice to anyone that has recently arrived, and there's also a spot where you can rent bikes per the hour. This is a neat idea given how stretched out Dilijan is, you really don't want to be walking around, especially if you're trying to walk around some of the trails and visit little shops throughout the day. Most of your time being eaten up by just walking down those hilly and old streets. Throughout you'll notice little huts and buildings, and these offer different things to the park: events that display films throughout summer, music, or just little types of festivals. Upon my multiple visits to the park, I haven't really seen them actually live, though I did see a few signs which advertised upcoming ones.
Little hut-type cafes with outdoor seating are also found throughout the park. Some of which looked really appealing with some low hanging warm lights placed above within the trees. This is something I'll probably check out next time I'm there. I liked that the park was split up into a few different areas. It didn't feel like it was dominated by one thing. Not endless children screaming and running around. Actual places of relaxation for adults, to which even the locals would use. I saw elderly women sitting on the benches and talking during the beautiful golden hour sunset. Teenagers doing the same thing. People walking their dogs, stray dogs following and playing.
On this particular day I decided to capture some of the area from above with the drone. I'm still very cautious of flying here but the light was beautiful and there weren't many people around to be bothered by it. A quick throwing up of the drone into the air and some shots of the scenery. I could see the Central Bank of Armenia up on the hill, the main radio tower, and also some of the distant landscapes that show how tucked-away Dilijan is within the mountains. I was told that nearby were also some abandoned sanatoriums, though I didn't get a chance to go and check those out. Just a quick glimpse from above with the drone. For a small town, it has quite a big park to it, larger than the actual main square in the town itself. For me, I think the highlight of the park was seeing the remaining history, where the park was covered in these old Soviet cartoon characters, something that definitely remained from the past, and that the new generations definitely don't have attachment to.
The rides had also been turned somewhat into art pieces, putting soil and flowers into the seating of some of them, letting them get a bit overgrown and remain part of both the history and the nature of the environment. I have seen a lot of abandoned attractions in Armenia and Georgia, but never ones that have been purposely left to be reclaimed by nature and considered a feature of the parks they remain in.
In total I'd say it's a pretty cozy park for spending a few hours or going for a short walk in. If your main interest is going to Dilijan to hike, then this park serves its purpose of giving you somewhere to unwind either before or after. The cafes around, the nature and the peace it provides, while still not being too far from actual civilisation.
