Hrazdan is the administrative centre of Kotayk Marz, about 45 km north of Yerevan in the Hrazdan River gorge. With a population of around 40,000, it was a Soviet-era industrial town — a cement factory and hydroelectric station were its backbone — and the post-Soviet economic collapse hit it hard. The town itself offers little to the visitor, but it sits in a region with several worthwhile destinations nearby.
The most notable is Tsaghkadzor, a ski resort about 12 km from Hrazdan at 1,900 m altitude. Once an Olympic training ground for the Soviet Union, the resort has been revitalised with Austrian lifts and new runs. Skiing is excellent in winter and genuinely affordable. The Kecharis Monastery in Tsaghkadzor is a fine 11th-century complex worth visiting in any season.
Within Hrazdan town itself, the Makravank Monastery — a 12th-century complex in a river ravine — is easy to miss but rewarding to find. Hrazdan is the nearest city to Kecharis and makes a practical base for the area if Tsaghkadzor accommodation is full.