High above the Debed Canyon, an aging cable car once carried the people of Alaverdi between the industrial valley below and the residential districts built into the mountains above. Opened on June 16, 1977, during the Soviet era, the ropeway was never designed for tourism. It was a practical lifeline for workers, students, and families living in one of Armenia’s most important mining and metallurgical regions.

The journey lasted only a few minutes, but it saved residents from a long and difficult climb through the steep canyon roads. Every day, hundreds of passengers crossed the valley suspended above the river, surrounded by factories, smoke stacks, and the concrete apartment blocks typical of Soviet industrial towns.

The cable car became closely tied to the identity of the city itself. Alaverdi depended heavily on copper mining and metallurgy, and the ropeway connected the different levels of a city shaped entirely by industry and geography. From the station platforms, passengers could look out over the massive Debed Gorge while the cabins disappeared into the fog and mountain air.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the region entered a long economic decline. Factories slowed down, the population decreased, and maintaining the aging infrastructure became increasingly difficult. In 2014, a lightning strike severely damaged the cable car’s electrical systems, including the motor and generator. Although repairs temporarily returned the line to service in 2015, the system operated at reduced speed and remained financially unsustainableand on March 1, 2016, the cable car was permanently closed.

Today, both stations still stand above the canyon as silent reminders of Armenia’s industrial Soviet past. Inside, parts of the original machinery and control systems remain untouched. Rust, peeling paint, and abandoned cabins now replace the crowds that once depended on the ropeway every day. The site has become a striking example of post-Soviet infrastructure slowly fading into history, surrounded by the dramatic mountains of northern Armenia.