Akhtala (Armenian: Ախթալա) is a town in the Lori Province of Armenia, located on the left bank of Debed river, on the slopes of Lalvar mountain, at a distance of 186 km north of the capital Yerevan and 62 km north of provincial centre Vanadzor. Akhtala was a village until 1939 when it was granted the status of an urban community, with its 400 inhabitants. In 1995, the government of independent Armenia reaffirmed the status of Akhtala as a town. According to the 2009 official estimate, Akhtala has around 2,400 inhabitants. However, the town used to have around 4,500 inhabitants during the 1970s.