A route that starts on the high plateaus of Erzincan and Erzurum, crosses the deep valleys of Artvin and descends to the green coasts of Rize and Trabzon. Summer is usually the best time for trips to the mountain plateaus.
Best time: June–September. Plateau roads are open in summer; high sections can close in winter because of snow.
Çifte Minareli Madrasa — The symbol of the city, a two-storey Seljuk madrasa with an open courtyard, built in the mid-13th century. It is famous for its…
Yakutiye Madrasa — Built in 1310 by Hoca Cemalettin Yakut during the reign of the Ilkhanid ruler Öljeitü, this is the largest madrasa with a…
Erzurum Grand Mosque — Built in 1179 under the Saltukid ruler Melik Nasirüddin Muhammed, this is the oldest and largest mosque in the city, also known…
Three Tombs (Üç Kümbetler) — Three monumental tombs south of the Çifte Minareli Madrasa, dating from the 12th to 14th centuries. The largest is the octagonal…
Erzurum Castle and Clock Tower — The inner citadel on the highest point of the city, founded in the Byzantine period and repaired under the Saltukids and the…
Lala Mustafa Paşa Mosque — A classical Ottoman mosque attributed to Mimar Sinan, built in 1562–1563 for Lala Mustafa Paşa, the beylerbey of Erzurum. With…
Local food
🍢 Oltu Cağ Kebabı (horizontal spit-roasted lamb) 🍯 Erzurum Kadayıf Dolması (walnut-filled kadayıf) 🥧 Erzurum Su Böreği (boiled-pastry börek) 🥣 Ayran Aşı Çorbası (yoghurt and wheat soup) 🍮 Erzurum Hurma Tatlısı (syrupy dough dessert) 🍲 Hasıta
Artvin Castle — Known locally as Livane Castle, it was built in 937 by the Georgian king Ashot the Great and controlled the approach to the town…
Kafkasör Plateau — A forest-ringed highland pasture at an altitude of about 1,200 metres, 12 km from the city centre; it hosts the bull wrestling…
Hatila Valley National Park — A narrow V-shaped valley, in places a canyon, 10 km from Artvin centre; slopes reach gradients of up to 100 per cent in places…
İşhan Monastery — A Georgian monastery in the village of İşhan in Yusufeli; it was founded in the 9th century by the monk Saba on the site of a…
Dörtkilise (Othta Eklesia) — A 10th-century Georgian monastery 5 km from the village of Tekkale in Yusufeli; its name is a translation of the Georgian Othta…
Barhal (Parhali) Church — The main church of the monastery in the village of Altıparmak in Yusufeli, built between 961 and 973 by the Georgian king David…
Local food
🐟 Hopa Hamsili Ekmek (anchovy cornbread) 🥧 Hopa Laz Böreği (custard-filled pastry) 🥐 Şavşat Ketesi (buttery filled pastry) 🍎 Borçka Demir Elması (Borçka iron apple)
Local products to buy
Borçka Demir Elması (Borçka iron apple)Hopa Hamsili Ekmek (anchovy cornbread)Artvin Balı (Artvin honey)
Ayder Plateau — A highland pasture 19 km south-east of Çamlıhemşin, at 1,350 metres, surrounded by spruce and beech forests; with its hot…
Zilkale — A medieval castle with eight towers in Çamlıhemşin, on a steep rock above the Fırtına Valley, thought to have been built in the…
Fırtına Stream and the Arch Bridges — A 68 km stream that rises in the Kaçkar Mountains and flows into the Black Sea near Ardeşen; it is known for the historic stone…
Pokut Plateau — A highland pasture at 2,032 metres, 15 km from the district centre in Çamlıhemşin; with its wooden houses and views over a sea…
Kaçkar Mountains National Park — A national park of 51,550 hectares, most of it in Çamlıhemşin, known for its glacial lakes, alpine meadows and hikes up to the…
Palovit Waterfall — A waterfall in Çamlıhemşin, within the boundaries of Kaçkar Mountains National Park, dropping 15 metres amid forests.
Local food
🧀 Rize Muhlaması (cornmeal, butter and cheese dish) 🥬 Rize Etli Karalahana Sarması (meat-stuffed black cabbage rolls) 🍇 Rize Pepeçurası (grape and cornmeal dessert) 🫓 Derepazarı Pidesi 🍖 Rize Kavurması (fried meat)
Local products to buy
Rize Çayı (Rize tea)Anzer Balı (Anzer honey)Rize Bezi (Feretiko)Hemşin Çorabı (Hemşin socks)
Sumela Monastery — A Greek Orthodox monastery in Maçka, within Altındere Valley National Park, at an altitude of 1,150 metres above Mount Kara; the…
Uzungöl — A landslide-dammed lake in Çaykara, formed by rocks that blocked the Haldizen Stream; it is 1,000 metres long and 500 metres…
Hagia Sophia — Located in the Fatih neighbourhood and regarded as the best-preserved surviving monument of the Empire of Trebizond, the…
Atatürk Pavilion — A four-storey pavilion (including its basement) with Western Renaissance influences, set in a pine grove at Soğuksu; it was…
Trabzon Museum (Kostaki Mansion) — A mansion with Italian architectural influences on Zeytinlik Street, built between 1898 and 1913 by the banker Kostaki…
Lake Sera — A landslide-dammed lake in the Derecik Valley in Akçaabat, formed on 21 February 1950 when rock broken away by excessive…
