Kaçkar Mountains National Park

About this place

Seventy-nine glacial lakes and a 3,937 m summit, an hour and a half from the Black Sea shore: this is Kaçkar, the highest range of the Pontic mountains, a national park since 1994 covering roughly 51,000 hectares between the Fırtına and Hemşin rivers. Most of it sits in Rize's Çamlıhemşin district, with the far edges spilling into Erzurum and Artvin. The old-growth forest in the Fırtına valley, which WWF lists among the European forests most in need of protection, gives way as you climb to alpine meadows and then to bare rock and glaciers that are still moving. The practical gateway is the Ayder plateau, about 80 km from Rize city: coast road, then the valley to Çamlıhemşin (roughly 60 km), then 19 km winding up to Ayder, about ninety minutes by car in good conditions. Beyond Ayder the asphalt ends. Jeep runs from the Ayder square take about an hour to reach the Kavrun plateau at around 2,300 m or the Palovit waterfall, and this is where the national park proper begins: treeless pasture, seasonal timber houses, cattle wandering through fog that drops and lifts by the hour. From Kavrun, fit walkers reach the lower glacial lakes in two or three hours and are back the same day; the summit and the Deniz Gölü lakes are a two- or three-day guided trek with tents, and the only window is July to September. There is no ticket and no gate: entry is free and the park never closes, but the weather is the gatekeeper. Mornings are usually clear, cloud and rain arrive after lunch even in August, so leave early and carry a waterproof however hot the coast feels. For families: Ayder itself and the jeep road to Kavrun work well with children, who tend to love the ride, but a pushchair is useless past the Ayder square and the walk to the lakes is too far for small legs. At Çamlıhemşin the road forks: one branch climbs to Ayder, the other follows the Fırtına valley to Zilkale castle hanging above the gorge and on to the stone Çat bridge, both worth a stop on the way back or a separate half day. In August Ayder is packed with Gulf and Turkish visitors and the car parks fill, while the high plateaus empty out a few kilometres on. From November to May snow shuts the roads above Ayder; the plateau stays a pretty winter destination, but the national park is effectively out of reach.