The cliff façade
Seventy-two rooms hanging on a vertical rock face above the valley; the view from below alone justifies the drive.
The monastery keeps itself hidden until the last moment. You walk up through pine and beech in the Altındere valley, then look up and there it is: a façade of seventy-two rooms glued to a sheer cliff at around 1,200 metres, as if someone had lowered it into place on strings. It is the picture on every Trabzon brochure, and the odd thing is that it does not disappoint in person. Orthodox monks founded it in the late fourth century by the official account, the Comnenian emperors of Trebizond enlarged it, and it stayed in use until the 1923 population exchange between Turkey and Greece. It then closed for nearly four years (September 2015 to May 2019, with full access only from 2020) so engineers could pin the rock above it and restore the buildings. Getting here is a decision, not an afterthought. It sits about 45 km south of Trabzon via Maçka, roughly an hour by car; most of our readers drive, or buy a tour that pairs it with Uzungöl in one very long day (Uzungöl lies in a different direction, east). At the national-park gate you pay a small separate fee, leave the car in the lower car park, ride a paid shuttle up to the upper one, and then face a short walkway followed by a long, narrow stone staircase to the gate. That final stretch is the deciding factor for anyone with toddlers or elderly parents: there is nowhere for a pushchair, and the stairs are punishing in August heat. Those who cannot climb settle for the view from below, which in fairness is half the pleasure. Inside, the Rock Church at the heart of the complex is painted floor to ceiling: the creation of the world, scenes from the lives of Jesus and Mary, Old Testament prophets. Most of it is eighteenth and nineteenth century, the oldest layers go back to the fourteenth, and a great deal of it has been scratched and defaced over the years, so do not expect the crisp panels of Istanbul. The aqueduct arches on the façade, the two-storey kitchen and the monks' cells with balconies over the valley make up the rest of the circuit. An hour inside the walls is enough. Foreign adults pay €20; children under eight enter free. Summer hours from 15 April to 31 August are 08:00–19:00 (last ticket 18:30), shortening to 18:00 (last ticket 17:30) from September to mid-October. In July and August the shuttles fill and queues form on the stairs, so come at opening or after four in the afternoon. In winter snow settles on the valley and the road sometimes closes, so ask before you set out. On the way back, stop at Hamsiköy for its famous rice pudding, which locals will tell you is nearly as celebrated as the monastery.
Seventy-two rooms hanging on a vertical rock face above the valley; the view from below alone justifies the drive.
Frescoes covering walls and ceiling, mostly eighteenth and nineteenth century with the oldest layers from the fourteenth, much of it scratched by vandals.
A short walkway and then a long stone staircase from the upper car park; tiring in the heat, but part of the experience.
Coşandere, Altındere Valley, Maçka 61750
You can, and tours do it daily, but it is a long day: the monastery lies south of Trabzon and Uzungöl east, with about two and a half hours' driving between them. With children in tow, give Sümela a full morning, lunch by the river in the valley, and save Uzungöl for another day.
Yes. The final stretch is a long, narrow stone staircase with no room for a pushchair and no mercy on bad knees. The shuttle saves you the road from the lower car park, but the stairs cannot be avoided. Anyone who cannot climb can still enjoy the classic view of the monastery from the valley floor, which satisfies plenty of people.
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