Good choose for summer season...
History and culture
The Ka çkar mountains have a long and fascinating history. In legend, Jason and his Argonauts sailed by the Kaçkar in their search for the Golden Fleece. The ancient Greeks colonised the foothills on the Black Sea side of the range in the 8th century BC. In 401 BC the Athenian general Xenophon marched his 10,000 troops over the mountains following their retreat from Mesopotamia. Known historically as the Pontic Alps, the Kaçkar were on the fringes of first the Roman, then the Byzantine, empires. Christian Armenians settled in the area, as did their co-religionists from Georgia. The Georgian heritage includes some wonderful medieval churches, the Armenians have left some fine domestic houses and remnants of religious architecture. The Turks arrived in Anatolia in the 11th century, but it wasn’t until the 15th century that the Ottomans succeeded in imposing Turkish rule around the Kaçkar. The area's ethnic mix reflects its history, with Turks, Armenians, Georgians, Greeks, Hemşin and Laz all living in the area until 20th century nationalism upset the natural balance.It wasn’t until the 19th century that travellers from Europe ‘discovered’ these beautiful mountains, with the formidable Victorian traveller Isabella Bird recording her impressions of crossing the range thus:
I was astonished with the magnificence of the scenery, and with the vast pine forests which clothe the mountainsides… an uplifted snow world of ceaseless surprises under a blue sky full of light make one fancy oneself in Switzerland, till a long train of decorated camels or a turbanned party of armed travellers dissipates the dream.
The camels and turbans have long gone. The mountains, fortunately, remain - and the Kaçkar’s alpine beauty is sublime.The routes
The book contains 32 walking or trekking routes, ranging from a few hours to several days. Some cross high passes, but there are other, lower routes which you can do before the main passes are open. All routes have waypoints, altitude diagram, and clear walking notes. We give times but not distances. The routes are clearly marked on the colour, waterproofed map that comes with the book.The routes are based on five different start points; three on the south and two on the north of the main range. You can combine routes to make about 30 days trekking.
When to comeFor trekking in the alpine zone, the best season is from late June through to the middle of September. At the moment the vast majority of trekkers come in July and August. In these two months the highest pastures are inhabited by the local people, the weather is (usually) warm and days are long. If you are familiar with walking in snow and (possibly) ice early spring is a possibility. Late autumn is also possible, but the days are shortening and evenings especially becoming much cooler. For treks below the alpine zone, the season runs from April through to October. Be warned, the Kaçkar are subject to real mountain weather – mist, rain, wind, sleet, hail etc – particularly on the northern, Black Sea facing side of the mountains.
Highlights
Flowers - from snowmelt rarities to meadows of orchids, campanulas and vetches
Butterflies - masses of fritillaries, blues and apollos
Bears, mountain goats, ibex, wolves, deer still haunt the ranges
Mountain lakes - ice-topped until July - and sparkling streams
Climb Kaçkar - Turkey's 4th highest peak
Eat muhlama (hot cheese fondue) with local corn bread
Splendid 10th century Georgian churches and tiny chapels in superb settings
Camp in flower-studded campsites remote from civilisation
Pastoral life - summer yaylas, sturdy mezra houses, the hay harvest
The Firtina (storm) river - and the Çoruh - Turkey's wildest white water
Kaçkar info
by; Kate Clow's websiteTransport to and around the KaçkarBy airIstanbul is the logical entry point to Turkey. From here there are regular internal flights to both Trabzon and Erzerum, the gateway cities to the Kaçkar, in northeast Turkey. The national carrier, Turkish Airlines / Turk Hava Yollari (THY) has the most frequent flights, but there are many private carriers now flying the 2 routes – particularly to Trabzon. Israeli trekkers may find budget charters to Antalya, which connect with scheduled Sunexpress or Pegasus flights to either Trabzon or Erzurum. A look at the websites of the airlines shown below will tell you which carriers fly to Trabzon and/or Erzurum from Istanbul, Ankara, Antalya and other Turkish cities all have English-language websites and offer online and/or phone booking:Turkish Airlines - http://www.thy.com/Atlas Jet - http://www.atlasjet.com/Onur Air - http://www.onurair.com.tr/Sunexpress - http://www.sunexpress.com.tr/ or http://www.sunexpress.de/Fly Air - http://www.flyair.com.tr/Pegasus - http://www.flypgs.com/Getting to the region by bus or trainThe bus ride from Istanbul to either Trabzon or Erzurum takes around 18 hrs and from Antalya about the same. Travel by road has the advantage of allowing you to see something of the country en route and is a little cheaper. The coaches are modern and comfortable and tea, coffee and cake are served on board. The price of a ticket on the best bus companies is around 2/3 of the price of the cheapest tickets on budget airlines. Buy tickets from city centre bus offices: they usually provide a service minibus to take you to the otogar/bus station.If time is not crucial (allow at least 35 hrs), the cheapest way to reach Erzurum is by train. TCDD (Turkish State Railways) is not known for its speed but a train journey will allow you to see a lot of the country (the lines in Turkey are very circuitous) and meet the locals. Check out the TCDD website or phone +90 216 336 0475 or 2063 or use one of the agencies listed on the website under Acentalar.Getting to the southern trailheads - Yusufeli, Tekkale, Barhal and YaylalarErzurum – Yusufeli: Minibuses from the Gölbaşı Semt Garajı, 3 daily taking 3 hrs. Yusufeli – Barhal: Minibuses run from the Yusufeli otogar 2/3 daily in season taking 2 hrs.Yusufeli – Yaylalar: Minibuses run from the Yusufeli otogar. 2 daily in season taking 3 hrs.Yusufeli – Tekkale: Minibuses - several daily from the otogar. Tekkale is only 7 km from Yusufeli.Erzurum airport – Yusufeli: Taxi - $100Getting to the northern trailheads - Ayder, Yukarı Kavron, Çat and ElevitTrabzon – Pazar: Buses half-hourly from opposite the airport taking 1.5 hrs Pazar - Çamlihemsin – Ayder: 4/5 daily in season taking 2 hrs.Çamlihemsin - Ayder. Minibuses very frequent in summer taking twenty mins. Çamlihemsin - Çat - Elevit – Tirovit: Minibuses run early but unreliably (they start in Pazar).Ayder - Kaler Düzü - Yukarı Kavron: Minibuses run frequently from 9am onwardsPazar – Avusor: Minibuses pass through Ayder at around 9 amTravelling from south to north of the rangeBy bus there are two ways around the range - via Artvin to the east or via İspir to the west. The Artvin route is much easier. From Yusufeli, long-distance buses go to Pazar via Artvin, Borçka and Hopa; you could also change buses at Artvin. From Pazar you take a dolmuş to your chosen trailhead. There are also occasional buses between Yusufeli and Ispir but they are infrequent except in winter. From Ispir, buses run over Ovit Geçidi to Trabzon otogar.In summer, with a few days notice, it's often possible to have your baggage taken from the pension at Yaylalar around the range to Ayder.Kaçkar Mule HireMost mule drivers live on the south side of the range. You can arrange mules through the Karahan pension in Barhal and the Çamyuva in Yaylalar; the Ayder pensions will phone the Çamyuva to arrange a rendezvous with a mule. The Şahins at Yukari Kavron can't arrange mules - their phones don't work properly.
Text by kate clow
