You can ski down a dormant volcano in this Turkish town

Travel

Dormant volcano Erciyes offers a towering ski experience, modern facilities and miles of well-groomed pistes — all of which are within day-tripping reach of the UNESCO-listed sights at Cappadocia.

ByAlf Alderson

Published December 1, 2023

• 7 min read

This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).

There are only two peaks in the Alps higher than Mount Erciyes — Mont Blanc and the Dufourspitze — but I hadn’t heard of this mighty Anatolian mountain until I was presented with the opportunity to ski its slopes. At 3,917 metres, it only ranks as Turkey’s fifth-highest mountain, but the dormant volcano lends its name to the country’s largest ski resort and it offers a very different experience to skiing in the Alps.

For starters, there’s the remarkably low cost of a lift pass: 52 TRY (£1.50) per day, or 260 TRY (£7.50) for the week in 2022/23, which is around 2.5% of the price of your average resort in the Alps. And this doesn’t mean inferior ski facilities. Erciyes has 19 modern ski lifts, a mix of generally fast and efficient gondolas and chair lifts, as well as 70 miles of well-groomed slopes (mainly blues and reds), which wind down the lower slopes of Mount Erciyes to provide whatever challenges a novice or intermediate skier could wish for. There are five dedicated beginners’ ski areas, and if you’re looking for more challenging terrain, there’s a small selection of black runs. But the real hidden gem — if you’re lucky enough to visit after a good dump of snow — is the off-piste terrain. Erciyes’ top lift station sits at 3,400 metres — higher than anything in the Alps — and from here you can access some seriously steep backcountry, which isn’t well-visited by local skiers, so expect fresh tracks aplenty. 

I’m introduced to Erciyes’ upper slopes by ski patroller Gönen Göleli, whose family have skied here since the 1940s (no ski lifts in those days; it was all about schlepping uphill under your own steam). The fast, four-person Ottoman chair deposits us at Erciyes Ski Resort’s high point, where the first thing I do — after gulping in as much oxygen as possible in the thin air — is check out the magnificent views.

Bearing down from above are the steep, craggy, partially glaciated slopes of Mount Erciyes, an imposing peak first ascended in 1837 by British geologist and Conservative MP WJ Hamilton; it’s a tough climb even today, so it must have been a pretty big adventure 186 years ago. 

The mountain’s upper slopes look out across much of central Anatolia, but despite clear blue skies and dazzling sunshine, it’s cold enough to ensure we don’t hang around — the frequent strong winds that blast the area making themselves known. We descend on a virtually deserted, long black run, eventually screeching to a halt in Hisarcik Gate, one of four mountain villages that make up Erciyes Ski Resort. 

Thus far, I’m yet to encounter a lift queue in Erciyes that comprised of more than six people — quite an accomplishment in February half-term, when Europe’s packed central ski resorts all but guarantee 20-minute waits for ski lifts. And this doesn’t change as we move on to the three lifts required to get to the top of Piste 1.

From here, we descend 1,000 vertical metres over 3.7 miles of perfectly groomed red and black runs, encountering just one snowboarder and three skiers during our headlong descent. When we eventually stop for lunch at the H2650 Cafe & Restaurant (the digits refer to its altitude in metres), traditional and delicious Turkish dishes such as kofte and doner kebab are staples of the menu at a fraction of the price I’d expect to pay at a European mountain restaurant.

Pistes 1 and 1b proved so much fun that Gönen and I make two more descents before eventually skiing back to my hotel at Develi Gate, at the opposite end of the resort — a journey that takes around an hour, which gives you some idea of the acreage over which Erciyes extends.

Along the way, I reflect that Erciyes has achieved an appealing balance: big enough to attract adventurous skiers, modern enough to compete with many European ski resorts but offering quieter slopes. And you’re spending considerably less for all this, making Erciyes a must-try mountain.  

What to do around Erciyes

Given its proximity to two of Turkey’s stellar visitor attractions, it’s well worth building a day trip into your ski break to see the sights .

Cappadocia
The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia are among Turkey’s most spectacular attractions. Its rock pinnacles, known as ‘fairy chimneys’, rock-hewn villages, troglodyte settlements, underground villages and Christian sanctuaries date back to the fourth century, with the Göreme Valley being particularly rich in historic sites from the 10th to the 13th centuries. 1.5 hours/60 miles away by car.

Kayseri
One of Turkey’s largest cities, Kayseri dates back to 2,000 BCE, when it was known as Caesarea and was the capital of Cappadocia. It’s home to a treasure trove of antiquities from the Seljuk period (1178 to 1243), including the Hunat Hatun Complex (a historic Islamic hub), the Kiliç Arslan Mosque and the Ulu Camii (Grand Mosque). The city also has the second-biggest covered market in Turkey. 40 minutes/fourty miles away by car.

How to do it: 
Erciyes’ ski resort is open December to April, and wind can impact snow conditions early in the season. Ski lessons and equipment rental are available, but expert skiers might want to pack their own kit. A three-night stay at Radisson Blu Hotel, Mount Erciyes costs from £434 per person, B&B, including flights from Istanbul and transfers. 

More info:
kayserierciyes.com.tr

Published in the Winter Sports guide, distributed with the December 2023 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK).

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