WINTER TOURISM IN TURKEY

Turkey it has nationally and internationally important winter tourism centres due to its special location and privileges. Bursa-Uludağ, Erzurum-Palandöken, Kayseri-Erciyes, Bolu-Kartalkaya, Kars-Sarıkamış and Isparta-Davraz are winter tourism centres on the forefront.

ULUDAG

Uludağ was called Olympos before Byzantines. Its territory is 12762 hectares. At 50 km distance from Marmara Sea, Uludağ was declared a national park in 1961, and was established as a 1st degree natural preservation area on 12 May 2006. Çobankaya, is the best spot to watch the panoramic view of Bursa. On northern shoulders of Uludağ, there interesting natural rock formations shaped by glaciers, such as Yılanlıkaya, Devetaşı, Cennetkaya, and Çobankaya. 71% of the natural park is covered by forests, 28% is meadows and grassland, 0.4% is open lands, 0.1% is covered by water bodies, and 0.8% is settlement area. Uludağ is declared as an Important Bird Zone. Every year an average of 600 000 people visit Uludağ National Park. Number of visitors reaches its peak in July-August in summer, and January-February in winter Reaching Uludağ. You can get to Uludağ from Bursa by car or cable car. New cable car system has been installed: cars of 8 people capacity, which can resist 80km/h winds, depart from Teferrüç District every 19 seconds and arrive at Uludağ in 12 minutes. There are 4 cable car lines: two run between Bursa-Kadıyayla (1235 m), and the other two run between KadıyaylaSarıalan (1621m). It is forbidden to carry skiing equipment on board cable cars. There are shuttle minibus services running from cable car’s last stop Sarıalan to hotels area, which is 7 km away. You can also get to Uludağ via taxi and dolmush services running from city centre. Most suitable route runs through Çekirge. Uludağ Hotels Area is 36 km to Bursa city centre, and you can get there in 35-40 minutes. We should remind you to have tyre chain, scotch, and towing line if you plan to go by your private vehicle. You can buy them on the road if you don’t have them.

PALANDOKEN

The centre which is 20km away to Erzurum city centre, is located within borders of Palandöken district Konaklı neighbourhood. The ski centre is located in western extensions of Palandöken Mountains and in northern skirts of this mountain. It has many ski tracks in international standards and with various difficulty levels. Although not standard, skiing can be performed for approximately 4 months in this area starting from early December until late March. Also there is possibility to produce artificial snow so in case of demand this period can be extended from November until late April. The aim in this study is redounding this ski centre which was established with a certain plan, to the literature and to emphasize the independent potential of the new established ski centre among the two ski centres which have very close locations in the same city and its combination with Palandöken.

ERCIYES

Erciyes Ski Resort; Develi, Tekir, Hisarcık, Hacılar Gates are four different entry points. Erciyes Mountain’s unique architectural design and unique tastes coexist in social areas; cafes, restaurants, markets, ski rentals, changing rooms, rental cabinets, mother care rooms, children’s play areas, health center, ski and equipment stores. Reliable mechanical installations equipped with state-of-the-art technology and interconnected (Doppelmayr and Leitner product fibers) with a rope length of 23.750 meters. Carrying capacity is 26,750 people per hour. There are 34 different tracks at international standards with difficulties ranging from 2200 meters to 3400 meters and 102 kilometers in length linked to each other. It has a system that can produce artificial snow with an artificial snow machine at a distance of 55 km.It is possible to reach Erciyes Airport in 25 minutes, to the City Center in 20 minutes, to Cappadocia in 50 minutes by motorway on a four lane mountain road in highway comfort. There are 10 hotels and 1500 beds in the mountain. With the completion of 18 new hotels as of 2023, the mountain bed capacity will reach 6,000. In the city center, 5,000 bed capacity serves ski lovers. In the Tekir location, lighting poles were installed for continuous night skiing, allowing longer skiing opportunities. Kartalkaya is a ski resort in the Köroğlu Mountains on the eastern side of Bolu. It’s one of the best ski resorts in Turkey, and as it’s located comparatively close to Istanbul, it’s a great place to make a quick weekend getaway. The summit is 2,200 meters and the snow reaches a thickness of 3 meters. Putting this as a different color on the Black Sea may be cheating a bit, because you guessed it – in the summer the slopes are covered in grassy meadows that match the Black Sea’s reputation for greenery! Kartalkaya is state-of-the-art and one of the largest sets of slopes in Turkey. European competitions are held here as well and tourists come from all over the world the try out these slopes.

KARTALKAYA

Kartalkaya is one of Turkey’s first ski resorts and today’s most populous, is a world-class skiing and snowboarding center, offering colorful, crazy fun and unlimited excitement amidst everlasting whiteness among pine forests. With its location in Bolu Kartalkaya is an excellent winter holiday center with snow machines guaranteeing the enjoyment of winter sports in a short time and is easily accessible from Istanbul and Ankara. Kartalkaya is an indispensable meeting place for ski and snowboard enthusiasts with Turkey’s first snowpark facilities built by Austrian engineers on an area with the best ski slopes of Turkey.

SARIKAMISH

Since the ski slopes are surrounded by pine forests, there is no danger of avalanches. The most important feature that distinguishes Sarıkamış Ski Center from other ski resorts is the quality of the snow falling into the region. The snow type, designated as tedir Dust Crystal Snow ”, is satisfactory for ski lovers. At the same time surrounded by Saricam Forests offers a unique nature view to vacationers. The number of sunny days of the ski resort and the wide range of tracks is another attractive feature. Privileges are characteristic features of Sarikamis. ”Turkey’s Insburg,” it also has two separate ski resorts in the so-called Sarikamish. The Ski Facilities in Cıbıltepe; capacity of 2400 persons per hour, ski lift system in the world with a computer equipped numbered, bears the distinction of being the Turkey’s most developed ski resort. 2635 mt. height of the total length of 17 km. There are two lifts with 6 ski and snowboard tracks according to their degree of difficulty. 1700 mt. The first lift in length is 3 km with an ideal slope for beginners in skiing. a long runway connects to the ski center. The second lift of 2600 mt is connected to the first fiber with 4 different runways. The trail has a 7-kilometer descent distance covered with Saricam forests. The ski center also has an internationally recognized ski regis- tering regis- tration and an international disciplinary course. There are also 5 -50 km of racetrack areas for snowmobile tours. The other one is Osman Yüce Ski and Camping Training facilities in Çamurlu Mountain which was put into service in 1992. The facilities, which are preferred by more athletes, but are open to the outside, have two ski houses with a 1200 mt runway, 750 person / hour capacity and 844 meter long teleski facility. As in every ski resort, there are Alpine skiing tracks in the beginning, middle and difficult levels. The green and blue tracks correspond to the starting and middle levels, and the red and black tracks correspond to the mid-difficult and difficult levels. Of course, as in every ski slope, the starting and intermediate runways are the busiest. Black and red tracks, especially black tracks, are much more secluded than blue and green. At Sarıkamış Ski Center 2 black (5 and 6 no) 2 red (4 and 7 no) 1 blue (3 no) and 1 green (1 no) 6 runways are currently in use, but in fact total There are 9 tracks. The 3, 4 and 7 runways are between 2.6 – 3 kilometers long, and the longest runways of Sarıkamış Ski Center. The most enjoyable track is the red level runway number 7 on the map above. Because it is both very secluded and you can skate for a long time and the views are great. The black number 6 is just very steep, and the rest is red.

ISPARTA Mount Davraz (2635 m), is one of the mountains which is between Lake Eğirdir and Lake Kovada and encircles Isparta Plain, is located on the Lakes Region of Mediterranean Region. Geographical features of Davraz enables possibilities for other tourism in addition to skiing. Transportation: Davraz Skiing Center has an advantage with its location and distance to Antalya. The road to reach the skiing center is in good condition and always kept clear. Distances from Davraz; Isparta City Center : 26 kms Isparta Airport: 50 km Antalya Airport: 125 km Mechanical Facilities There 3 chairlift lines, 1 teleski line and 2 babylift lines in the skiin center. Track: It is possible to do skiing with the magnificient view of Lake Eğirdir in the skiing center. With softness of natural texture and excellent snow quality safe routes are offered to unexperienced skiers and challenging routes for experienced skiers in skiing center. Total length of the tracks reaches up to 23 kms. The altitude of the tracks vary between 1650 m and 2344m. Avalanche and getting lost danger is not possible. Tracks of Davraz ensure possibilities north discipline, Alpin discipline, tour skiing and snowboard for all amateur and professional skiers. Accommodation: There are 3 hotels, cafes, football fields in the skiing center. There are also hostels in Çobanisa Village which is 8 kms away from skiing center. The hotels of Isparta City Center and Eğirdir Town can be preffered for accommodation. Medical care, equipment rental and skiing training services are given in the Davraz Skiing Center. Skiing Season: Skiing season begins in December and lasts till end of March. Snow thickness varies between 50-250 cms.

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