Things to do
7-
Pokut Plateau
A pasture of wooden highland houses on a ridge above the Fırtına valley, reached by a rough track from Çamlıhemşin, and the place the sea of cloud is photographed from. Some of the houses take guests.
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Ayder Waterfall
The fall at the head of the village, dropping through the trees beside the road with a viewing platform at its foot. It runs hardest with the snowmelt in May and June.
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Gelintülü Waterfall
A long veil of water on the slope above Ayder, named for a bride's veil, visible from the village and reached on a short path. It is the one people photograph from the meadow.
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Huser Plateau
A high meadow directly above Ayder with a view down two valleys, reached on foot in about two hours or by a forest track. It is quieter than Pokut and closer.
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Park
Kaçkar Mountains National Park
A glaciated range rising to 3,937 metres behind the village, with high pastures, alpine lakes and the country's best multi-day trekking. Cloud closes the tops most afternoons and the season is July to September.
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Palovit Waterfall
A fall in the Fırtına valley below the village, reached down a stepped path through hazel and rhododendron. A hydroelectric scheme has been fought over here for years.
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Zil Kale
A Byzantine or Genoese castle standing on a spur over the Fırtına river at seven hundred metres, with its keep and curtain wall largely intact. The road to it is the best part of the valley.