Eastern Turkey Tour in 7 Days: Kars, Ani, Mount Ararat and Lake Van

Overview

Eastern Turkey is a land of high plateaus, long horizons. Here, a medieval city of churches stands empty on a border gorge. A palace looks across the plain to Noah’s mountain. And a lake as big as an inland sea shines under the snow peaks. Our eastern Turkey tour links these places in seven days, for travelers who have already seen the coast and want something different.

Kars and Ani on the Eastern Turkey Tour

We begin in Kars, a city of stone buildings from the Russian era. Its winters are long, and its shops smell of cheese. On the first afternoon, the Kars Cheese Museum shows how the plateau’s gravyer and kaşar are made. On the second day, we drive to Ani. In the 10th and 11th centuries, it was the capital of the Armenian kings, and travelers called it the city of a thousand and one churches. Today, its cathedral, churches and walls stand alone in the grass above the gorge of the Arpaçay. Across the gorge lies Armenia.

Mount Ararat and the Ishak Pasha Palace

Then we cross the plateau to Doğubayazıt. Above the town, the Ishak Pasha Palace stands on a rocky terrace, built over almost a century and finished in 1784. At sunset, its golden stone glows, while Mount Ararat, the highest peak in Turkey, rises across the plain.

Lake Van and Akdamar

Next, we drive south past the Muradiye waterfall to Lake Van, the largest lake in Turkey. We climb the fortress of Van on its rock at sunset. In the morning, you try the famous Van breakfast, a table of cheeses, honey, herbs and eggs. A boat then takes you to Akdamar Island. There, a church of pink stone, finished in 921, is covered with carved stories from the Bible.

Ahlat and the Crater Lake

On the sixth day, we drive around the lake to Ahlat, a vast Seljuk cemetery of carved tombstones. With a guide who reads the carving, join our Ahlat tour. In summer, we climb to the crater lakes of Mount Nemrut above Tatvan, one warm and one cold, before the last night in Van.

From our team

• Van catsLook for the white Van cats, some with one blue and one amber eye.
• AltitudeKars and Lake Van lie high on the plateau. Nights are cool even in summer.
• WinterAni and Kars in the snow are beautiful; in deep winter, we plan the roads to Lake Van around the weather.

Our suggestion In Kars, try roast goose, a winter specialty of the plateau, and buy a piece of local gravyer cheese to take home. The shop of the Kars Cheese Museum, in a bastion of 1734, sells the cheeses it shows you being made.

Shape Your Eastern Turkey Tour

Every journey is private, so we add the Eastern Express train to Kars or a day at Çıldır Lake. The ruins of Ani are a UNESCO World Heritage site. Our team has guided travelers in Turkey since 2002, in the east as well as on the coast.

Route

1. Kars
2. Ani
3. Doğubayazıt
4. Muradiye
5. Van
6. Akdamar
7. Ahlat
8. Van

Day by day

1. Day 1 · Kars

   Kars

   Arrival in Kars, the stone buildings of the Russian era, the castle and the cheese museum.

   • Stay: Kars

2. Day 2 · Kars

   Ani

   The ruined capital of the Armenian kings on the gorge of the Arpaçay: the cathedral, the churches and the walls. In the evening, a goose dinner if it is the season.

   • Places: Ani
   • Stay: Kars

3. Day 3 · Eastern Anatolia

   To Mount Ararat

   The drive south across the plateau to Doğubayazıt, and the Ishak Pasha Palace at sunset with Mount Ararat across the plain.

   • Places: Ishak Pasha Palace, Mount Ararat
   • Stay: Doğubayazıt

4. Day 4 · Eastern Anatolia

   To Lake Van

   Past the Muradiye waterfall to Van, then the fortress on its rock above the lake at sunset.

   • Places: Lake Van
   • Stay: Van

5. Day 5 · Eastern Anatolia

   Akdamar Island

   A famous Van breakfast, then a boat to Akdamar Island and the carved church of the Holy Cross.

   • Places: Akdamar Island
   • Stay: Van

6. Day 6 · Eastern Anatolia

   Ahlat and the crater lake

   Around the lake to the Seljuk tombstones of Ahlat and the crater lakes of Mount Nemrut above Tatvan, in summer.

   • Places: Ahlat
   • Stay: Van

7. Day 7 · Eastern Anatolia

   Home

   A last walk in Van and the flight home.

What’s included

Practical

Best time to go

June to September, when the road up to the crater of Nemrut is open. From November to April, snow covers the east; for a winter trip, see our Eastern Express and Kars tour in 4 days.

Fitness level

Moderate: long drives, high altitude and walks on uneven ancient sites.

Accessibility

Tell us your needs. We can shorten site visits and add rest stops.

Gallery

Frequently asked questions