A popular summer holiday destination, Turkey also offers skiing in provinces across the country, attracting more and more domestic and foreign visitors during the winter months.
Uludağ
The ancient Mount Olympus of Mysia, Uludağ rises 2,400m above Bursa and is Turkey’s premier ski resort, with snow that remains deep enough to allow skiing for four months of the year.
Uludağ’s hotel area is just 40 kilometers from Bursa city center and hosts accommodation for more than 6000 visitors. Visitors to Uludağ can also snowboard, ice-skate or tour the area on snow bikes.
Further reading: Today, renowned as the “Snow Paradise”, Uludağ is the most popular winter sports centre in Turkey.
Mediterranean ski resort
Perhaps surprisingly, the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, already a major destination with its stunning beaches and sunny skies, now attracts winter visitors to its ski resort at Saklıkent.
The ski centre, considered to be the closest available ski resort to the Mediterranean and literally to the Equator, is situated on the northern side of Bakırlıdağ, part of the Taurus Mountains. It can be reached by car as well as cable car from sea level with it’s breathtaking view of Antalya and the Taurus Mountains.
The ski centre offers approximately 120 days of skiing availability between Mid December and Mid April.
Palandöken Ski Centre
Offering a nonstop ski experience to its guests, the Palandöken Ski Centre on Palandöken Mountain in Erzurum province has become one of the best winter tourism attractions in the world.
Palandöken is one of Turkey’s most easily accessible ski resorts, located approximately 15 kilometers from Erzurum Airport. It is an hour from the capital Ankara by plane and nearly 1.5 hours by plane from Istanbul and İzmir.
With capacity for 12,000 skiers at once, the center has 24 trails, which are among the longest and steepest in the world. While beginners can enjoy eight easy and mid-level tracks, for enthusiasts who want to push the limits, there are three advanced-level tracks. Two of these various tracks – one of them being the world’s third longest track and Turkey’s longest – have also been registered for slalom competitions by the International Ski Federation (FIS).
Mt Palandöken Ski Resort Guide
Sarıkamış
Also in eastern Turkey, the Sarıkamış resort 50 kilometers from the center of Kars province, features 14 kilometers of slopes and four ski lifts with an elevation of between 2,100 and 2,600 meters.
The ski season in Sarıkamış Ski Centre is from December to April and the thickness of the snow in Sarıkamış reaches up to 50-200cm.
Kartalkaya
Located 270km from Istanbul at the peak of the Köroğlu Mountains, 38 kilometers from Bolu, Kartalkaya is a beautiful ski resort and popular destination for a winter holiday break.
Surrounded by picturesque pine trees, the area is the ultimate center for Turkey’s attractive ski hotels and centers.
Kartakalya has much to offer skiers and snowboarders with its 12 ski pistes and off-pistes available until April. Snow depth can sometimes be three meters.
Visitors can choose from a range of luxury and affordable ski hotels. You can rent snowboards, skis and sledges from almost all hotels.
Getting here
Many flight operators don’t offer flights to Turkey during the winter however, there are still international and domestic connecting flights via Istanbul Ataturk airport. Dalaman airport is also open in the winter and there are flights into Antalya and İzmir.
Check here for flight pries and availability.
Sources: Explorer Turkey/snow-forecast.com/skiresort.info
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