Mount Ararat
Highest Mountain In Turkiye At 5,137 Metres; A Dormant Stratovolcano Inside Agri Dagi National Park, With Climbing Controlled By Permit · Dogubayazit, Agri
Ararat is the highest thing in Turkiye by a long way - 5,137 metres of dormant stratovolcano rising straight off a plain at around 1,600, which is why it looks impossible from the road and why the snow cap is visible from three countries. Little Ararat stands beside it at 3,896 metres, and the pair of them are the reason this corner of the country is worth crossing a continent for. The mountain carries the Noah story, which brings a particular kind of pilgrim, and a nearby boat-shaped geological formation at Durupinar has its own visitor centre and its own believers. Climbing it is not technical in the alpine sense but it is high, cold and long: four days on the standard south route with camps around 3,200 and 4,200 metres and crampons on the summit cap. It is also controlled. A permit arranged months in advance through a licensed agency is required, and in some seasons climbing has been suspended outright.
Agri Dagi Milli Parki, Dogubayazit, Dogubayazit, Agri, Turkiye
There are no opening hours - it is a mountain. The climbing season runs roughly June to September and the summit is snow-covered year round. A permit obtained in advance through a licensed agency is required to climb, and permits have been suspended in some seasons. The viewpoints and the approach roads around Dogubayazit are open all year, weather permitting.