By air
Istanbul is the logical entry point to Turkey. From here there are regular internal flights to both Trabzon and Erzerum, the gateway cities to the Kaçkar, in northeast Turkey. The national carrier, Turkish Airlines / Turk Hava Yollari (THY) has the most frequent flights, but there are many private carriers now flying the 2 routes – particularly to Trabzon. Israeli trekkers may find budget charters to Antalya, which connect with scheduled Sunexpress or Pegasus flights to either Trabzon or Erzurum. A look at the websites of the airlines shown below will tell you which carriers fly to Trabzon and/or Erzurum from Istanbul, Ankara, Antalya and other Turkish cities all have English-language websites and offer online and/or phone booking:
Getting to the region by bus or train
The bus ride from Istanbul to either Trabzon or Erzurum takes around 18 hrs and from Antalya about the same. Travel by road has the advantage of allowing you to see something of the country en route and is a little cheaper. The coaches are modern and comfortable and tea, coffee and cake are served on board. The price of a ticket on the best bus companies is around 2/3 of the price of the cheapest tickets on budget airlines. Buy tickets from city centre bus offices: they usually provide a service minibus to take you to the otogar/bus station.
If time is not crucial (allow at least 35 hrs), the cheapest way to reach Erzurum is by train. TCDD (Turkish State Railways) is not known for its speed but a train journey will allow you to see a lot of the country (the lines in Turkey are very circuitous) and meet the locals. Check out the TCDD website or phone +90 216 336 0475 or 2063 or use one of the agencies listed on the website under Acentalar.
Getting to the southern trailheads - Yusufeli, Tekkale, Barhal and Yaylalar
Erzurum – Yusufeli: Minibuses from the Gölbaşı Semt Garajı, 3 daily taking 3 hrs.
Yusufeli – Barhal: Minibuses run from the Yusufeli otogar 2/3 daily in season taking 2 hrs.
Yusufeli – Yaylalar: Minibuses run from the Yusufeli otogar. 2 daily in season taking 3 hrs.
Yusufeli – Tekkale: Minibuses - several daily from the otogar. Tekkale is only 7 km from Yusufeli.
Erzurum airport – Yusufeli: Taxi - $100
Getting to the northern trailheads - Ayder, Yukarı Kavron, Çat and Elevit
Trabzon – Pazar: Buses half-hourly from opposite the airport taking 1.5 hrs
Pazar - Çamlihemsin – Ayder: 4/5 daily in season taking 2 hrs.
Çamlihemsin - Ayder. Minibuses very frequent in summer taking twenty mins.
Çamlihemsin - Çat - Elevit – Tirovit: Minibuses run early but unreliably (they start in Pazar).
Ayder - Kaler Düzü - Yukarı Kavron: Minibuses run frequently from 9am onwards
Pazar – Avusor: Minibuses pass through Ayder at around 9 am
Travelling from south to north of the range
By bus there are two ways around the range - via Artvin to the east or via İspir to the west. The Artvin route is much easier. From Yusufeli, long-distance buses go to Pazar via Artvin, Borçka and Hopa; you could also change buses at Artvin. From Pazar you take a dolmuş to your chosen trailhead. There are also occasional buses between Yusufeli and Ispir but they are infrequent except in winter. From Ispir, buses run over Ovit Geçidi to Trabzon otogar.
In summer, with a few days notice, it's often possible to have your baggage taken from the pension at Yaylalar around the range to Ayder.
Most mule drivers live on the south side of the range. You can arrange mules through the Karahan pension in Barhal and the Çamyuva in Yaylalar; the Ayder pensions will phone the Çamyuva to arrange a rendezvous with a mule. The Şahins at Yukari Kavron can't arrange mules - their phones don't work properly.
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