Turkey Guide
Northeastern Anatolia
The Kaçkar Dağları
A formidable barrier between the northeastern Anatolian plateau and the Black Sea, the Kaçkar Dağları are the high end of the Pontic coastal ranges – and Turkey's most rewarding and popular trekking area. Occupying a rough rectangle some 70km by 20km, the Kaçkars extend from the Rize– İspir road to the Hopa– Artvin highway, with the more abrupt southeast flank lapped by the Çoruh river, and the gentler northwest folds dropping more gradually to misty foothills. At 3972m, their summit ranks only fourth highest in Turkey after Ararat, Gelyaşin peak in the Cilo mountains and Süphan Dağı, but in scenic and human interest they fully earn their aliases "the Little Caucasus" and "the Pontic Alps".
"Kaçkar" is the Turkish spelling of khatchkar, sculpted Armenian votive crosses or gravestones once abundant in eastern Turkey – perhaps a reference to the complicated and tortured outline of the range, with multiple hanging valleys and secondary spurs. In addition to the principal summit area, several other major massifs are recognized: the Altıparmak and Marsis groups of about 3300m, at the north end of the Bulut ridge, which links them with Point 3932; and the adjacent Tatos and Verçenik systems of about 3700m, at the extreme southwest of the chain. Exceptionally for Turkey, the Kaçkars are a young granite-diorite range instead of the usual karst, and were much transformed by the last Ice Age; there are still remnants of glaciers on the north slope of the highest peak, and hundreds of lakes spangle the alpine zone above 2600m.
Partly because of intensive human habitation, the high Kaçkars support relatively few large mammals; bear and boar prefer the forested mid-altitude zones, while wolves and ibex are ruthlessly hunted in the treeless heights. Birds of prey and snow cocks are more easily seen and heard, while the summer months witness an explosion of wildflowers, butterflies – and vicious deer flies. Between May and September, migration from the nearby lowlands to the yaylas, or summer pastoral settlements is the norm: the lower, more substantial ones are occupied first, the higher ones once the snow recedes.
Given the ethnic variety here, it's no surprise that local place names are similarly tangled – a discerning glance at the map will turn up plenty of Georgian and Armenian words, plus Turkified versions of same. Thus Pişkankara (the original form) has become Pişenkaya (Turkish for "the cooking rock"), while other more provocatively foreign ones such as Sevcov lake are camouflaged outright as Deniz Gölü. The recurring suffix "-evit" is an Armenian dialect particle meaning "yayla".
Practicalities
The six most popular trailhead villages are – on the Black Sea slopes – Çat and Ayder, and on the Çoruh side Barhal, Hevek, Meretet and Tekkale. The approach from the Black Sea hills is gentler, with clearer trails, but the paths and villages can be crowded, and the almost daily mist rising up to 2900m is a problem. Hiking grades are tougher on the Çoruh flank, but the weather is more dependable. The main season is June to September, with the mists less of a hazard as autumn approaches; if you show up earlier than late July, you may need crampons and an ice axe to negotiate some of the higher passes. If you're hardy, it gets warm enough in midsummer for a quick swim in most of the lakes.
If you'd rather go with a guide, there are a number of helpful individuals in Ayder and Şenyuva, as well as in Yusufeli, Hevek and Meretet. Otherwise most of the adventure travel companies listed in the Basics section of this book run some sort of Kaçkar group itinerary, almost always subcontracted to a Turkey-based expedition outfitter. With advance notice from within the country, two of these are particularly worth contacting for fully outfitted treks: Ogzala Turizm, İstiklâl Caddesi, Bekar Sok 16/4, Beyoğlu, İstanbul ( 
0212/293 9195, 
www.ogzala.com ), and Bukla Seyahat, Yeniçarşi Cad, Gür Han 28/1–2, Galatasaray, İstanbul ( 0212/245 0635, www.bukla.com ). Both companies offer regular one-week trips from June to September under the supervision of keen mountaineers who often grew up in the area; English-language guiding cannot be guaranteed, but you'll be trekking with sophisticated city Turks, and land-only prices are pitched at the local economy.