Climbing to Ararat mountain Turkey

We are flying east of Turkey to the city of Van, from which we will reach Mount Ararat. You can fly to Van from Lviv or Kyiv with a stopover in Istanbul. Those who wish can fly with the guides from Lviv. Those who decide to travel alone will meet us at the airport in Van.

On the same day, we will drive to the city of Dogubayazit. On the way, we will see the valley overlooked by two snow-capped giants, the Great and Small Ararat. After arriving in Dogubayazit, we will check into a hotel and walk around the city in the evening. The flavor of Kurdish and Armenian culture will surround us and fill us with emotions. We will taste local wine at dinner and get to know each other better.

Today, we start our climb to Mount Ararat. We wake up, go to breakfast, pack our things, and drive to the foot of the mountain, where a local guide will be waiting for us. From him, we rent a couple of horses to carry our things to the campsite at 3345 meters. For this purpose, we will take duffel bags to put all the heavy stuff in and keep only backpacks with minimal clothes. The scenery around will be extraordinary because the mountain is located on the border with Armenia and Iran, and this is especially noticeable because you can see ancient towers and other border structures. The day passes in one breath. We are tired but happy and rest before tomorrow's acclimatization day.

We need to train a bit, even though Ararat is not technically difficult, but the altitude of 5,000 meters gives you signs, so you need to prepare your body. We leave the first camp in the morning and gain 900 meters of altitude. Thus, we will climb to the second camp, where we will spend the night tomorrow, and today we are contemplating the scenery. If you look in the distance, you can see the lands of ancient Iran - the “cradle of civilization”. After admiring the view and taking cool photos, we'll have a snack, as we think Ukrainian borsch will be good at this altitude. We relax a bit more and go down to the first camp, where we have our tents. We will spend the night at an altitude of 3345 meters - it will be a good acclimatization.

The day before the climb to Ararat. Today, we have to prepare everything for the final push. In the morning, we pack up our tents and move to the second base camp. We walk slowly and talk. There is an exercise to keep pace: “If you are walking uphill and it is difficult to talk, then you are walking too fast.” Remember this rule on the day of the climb.

In the camp, we will have lunch and look at the surrounding landscapes—from this place, you can clearly see the Small Ararat; we will be standing higher than it. Also, today, it is important to have a good rest, so we go to bed very early and will rise at 2 a.m.

The third rooster hadn't crowed yet, and we were already getting up and starting the assault on Mount Ararat. We wake up at 2 a.m., have breakfast, and pack only the most necessary things in our backpacks: a snack, a bottle of water, a thermos, shoe covers, and crampons. We turn on our flashlights and start climbing. We walk without crampons until the beginning of the glacier, then put on shoe covers and crampons and continue climbing. The summit is already in front of us, and at dawn, we will get very nice photos of the flag of Ukraine fluttering in the wind. Congratulations, you have done it! This may be the first five-thousander for some of you, and that's great because such feelings and emotions are worth all our efforts. We don't want to go down because it's so beautiful here, so let's give ourselves a little more time to enjoy it.

From the top, we descend to the second base camp, pack our things, and descend even lower—to 3345 meters—to the camp where we will spend our first night. In the evening, we will celebrate the successful ascent by opening a bottle of wine and drinking it to the bottom.

The climb is over, and Ararat will forever remain in our memories. We are on a rest day today, so we will go down to Dogubayazit and see the historical monuments. Our first stop will be the Iskhak Pasha Palace, built during the Ottoman Empire. It is also called the “Gate of Civilization” because it was built near the Iranian border on the Silk Road. The palace once played an important strategic role, and now it is one of the most exciting places tourists visit.

Everyone will have a free program in Dogubayazit for the rest of the day. The city is rich in ancient palaces and fortresses. If there is time, we will visit Bayazet Fortress and the ruins of Urartu Fortress. After a busy day, we go to the hotel to rest.

In the morning, we will return to Van and sail to Akhtamar Island. We will be sailing on Lake Van, which is the largest lake in Turkey, and the most interesting thing is that it is salty. During the period when we will be there, the water will be very warm, and you can swim. The island itself is no less interesting. It has an Armenian church, which was built in 915-921 and is considered one of the main monuments of Armenian culture.

After a good walk around the island, we get on our boat and sail back to Van. In the evening, everyone will have time to buy souvenirs and warmly farewell Turkey.

Our trip is coming to an end, and today, we are flying home. We will give everyone a gift to remember Ararat and our trip. We are sure that we will meet again and travel somewhere together because the world is huge.