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Offered languages
- German
- English
- Italian
- French
- Spanish
Every departure includes your own licensed English-speaking guide plus a private vehicle and driver – only your group. Price per person drops as your group grows (1–8 travellers). A private 5-day road trip through the wildest highlands of Turkey’s Eastern Black Sea, starting and ending at Trabzon Airport. Instead of the usual Uzungöl day trip, this route climbs to Pokut Plateau (about 2,000 m) to watch the sea of clouds over Fırtına Valley, crosses into Artvin and spends two nights in Macahel – part of the Camili Biosphere Reserve recognised by UNESCO in 2005 and home of the Caucasian honey bee. You also visit Sümela Monastery, built into a cliff in the 4th century, Uzungöl lake and Borçka Karagöl. Only your group travels in the vehicle, so you can stop for photos, tea and village food whenever you like. Stays: lake-view hotel in Uzungöl, a traditional plateau house in Pokut and family-run guesthouses in Macahel. Best from June to September; May and October are greener and quieter. Entrance fees are not included.
What's Included
Dinner
Breakfast
Meeting and pickup
We pick you up from the area reserved for tour vehicles right across from the arriving passengers at Trabzon airport. We call and inform you of tour vehicle and guide information one day in advance.
Itinerary
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1Sumela Monastery
Your driver meets you at Trabzon Airport. After a coffee stop at Sera Lake, drive into Altındere Valley to visit Sümela Monastery, founded in the 4th century on a cliff at about 1,200 m.
3 hours • Admission ticket not included -
2Uzungol
Continue through Çaykara to Uzungöl and enjoy an evening walk around the lake.
2 hours • Admission ticket free -
3Zilkale
Drive along the tea coast to Rize and into Fırtına Valley with its stone arch bridges, stopping at the medieval Zilkale fortress.
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission ticket free -
4Pokut
Climb to Pokut Plateau and, weather permitting, watch the sunset above the clouds.
3 hours • Admission ticket free -
5Sal Yaylasi
Short morning walk to the neighbouring Sal Plateau.
1 hour • Admission ticket free -
6Mencuna Waterfalls
Cross into Artvin for Kamilet Valley, the double stone bridges and Mençuna Waterfall, then reach Macahel through forested mountain roads.
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission ticket free -
7
A slow day inside the Camili Biosphere Reserve: the wooden İremit Mosque, Camili village and Maral Waterfall, with local beekeepers and village food.
4 hours • Admission ticket free -
8Borcka Karagol Tabiat ParkI
Walk around Borçka Karagöl lake in its forest nature park, then follow the coast west with a tea factory stop and drop-off at Trabzon Airport.
2 hours • Admission ticket free
Trabzon Airport – Sera Lake – Sümela Monastery – Uzungöl
Rize Tea Terraces – Fırtına Valley – Zilkale – Pokut Plateau
Sal Plateau – Kamilet Valley – Mençuna Waterfall – Macahel
Macahel: Camili Village, İremit Mosque & Maral Waterfall
Borçka Karagöl – Tea Factory – Trabzon Airport
Additional info
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Tags
Cancellation Policy
If you cancel at least 6 full day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a full refund.
If you cancel between 2 and 6 day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a 50% refund.
If you cancel within 2 day(s) of the scheduled departure, you will receive a 0% refund.
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 6 full days before the experience’s start time.
- For a 50% refund, you must cancel 2–6 full days before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 2 full days before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
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