Uzungol Lake

The name Uzungol translates as "long lake", and in photos it could pass for the Alps: a slim lake in a steep green valley, a white mosque with twin minarets at the water's edge, timber houses on the hillsides and clouds over the summits. In person it is also a busy holiday spot, full of hotels, restaurants and coaches, above all in summer. Both images are accurate. Come expecting both and Uzungol makes an easy, enjoyable day trip from Trabzon.

Key details

How the lake was made

Uzungol formed naturally after a landslide dammed the Haldizen stream valley. Water built up behind the blockage and became a lake roughly a kilometre long. Around it the valley climbs sharply to high summer pastures, known as yayla, where villagers have long driven their livestock in the warm months. Spruce and fir forests clothe the lower slopes.

From the 1990s, first Turkish and later foreign tourism turned Uzungol from a small farming village into a resort. Hotels in a look-alike style took the place of many old wooden houses, and restaurants and shops now line the shore.

Highlights

• The lake path. A level trail runs around the lake in roughly 45 minutes, taking in the mosque, the water and the peaks.
• The mosque. The shoreline mosque and its twin minarets make the classic shot, best of all reflected in calm water early in the day.
• Viewpoints. Roads and tracks above the village climb to terraces overlooking the valley. Some have small cafes or ask for a fee.
• Highland plateaus. Villages and pastures higher up, Demirkapi among them, are reachable by road or with local drivers; they are greener and calmer than the lakeshore.
• Local food. Trout from the area, cornbread, kuymak (a fondue of cheese and cornmeal) and Black Sea tea.

What to expect

This is no wilderness. On summer weekends and during Middle Eastern holiday seasons the village can get very crowded, and traffic jams the narrow valley. The scale of building disappoints some visitors. Early starts, weekdays and the shoulder seasons are calmer. Often the best part of the day is the highland plateaus above the lake.

When to go

The main season runs from May to October. June and September bring green hillsides and thinner crowds. July and August are the busiest months. In autumn the forests change colour. Winter covers the valley in snow, which is lovely but cold, and some hotels shut. As everywhere on the Black Sea, rain and fog can come in any month, so pack layers.

Our Private Uzungol Day Trip from Trabzon with Transfers visits the lake and continues to the highland villages of Karester and Lustra over seven to eight hours, from US$80. If you have a second day, the Trabzon Sumela Monastery Tour goes to the monastery on its cliff, from US$120, and the Rize Ayder Highland & Storm Valley Tour travels east to the Kackar Mountains, from US$85.

Getting there

From Trabzon you follow the coast road east to Of, then head inland up the Solakli valley through Caykara to Uzungol. Allow about two hours each way. Minibuses leave from Trabzon, but a tour or hire car is easier, particularly if the plateaus are on your list. Trabzon Airport receives flights from Istanbul and Ankara.

Practical tips

• Leave Trabzon early so you reach the lake ahead of the coaches.
• Pack a rain jacket, even in summer.
• Settle the price before you hire a local jeep or horse to go up to the plateaus.
• Local stalls sell Black Sea tea, honey and hazelnuts, often more cheaply than the tourist shops in Trabzon.
• Reserve hotels early for weekends in July and August.
• See our page on Sumela Monastery, the other classic day out from Trabzon.

Common questions