Uzungöl Day Trip from Trabzon: Drive Time, Road, Season, What to Do

Yes, Uzungöl works well as a day trip from Trabzon. The lake is about 95 to 99 km south-east of the city centre, roughly 1.5 hours each way by car in normal traffic, which leaves four or five hours at the lake and in the highlands above it. Our private Uzungöl day trip from Trabzon runs 7 to 8 hours with hotel pickup and starts from $80 per person.

This page covers the drive and the road, the best months, what fog and snow mean for your day, what to do once you are there, and where Çaykara fits in. If you want the wider picture first, our Black Sea Turkey guide and the short Uzungöl lake page give the background.

How far is Uzungöl from Trabzon, and how long is the drive?

Sources put the distance at 95 to 99 km from central Trabzon, and the town of Çaykara, the district centre, is 19 to 20 km below the lake. By private car the drive takes about 1.5 hours each way. Allow more on summer weekends and public holidays: the last climb to the lake is steep and narrow, and on the Bayram holidays of June 2018 and July 2022 queues of around 10 km or more were reported at the lake entrance.

The road is asphalted all the way, and the Çaykara to Uzungöl section has been rebuilt; the local guide Uzungol.net says improvement works on the Of to Uzungöl road are organised so as not to block traffic. You do not need a four-wheel drive to reach the lake itself. The roads up to the highland pastures above it are narrower and rougher, so a local minibus or a driver who knows them is the easier way up (more on those below).

Getting there without a car. According to the local guide Uzungol.net, minibuses run by the Çaykara Tour company leave from the Çömlekçi district of central Trabzon about every 30 minutes, and Çaykara Tour is the one firm that runs all year; in summer, tour agencies and other bus firms add daily departures. Check current times locally before you rely on them. The bus is fine for the lake alone, but it does not take you up to Lustra or Karester, and you are tied to its timetable for the return.

Çaykara on the way

Çaykara is the district town that Uzungöl belongs to, 19 to 20 km below the lake. Many visitors drive straight through it, but it is the last town before the climb to the lake, so it is the place to stop for anything you have forgotten. The valley road between Of and Çaykara passes tea gardens and village houses on the slopes, and a driver can pull in for a glass of tea on the way up or back.

The best time to visit Uzungöl

Uzungöl is open to visitors all year, but the day you get depends heavily on the month.

• June to September is the main season. The highland roads are open, the meadows are green, and the long days give you time for the plateaus. It is also when the lake is busiest, above all on summer weekends and on Turkish and Gulf holidays.
• May and October are usually quieter. October is the wettest month on this coast: the long-term average at Trabzon's weather station is 113.4 mm of rain in October against 36.6 mm in July, the driest month.
• Winter is the snow season in the mountains; Uzungol.net puts snow cover at about five months a year. The lake village stays reachable, but the high plateaus are not (see the snow section).

Down on the coast, Trabzon's long-term average high is 26.1°C in July and 26.7°C in August. The lake sits more than 1,000 m above sea level (sources give between 1,090 and 1,250 m), so expect it to feel noticeably cooler than the city, and bring a layer for the evening even in midsummer.

Fog, rain and snow: what they do to your day

Fog is part of the place. Summer brings fog to the valley and the plateaus, and it can hide the lake while you are there. The upside is on the plateaus: from Karester you can sometimes stand above a layer of cloud lying in the valley below. If the morning in Trabzon is grey, it is still worth going; if the forecast shows heavy rain all day, swap Uzungöl with a museum day such as the Trabzon city tour and go the next day.

Rain rarely stops a visit, but it does make the highland tracks muddy and slow. Pack a rain jacket and shoes with grip, not sandals.

Snow changes the trip completely. In early January 2026, after heavy snowfall, the lake iced over, snow lay up to 40 cm deep in places and night temperatures fell below zero, Habertürk reported. Visitors still walked around the frozen lake, the roads were open, and some people come for exactly that winter view. What closes is the high ground: Uzungol.net says there is no vehicle access to the Karester plateau in winter, only snowmobile or walking, and the plateau roads open again in spring. A winter day trip is therefore the lake, the village and a long lunch, not the plateaus. A driver who knows the road is worth more in winter than at any other time.

What to do at the lake

The lake itself is small enough to see in a morning. It is about 1,000 m long, 500 m wide and around 15 m deep, and it formed when a landslide dammed the Haldizen stream. Since October 1989 it has been protected as Uzungöl Nature Park.

1. Walk the shore. A walk along the lakeside gives the classic view of the mosque with the forest rising behind it.
2. See the mosque and Şerah. Uzungöl's mosque, built in 2002, stands just below Kemer Köprü, the arched bridge over the Haldizen stream, and the old village of Şerah, with its traditional wooden Black Sea houses. Local guides suggest seeing the mosque in the evening.
3. Climb to the viewing terrace. The nature park's observation terrace above the lake is reached by a narrow road or by stairs from the shore. It is a good place for a wide photo of the whole valley.
4. Check before you fly a drone. Drone flying is banned at the nature park's viewing terrace, and Yolcu360 reports that offenders are spotted and fined on the spot. Ask locally before flying anywhere else around the lake.

In summer there is more: paragliding, hiking, ATV and jeep trips into the hills, and camping are all offered locally.

Above the lake: Lustra, Karester and Haldizen

Many visitors never leave the lakeshore, but some of the best views are higher up, on the yayla pastures where families still keep animals in summer.

• Lustra is about 30 minutes from the lake, on the road that passes the observation terrace. Minibuses go up from Uzungöl in summer, or a private car can take you.
• Karester (also spelled Garester) sits on the mountain south of the lake. The drive takes about 45 minutes on a winding, bumpy road, and tour vehicles usually go via Lustra. Up there you find a restaurant that opens in summer, two places to stay, local families who offer fresh milk, and the view straight down to the lake. Try the honey milk.
• Haldizen (Demirkapı) is the serious mountain option: about 16 km from Şerah by forest road, with glacial lakes and peaks above 3,000 m. It is a full outing on its own, not an add-on to a day trip.

Our day tour includes Karester and Lustra, which is the main reason to go with a driver rather than the public minibus (in winter, see the snow section above).

Food at Uzungöl

Food here is simple and filling, built for cold mountain days.

• Kuymak: melted cheese cooked with cornmeal and butter, served hot in the pan with bread. It is the dish to order at a lakeside restaurant.
• Trout: many places around the lake serve trout from their own pools.
• Hamsi tava: fried Black Sea anchovies, a Trabzon staple, at their best in winter.
• Honey and dairy: honey, fresh milk and butter from the plateaus; at Karester, the honey milk.

Restaurants line the lake. In high summer, eat lunch early or late to avoid the queue.

A sample private day from Trabzon

Times are a guide, not a timetable: on a foggy day you may wait for the cloud to lift over Karester, and on a busy weekend the last kilometres can take longer. Start early. Being at the lake before the tour buses arrive makes a real difference in summer.

If you have more time, staying a night at the lake is the better plan: you get the still water at dawn and the plateaus without a return drive. Our 7-day Trabzon itinerary shows how two nights at Uzungöl fit into a week, and the page on hiring a private driver in Trabzon compares day routes and cars for families.

Combining Uzungöl with the rest of Trabzon

Uzungöl and Sumela Monastery lie in different directions from Trabzon, so plan them as two separate days rather than squeezing both into one. A good three-day stay looks like this: one day in the city (Hagia Sophia, Kızlar Monastery and the tea gardens on Boztepe hill), one day at Sumela Monastery, and one day at Uzungöl. With a fourth day, add Rize and the Ayder plateau to the east.

Coming from Istanbul, the flight is the easy part; see our Istanbul and Trabzon trip guide for how to combine the two cities, and the Black Sea tour overview for longer routes along the coast and into eastern Turkey.

Tours that cover this

• Uzungöl private day trip from Trabzon: the lake, Karester and Lustra, 7 to 8 hours, from $80 per person.
• Trabzon day tour: Hagia Sophia, Kızlar Monastery and Boztepe hill tea, from $75 per person.
• Private Sumela Monastery tour with Karaca Cave: from $120 per person.
• Trabzon tour from Istanbul, 2 days: with flights, Sumela and Uzungöl, from $640 per person.

All our tours in the region are listed under Black Sea tours. Our day tours from Trabzon are private, with a local guide and a private van from your hotel; museum tickets and attraction fees are included.

Frequently Asked Questions