Skiing is becoming more and more popular in Turkey. In the last years, they opened several new Kayak Merkezi (Ski resorts).
It is a perfect destination for school break or a long weekend.
There are a lot of hotels located directly at the bottom of the slopes with their private chairlift.
I made this map to be able to see at a glance all the skiing options in Turkey. I also made a Google Map available here with all those ski resorts.
Kartalkaya often gets good reviews from expat, it is good for beginners, intermediate. Some more advanced skiers told me they found it small.
Uludağ is another popular destination. The Ski Center is located on 2 hills named Fatintepe and Kuşakaya,. It is in the south-west of Bursa.
See Uludağ’s runway maps here
Erciyes Ski Centre is located at Mount Erciyes (3916m) the highest summit of Anatolia. It is 25 km (30 minutes) away from the city of Kayseri.
Mount Erciyes is an extinct volcano.
Palandöken, in the eastern province of Erzurum, is Turkey’s highest and is home to one of Europe’s longest natural ski runs.
Sarıkamış Ski Centre is 60 km away from Kars. A great destination for skiing and snowboarding, but also for cross country skiing. As you can see in this drone footage, the slopes are surrounded by trees. This is one of the fastest growing ski resort in Turkey according to Turkish’s tourism office.
Elmadag (Ankara)
Elmadag ski resort is located near NataVega AVM in Ankara (also known as the Ikea’s mall).
It is a 20-minute drive from there. Be aware this is not like the Canadian/European ski resorts we are used to.
It is pretty small, crowded in the weekend and looks more like a public market (pazari) than a ski hill.
While the view is fantastic and the drive in the snowy mountain is interesting (they sell living sheep along the way), don’t expect a North American/ European skiing experience.
It is pretty disorganized and mostly used by people sliding on snow sleds. It might be an interesting option for playing in the snow with kids during weekdays, but I would strongly avoid weekends as it is crowded.
You can find more information about Ski resorts in Turkey on skiingturkey.com.
You can also take a look at www.skiresort.info/ski-resorts/turkey/
