The Yaylas of the Turkish Black Sea Coast:
Mountain Plateaus, Tea Plantations, and Authentic Cuisine Automatic translate

When people think of Turkey, most people imagine the scorching sands of Antalya or the snow-white travertines of Pamukkale. Meanwhile, in the northeast of the country, there’s a completely different Turkey — green, cool, and shrouded in clouds. The Black Sea region, with its mountain plateaus, tea terraces, and distinctive cuisine, remains off the beaten path. This is surprising, because Turks themselves have been coming here for generations.

The Black Sea region is home to the Kaçkar Mountains, humid subtropical forests, fast-flowing rivers, and villages scattered across the slopes at altitudes exceeding a thousand meters. The traditional all-inclusive format isn’t available here. Instead, there are small guesthouses, home-cooked meals, and mountain trails traversed by shepherds and their flocks.

What are yaylas and why go there?

Yayla is the Turkish word for a high mountain plateau used as a summer pasture. The tradition of moving to a yayla in the summer has existed among the Black Sea Turks for hundreds of years. Families would ascend the mountains with their livestock, live in wooden houses, and return in the fall. Today, many yaylas have become vacation spots but retain their village-like character.

The most famous yaylas of the Black Sea region are Ayder, Pokut, Hazindak, and Eynif. Ayder is located at an altitude of approximately 1,350 meters in the province of Rize. It boasts hot thermal springs, wooden guesthouses, and views of the Fyrtyna River gorge. Pokut is even higher, at approximately 2,050 meters. There are no paved roads, but there are ancient stone houses and meadows immersed in fog in the mornings.

It’s quiet on the yayla. Mobile reception is poor, and internet is even worse. For some, this is a drawback, but for city dwellers tired of screens, it’s a rare luxury.

Rize Tea Plantations

Rize Province is the tea capital of Turkey. Almost all Turkish tea is grown here, on the steep slopes facing the Black Sea. The plantations begin right at the coast and rise up into the mountains in tiers, reminiscent of the rice terraces of Southeast Asia, but bright green and scented with fresh leaves.

Tea is picked three times per season, from May to October. The work is mostly done by locals, often by hand. From the outside, the process appears monotonous: pluck the top two or three leaves from the bush, place them in a bag on your back, and then move on to the next one. But it is this manual labor that gives Turkish tea its distinctive flavor, distinguishing it from machine-made varieties.

Some farms welcome guests. You can try picking tea yourself, watch the leaves being dried and fermented, and then sip a freshly brewed glass on the veranda overlooking the sea. This is a unique experience for Turkey, making it a memorable one.

Black Sea cuisine: mukhlama, hamsi, and cornbread

Black Sea cuisine is noticeably different from what you’ll find in restaurants in Istanbul or Antalya. The staples here are corn, butter, cheese, anchovies (hamsi), and herbs. The food is hearty, simple, and seasonal.

Mukhlama is a dish that could be called a Black Sea fondue. It’s a thick paste made from corn flour, butter, and local cheese, cooked in a copper pan. It’s eaten hot, scooped up with bread. It’s quick to prepare, but requires good cheese — fresh kolotski or minzi, both produced in the region’s villages, are ideal.

Khamsi, a small fish of the anchovy family, appears on menus in late autumn. Locals prepare it in dozens of ways: frying it in a pan, baking it in corn dough (khamsi-tava), adding it to a pie, or boiling it in a soup. There’s even a khamsi dessert, though not all visitors dare try it.

Cornbread replaces wheat bread here. Baked in wood-fired ovens, it produces a crispy crust and a slightly crumbly crumb. A slice of this bread and a pat of local butter can easily fill a full meal.

Trekking to the summit of Kaçkar and rafting on the Fîrtyna

The Kaçkar Mountains are the highest point of the Eastern Black Sea Range. The summit rises to 3,937 meters. The route to it starts from the village of Yukarı-Kavron and takes two to three days for those with moderate fitness. The trail passes through alpine meadows, glacial lakes, and rocky passes. Overnight stays are in tents; there are no shelters along the route.

For those who prefer water to mountains, the Fyrtyna River offers rafting of difficulty levels three and four. The section suitable for rafting is approximately 18 kilometers. The water is cold, the current is swift, and the rapids are short and frequent. Organized groups form in the village of Çamlıhemşin. The cost of rafting is usually low — comparable to a lunch for two at an Antalya restaurant. Some routes can be found through the travel agency "99 Euro" for a full-day package, making rafting accessible even on a modest budget.

A less extreme alternative is the zipline over the Fyrtyny Gorge. The line is several hundred meters long, rising about 300 meters above the river. The experience is intense but brief: the descent lasts less than a minute.

Sumela Monastery and other little-known places

Sumela Monastery is located on a rocky ledge of Mount Mela, at an altitude of approximately 1,200 meters. It was founded in the 4th century and functioned until the early 20th century. The building is literally built into the sheer cliff face, and its interior is decorated with frescoes from various eras. After extensive restoration, the monastery is once again open to the public.

The road to the monastery winds through a pine forest along a serpentine road. The final section is a walking trail with stone steps. The site is impressive not so much for its luxurious decoration as for its very existence: it’s hard to imagine how builders worked at such an altitude 1,500 years ago.

The Black Sea region boasts other interesting spots. Uzungöl is a mountain lake in Trabzon Province, surrounded by a spruce forest. It looks as if it was transported from Switzerland. The town of Amasya stands on the Yeşilırmak River, wedged between cliffs carved with the tombs of the Pontic kings. Stone arched bridges from the Ottoman period are scattered throughout the region — many of them four or five centuries old, and people still walk across them.

Practical details for the traveler

The easiest way to reach the Black Sea region is through Trabzon Airport. Regular flights connect it with Istanbul and Ankara. From Trabzon, Rize is about 80 kilometers along the coast, and Ayder is another 90 kilometers into the mountains. Public transportation is available, but not very frequent. Renting a car is more convenient: the roads in the region are good, although the mountain roads require attention.

The best time to visit is from June to September. May is still cool, and October brings the onset of prolonged rains. Even in summer, evening temperatures in the mountains drop to 10–15°C, so a warm jacket is essential. Rain is possible any month, so an umbrella and waterproof boots are standard.

Accommodation is significantly cheaper than on the Mediterranean coast. A night in a guesthouse on the yayla costs between 30 and 40 euros per room with breakfast. Breakfast typically includes fresh cheese, honey, butter, local berry jam, and, of course, a few glasses of tea. Communication with the hosts is usually through gestures and smiles — few speak English, let alone Russian. But hospitality works in any language.

The Black Sea region doesn’t require a large budget or promise luxury. It offers what has become a rarity at popular resorts: mountains without crowds, food without menus in four languages, and silence broken only by the river below.