Çıldır Gölü lies where the provinces of Ardahan and Kars meet. It is the second largest lake in the Eastern Anatolia region and its largest freshwater lake, and although it can be visited in every season, it draws the most people in winter, when the whole surface freezes over.
The ice then becomes a playground: people walk and camp on it, skate, run and cycle across it, and take tours in horse-drawn sleighs. Local fishers break through the thick ice with picks, shovels and even saws and fish beneath it in what is locally called the 'Eskimo' method. The most important catch is carp, and fishing goes on in all four seasons.
In spring and summer the shore is used for picnics and walks, for watching the sun rise and set, for fishing, camping and boat trips. The lake and its surroundings are home to many bird species and lie on a migration route, and there is an observation tower for birdwatchers on the shore.
When to go
- Climate
- Across Kars as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from -10.7 °C in January to 17.9 °C in August; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in July and August; rainfall is heaviest in May (83 mm) and lightest in January (23 mm). Long-term means for 1931-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
