Guide
Sarıkamış's ski area occupies a plateau between 2,200 and 2,900 m, ringed by the Scots pine forests the town is known for. The Bayraktepe ski area is served by four chairlifts between 1,437 and 1,807 m long, with a combined capacity of 2,400 people an hour, and it is one of Türkiye's five first-degree priority ski centres.
The provincial directorate's main boast is the snow: a 'crystal' snow, which it says is matched in the world only in the Alps. Most days of the season are sunny, and the runs are wide and uncrowded. In a normal winter the snow lies 100 to 120 cm deep for about four months, and the best skiing is from 10 December to 10 April.
The terrain suits both Alpine and Nordic skiing as well as ski safaris and sleigh outings, and the slopes are suited to slalom and giant slalom; snowboarding is possible in part of the area. Accommodation ranges from hotels to guesthouses and apart-hotels.
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).
