Tortum lake lies thirty-five kilometres north of the Tortum district of Erzurum, on the Erzurum–Artvin road. It was made by a landslide: around the 18th century a mass coming down from Kemerli mountain blocked the Tortum stream, and the water backed up for eight kilometres along a narrow, steep valley. The slide became a natural dam, and where the surplus water spills over it the Tortum waterfall forms, falling into the Tev valley.
At the southern end of the lake there is a small bird sanctuary, and the valley is a haunt of birds of prey.
Getting there
- Access
- Take the Tortum or Uzundere public transport that leaves from the western district garage in the Şükrü Paşa neighbourhood.
When to go
- Climate
- Across Erzurum as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from -9.1 °C in January to 19.6 °C in August; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in July and August; rainfall is heaviest in May (73 mm) and lightest in August (18 mm). Long-term means for 1929-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
