City Guide · Eastern Anatolia

Erzurum Travel Guide

Palandöken Skiing, the Old Town, and the Doğu Express.

Show Me Türkiye May 2026 8 min read

Field notes

Erzurum: tips for first-timers.

01 Stay near the Saat Kulesi (clock tower). The medreses, the bazaar and the cağ kebabı houses are all walkable from here. Airport hotels sit outside the centre.
02 Ride one leg of the Doğu Express. The plateau views are the trip, not the destination. Sivas to Erzurum or Erzurum to Kars; both are scenic.
03 Compare ski rental prices before you book. Renting through the hotels tends to cost more than the rental options at the resort or in the city centre, so it is worth checking a couple of places first.
04 Try cağ kebabı at an old-school spot. The local original is grilled on a horizontal skewer; look for places that still cook it the traditional way rather than copying the name alone.
05 Pack for deep winter cold if you visit in the cold months. At nearly 1,900 metres, Erzurum gets genuinely cold in winter, well below freezing, so warm layers and waterproof, insulated boots matter. Summers, by contrast, are warm and dry.

In this story

5 chapters, one story.

01The Old Town and Çifte Minareli Medrese1 min
02Palandöken Ski Resort1 min
03The Doğu Express1 min
04Atatürk House and the Erzurum Congress1 min
05Erzurum in summer1 min

Erzurum is the eastern Anatolian winter capital. It is also the eastern terminus of one of the most-photographed train journeys in the country, the Doğu Express from Ankara, and the base for Türkiye's most serious ski resort, Palandöken.

The city sits at 1,950 metres on a flat plateau ringed by mountains. Winters are long and cold. Summers are short but pleasant. The Seljuk and Ottoman heritage, particularly the thirteenth-century twin-minaret madrasa, gives the old town a distinct architectural identity you do not see further west.

Five chapters below cover the city, the ski resort, the train journey, and what to do outside the winter season. And if you want to see these places in motion before you go, there are a few of our own films from the region further down the page.

01Seljuk · Ottoman

The Old Town and Çifte Minareli Medrese.

Stone architecture and the twin minarets.

1 min read

The Çifte Minareli Medrese (Twin Minaret Madrasa) is the architectural anchor of Erzurum's old town. Built in the second half of the 13th century, the stone facade and twin minarets are some of the finest surviving Seljuk-era decorative work in the country.

Around the madrasa, the old town contains the Üç Kümbetler (three Seljuk tombs), several restored Ottoman houses, and a bazaar district where the city's traditional crafts, oltu taşı jet jewellery in particular, are still produced and sold.

Allow a half-day. The architecture rewards slow walking.

The Çifte Minareli Medrese has stood here since the 13th century. The carved stone facade has been weathering through eight Anatolian winters per century. It still looks like an argument for the Seljuk aesthetic.

02Ski Resort

Palandöken Ski Resort.

Among Türkiye's longest ski runs.

1 min read

Palandöken sits directly above Erzurum city, with summit lifts to 3,176 metres and ski runs that stretch over 10 kilometres. The season runs November to early May, with reliable snow for most of the winter.

The resort has been developed steadily since the 1990s and now contains a full hotel infrastructure on the lower slopes. International ski standards apply. Lift tickets are inexpensive compared to European resorts.

Beyond skiing, the same slopes work for summer hiking and paragliding. The cable car operates year-round for visitors who want the view without the skis. Note: The Ejder (summit) lift is weather-dependent. If the wind picks up, the summit closes. Plan for a flexible schedule when booking your ski days.

03Train · 24 hours

The Doğu Express.

Ankara to Kars, through Erzurum.

1 min read

The Doğu Express (Eastern Express) runs from Ankara to Kars via Erzurum, taking about 24 hours through some of the most photographed landscapes in eastern Türkiye. In winter the journey through snow-covered plateaus has become almost a cultural ritual for domestic travellers, with sleeper cars booking out months in advance.

Erzurum is roughly halfway. You can board here or use the city as a stopover on the longer route. Even if you do not take the full journey, the Erzurum station itself is worth a visit, stone-built, atmospheric, with the high plateau wind cutting through the platform.

Book sleepers months ahead in winter. Day-car tickets are easier to get but the night portions are when most of the dramatic snow scenery passes. Pro tip: For the best photography, choose a seat on the side of the train facing the valley as you approach Kars. The light is cleaner and the landscape wider.

04History · Republic

Atatürk House and the Erzurum Congress.

Where the Turkish War of Independence took shape.

1 min read

The Erzurum Congress of July 1919 was one of the foundational moments of the Turkish War of Independence. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and other nationalist leaders convened in this city to formulate the manifesto that would shape the next four years of the war and the eventual establishment of the Republic.

The Atatürk House, the building where he stayed, is now a small museum with original furniture, documents, and exhibits about the congress. Forty-five minutes inside. Worth combining with the old town walk.

05Off-season

Erzurum in summer.

When the snow melts and the plateau opens up.

1 min read

Most visitors come to Erzurum in winter. Summer is the quieter and underrated season. The temperature is moderate (15–25°C through June–August), the surrounding country becomes accessible for hiking, and the plateau opens up for road trips toward Kars and the Doğubayazıt area.

From Erzurum in summer you can drive to Tortum Falls (one of the largest waterfalls in Türkiye), to Ispir and the Çoruh river country, or further east toward Ağrı Dağı (Mount Ararat) and the İshak Paşa Sarayı, the dramatic eighteenth-century palace near Doğubayazıt.

If you can spare three days in summer, Erzurum becomes a gateway to most of eastern Anatolia. İshak Paşa Sarayı near Doğubayazıt is about a three-and-a-half-hour drive away, closer than most people assume, and well worth the day it takes to see it.

Palandöken under winter snow, the eastern Anatolian plateau at altitude.

Watch the films