Winter Journey from Kars to Erzurum
- Turkish Airlines round-trip flight ticket included
- Kars–Erzurum journey by Eastern Express, Turkey’s most special train route
- Kars city center, the area around the castle, and its streets
- In Kars, minstrel contests and local culture night
- Ice fishing on Lake Çıldır and horse sleigh experience
- Ani Ruins, on the UNESCO tentative list
- The unique view of Devils’ Castle and the ruins guarding the Silk Road
- Erzurum city tour: Çifte Minareli Medrese, Yakutiye, Ulu Mosque, Atatürk House
- Katerina Mansion in Sarıkamış, skiing or forest walk options
- Local cuisine
Price per person (Adult)
This tour is guaranteed to depart with a minimum of 7 people.
Reservation: Select tour date
Tour days
►Tour Departure Time and Location: 12:15 Kars Airport
►Tour Departure Time and Location: Our vehicles will depart from Kars Airport at the time specified above. You must purchase your flight and bus tickets according to these times. (For this tour, your flight must land at Kars Airport no later than around 11:40–11:50.)
Participants arriving after the departure time will need to reach the hotel on their own.
If you wish, we can also handle your ticket purchases.
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FLIGHT INFORMATION:
Suitable flights for traveling to Kars are listed below. Airlines may change flight times.
The tour's departure time is scheduled according to the flights marked with *.
The plane ticket included in the tour price will be provided with Turkish Airlines scheduled flights. If the quota of Turkish Airlines tickets runs out, participants will be directed to alternative airline companies' scheduled flights suitable for the travel plan. In this case, the ticketing process will be carried out with prior notice from the tour operator.
** In case Sabiha Gökçen Airport is requested and Turkish Airlines tickets are sold out, these are the flights you can use instead of Turkish Airlines flights.
*** Flights that fit with extra transfer
| TURKISH AIRLINES & AJET | ||
| Sabiha Gökçen Airport | Kars Airport | Departure: 07:35 ** |
| Istanbul Airport | Kars Airport | Departure: 09:35 * |
| Airline companies may change the above flight times. Please check the current schedules. | ||
We fly to Kars with Turkish Airlines flight TK2714, departing at 09:35. After meeting at Kars Airport at 12:15, we set off towards the city center with our vehicle.
Kars City Tour
This mysterious city at the farthest edge of the map of Turkey has received the attention it deserves from esteemed travelers like you in recent years, thanks to its historical and architectural beauties. We explore the streets of Kars, boasting the grandeur of Russian architecture. We visit Kars Castle, the Church of the Twelve Apostles known as the Armenian-Georgian church, Evliya Çelebi Mosque, Fethiye Mosque, Kars Archaeological Museum, and one of the most impressive interactive museums in our country, the Kars Front War History Museum. After completing our city tour, we settle into our hotel.
After settling in and resting at the hotel, dinner will be enjoyed at restaurants outside the hotel where you can also taste local flavors.
After breakfast in the morning, our first stop is Ani Ruins, included in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2016 and often called the "Ephesus of the East."
Ani Ruins
Ani, located on the Turkish-Armenian border near Arpaçay, was built by Armenians in the 10th century. In Ani, you can see remnants and artifacts from the Bagratid Armenians, Byzantines, Ottomans, Georgians, and Seljuks. Established along the Silk Road, Ani is also known as the "City of 1001 Churches" because it hosts more than 40 churches and chapels.
Ani spreads over a vast area of 78 hectares, where we visit many historical and sacred sites, such as Ateşgede—the first Zoroastrian temple in Anatolia, Ebul Manuçehr Mosque—the first mosque built by Turks in Anatolia, St. Patrick’s Church, and more. When you see the buildings that have survived so many wars and natural disasters, you might think calling them ruins is an exaggeration. The remaining structures are imposing and strong enough to make you feel you’re wandering through a living city. We spend about two hours exploring Ani Ruins—there are stories we could tell for days, but since our time is limited, we move on to our next stop, Lake Çıldır.
Lake Çıldır
This lake and its surroundings, situated 1,960 meters above sea level, are a must-see in this tour. In winter, the lake is completely frozen, and the locals earn their living by fishing using very special techniques, which you’ll witness firsthand at Atalay’s place. For those interested, there’s also an optional horse-sleigh ride. We’ll have our lunch here as well.
Devil’s Castle
After lunch, we head to the "Devil’s Castle," a lesser-known but absolutely unforgettable fortress that we believe will leave a great impression on you. Located within the boundaries of Yıldırımtepe Village, the castle stands majestically on the Kura River, guarding an important branch of the Silk Road. The fact that the castle remains largely undamaged will certainly fascinate you. Its dramatic location is stunning in itself. Depending on the snow conditions, we may have the chance to enter the castle, which is already impressive from the outside.
On the way back to the hotel, keep an eye out along the roadside—foxes roam here frequently.
After breakfast, we set off towards Sarıkamış.
Katerina Mansion
Our first stop is the Katerina Mansion. Built using solid wood at the end of the 19th century, the mansion is still standing firm, even though it's not suitable for use. It's also a wonderful spot for photography—you’re going to love it. :)
Sarıkamış Ski Center & Forest Walk
From here, we head to the Sarıkamış ski center. After having lunch here, we’ll take a walk on the path located just behind the ski slopes. Suitable for everyone, this walk takes around 1.5 hours. Enjoying the snow-covered Scotch pine forest will be the highlight of our walk. The trail has very gentle slopes and mostly descends. At the end of the walk, we’ll take the cable car to the summit. After snapping some photos, we'll descend again by cable car.
Participants who prefer not to join the walk may rent equipment and go skiing instead.
Afterwards, we return to Kars. Following dinner, we'll head to a local venue where we can listen to a traditional aşık poetry duel to bid farewell to Kars.
After an early breakfast, we head to the Kars Train Station for the famous train journey.
Eastern Express Journey from Kars to Erzurum
Once we board our train departing at 08:00, we can enjoy the pleasure of the train ride. With the morning light, this journey between Kars and Erzurum offers us the most beautiful views along the route and will last approximately 5 hours.
Erzurum City Tour
After leaving the station, we first go to a restaurant to enjoy cağ kebabı for lunch. Following that, we will start our tour of Erzurum city center. The Double Minaret Madrasa, Yakutiye Madrasa, Grand Mosque, and Atatürk House Museum are our main points of interest. After our city tour, we head towards Erzurum Airport and say goodbye to you until we meet again on another Bukla Tour.
Note: In case of any cancellation or delay in train services that may affect our itinerary, the journey from Kars to Erzurum will be made by vehicle. In such a situation, the Narman Fairy Chimneys and Çobandere Bridge will be visited during the trip. Additionally, we will have the chance to collect obsidian stones along the way.
►End of Tour: 19:00 Erzurum Airport
►End of Tour: This indicates the time we will drop you off at Erzurum Airport on the last day of the tour. For return flights, all departures at 20:30 or later are suitable.
If you wish, we can also handle your flight ticket purchase.
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FLIGHT INFORMATION:
The suitable return flights from Erzurum are listed below. Airlines may change their flight times.
The tour ending time is scheduled according to flights marked with an *. Participants who prefer other flights will need to wait at Erzurum Airport until their flight's departure time.
| TURKISH AIRLINES & AJET | ||
| Erzurum Airport | Istanbul Airport | Departure: 21:00 * |
| Erzurum Airport | Sabiha Gökçen Airport | Departure: 22:20 |
| Erzurum Airport | Ankara Esenboğa Airport | Departure: 21:00 * |
| PEGASUS AIRLINES | ||
| Erzurum Airport | Sabiha Gökçen Airport | Departure: 22:05 |
| Airline companies may change the above departure times. Please check current schedules. | ||
Other information
- Istanbul - Kars and Erzurum - Istanbul flight tickets
- Kars-Erzurum Eastern Express train ticket
- Professional guiding service
- 3 nights accommodation
- 3 breakfasts
- All excursions
- Airport transfers
- Intercity transfers
- Museum and historical site entrance fees
- TURSAB compulsory insurance
Flight Tickets
Our tours are sold without flight tickets. Please do not buy flight tickets before the tour is confirmed or we have not confirmed it. If you want to buy flight tickets in advance, please buy them from the refundable and changeable class. We remind you that all responsibility for flight tickets belongs to you.
Single Difference
The difference you need to pay when you want to stay alone in the hotel room. This difference is not requested by Bukla Tour, but by the hotels, and generally the full cost of the second person's accommodation. All single room requests are adjusted according to the availability of the hotels, but are not guaranteed.
Special Tours
Other names are Closed Groups. These are tours prepared according to your requests and requests, or tours prepared by changing existing tours. We can prepare tours for you according to the number of people you want, at the date you want, at the place you want, and only for you.
Cash Installment
This is a payment method where the cash price of the tour is divided into 3 fixed installments. In this method, your information is taken with the mail order form, and when the day comes, you are expected to make the installment by bank transfer. If you do not pay the installment, the payment is made by adding the overdue fee to your credit card.
Bukla Güvencesi
Bukla, 26 yıllık tecrübesiyle Türkiye’nin en güvenilir butik tur operatörlerinden biridir. Bukla, tüm turlarını bölge uzmanı rehberlerle, güvenli rota planlamasıyla ve kurumsal operasyon standardıyla yürütür, konaklanacak otelleri özenle seçer. Küçük gruplar, yüksek kalite standartları, güvenli rota planlaması ve operasyonel uzmanlık Bukla’nın öncelikleridir. 26 yıllık deneyim, binlerce başarılı tur ve misafir memnuniyeti Bukla’nın temel güvencesidir.