Winter wonderland in eastern Turkey attracts tourists

By Yunus Okur and Ismail Hakki Demir

ERZURUM, Turkey (AA) - A ski resort on the slopes of Mt. Palandoken in Turkey’s eastern Erzurum province, one of the most frigid areas in the country, attracts international and domestic tourists every winter.

The Palandoken Ski Center offers adrenaline-filled thrilling experience for ski and snowboard enthusiasts with 55 ski tracks -- including easy, intermediate, advanced and natural tracks.

The center provides an opportunity for 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) of non-stop skiing with the country’s longest and the world’s third longest track.

Two of its tracks, registered by the International Ski Federation (FIS) for slalom races, offer skiing to about 12,000 people at the same time.

Besides skiing, tourists can also enjoy different activities such as paragliding, mountaineering, snow tubing, snow rafting and ice climbing.

The center also offers night skiing with its world-standard lighting system and many new facilities like ski jumping ramps and shooting ramps for the biathlon.

With 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) away from the airport and only 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the city center, the ski resort provides its visitors an easy access to historical and cultural places from the Seljuk and Ottoman periods located in the city center.

In Palandoken, there are privately-owned five-, four- and three-star hotels, as well as bungalow houses owned by the Metropolitan Municipality and the Governor's Office.

As part of COVID-19 measures, all hotels in the center have the Safe Tourism Certificates issued by Turkey's Culture and Tourism Ministry.