Trabzon: Sumela Monastery, Uzungöl, Hagia Sophia & Yaylas

Quick decisions

How many days?

3 days: Trabzon Hagia Sophia, Atatürk Pavilion, Ortahisar walls and Boztepe sunset tea on day one, the 4th-century cliffside Sumela Monastery and Zigana / Karaca Cave on day two, plus Uzungöl lake and high alpine yayla pastures on day three. Follow our three-day route.

Where should I stay?

Meydan & Ortahisar (City Centre): walkable bazaar streets, restaurants and minibus links to Sumela and Uzungöl. Yomra & Kaşüstü: modern seafront hotels 10 minutes east of the airport. Uzungöl or Maçka: wooden chalets in the misty pine valleys. Compare areas in our neighbourhood overview.

Do I need a car?

Not for the city and Sumela; very helpful for high yaylas. Minibuses and municipal buses cover downtown, Sumela and Uzungöl, while renting an SUV or hiring a local driver unlocks high mountain pastures like Sultan Murat, Hıdırnebi and Çal Cave.

Best for

Dramatic Byzantine monasteries: 4th-century Sumela clinging to a 300-metre cliff in Altındere Valley and 13th-century Hagia Sophia. Lush alpine nature: spruce forests, waterfalls and cloud-filled yayla meadows. Black Sea cuisine: Akçaabat meatballs, stretchy kuymak fondue and anchovies.

Before you go

Pack a hooded rain shell and warm layer even in July: the Pontic Mountains trap Black Sea clouds, so a sunny 27°C morning on the coast can turn into a cool 12°C mist at Sumela or 2,000-metre yaylas within an hour. Read our practical briefing.

Getting around

From Trabzon Airport (TZX): the runway sits right along the Black Sea shore only 6 kilometres (10 minutes by Havaş, city bus or taxi) from Meydan Square. Details in arrival and transport.

Continue your trip

Drive 75 minutes east along the Black Sea coast to the tea terraces of Rize, Fırtına Valley and Ayder Plateau, or west to Giresun and Ordu.

Overview

Rising in green tiers from the southern shore of the Black Sea to the 3,000-metre wall of the Pontic Mountains (Doğu Karadeniz Dağları), Trabzon looks nothing like the dry, sun-baked coasts of the Aegean or Mediterranean. Founded in 756 BC by Milesian Greek traders as Trapezous ("The Tableland", named after the flat-topped fortress rock of Ortahisar between two deep ravines), the city served for 257 years after the Fourth Crusade (1204 to 1461) as the imperial capital of the Empire of Trebizond under the Grand Komnenos dynasty before Sultan Mehmed II brought it into the Ottoman realm.

Within the city, 13th-century Byzantine frescoes shine inside Trabzon Hagia Sophia, pine woods shade the white Art Nouveau villa of the Atatürk Pavilion, and copper-smiths work inside the 15th-century bazaars around Meydan. Forty-five minutes south in the misty spruce canyon of Maçka clings the 4th-century Sumela Monastery, while to the east and west lie Uzungöl Lake, Çal Cave and high alpine yayla pastures. Start with our before-you-go briefing and top things to do in Trabzon.

Getting there

Trabzon International Airport (TZX) sits right on the coastal strip just six kilometres east of downtown Meydan Square, making it one of the closest city-centre airports in Turkey (10 to 15 minutes by Havaş coach, municipal bus or metered taxi). Inside the city and across the province, municipal Trabzon Büyükşehir buses (accepting contactless Visa and Mastercard cards) and regular white minibuses connect Meydan and Pazarkapı with Hagia Sophia, Boztepe, Maçka (for Sumela) and Çaykara (for Uzungöl). See getting to Trabzon and how local transport works.

Where to stay

For a first visit that combines the city monuments with day trips to Sumela Monastery, Uzungöl and Çal Cave, base yourself right around central Meydan Parkı (Atatürk Alanı) or the historic Ortahisar quarter so you can walk out to restaurants, bazaar lanes and minibus stops. If you want modern five-star sea-view hotels with larger rooms and easy highway access, look ten minutes east at Yomra and Kaşüstü, or spend a night in a wooden mountain chalet in Maçka or Uzungöl. Compare all bases in where to stay in Trabzon.

Things to do

Take the morning shuttle up through the spruce forest of Altındere National Park to the cliff-hanging frescoes of Sumela Monastery, admire the 1260 reliefs and domes of Trabzon Hagia Sophia, tour the 1903 Atatürk Pavilion and drink samovar tea on Boztepe Hill, walk the underground river of Çal Cave, and spend a day around Uzungöl Lake. Full list in things to do in Trabzon.

Food and drink

Black Sea (Karadeniz) cooking revolves around rich mountain pasture butter, stone-ground cornmeal, hazelnuts and the catch of the sea: bubbling copper pans of kuymak (stretchy cornmeal and stringy kolot cheese fondue), chargrilled Akçaabat köftesi (garlic-scented beef meatballs), golden hamsi (Black Sea anchovies cooked forty different ways from October to March), Karadeniz pidesi (boat-shaped sourdough pies topped with local cheese and a runny egg yolk) and sweet creamy Hamsiköy sütlacı rice pudding. Read more in our Trabzon food guide.

Culture

As the northern coastal outlet of the Silk Road from Tabriz and Persia, Trabzon developed a proud, energetic Pontic culture celebrated for the fast-paced, shoulder-shimmying horon folk dance accompanied by the three-stringed kemençe fiddle, intricate silver-and-gold wire-woven bracelets (Trabzon hasırı), and the summer transhumance migration to high mountain pastures (yaylalar).

Weather by month

Trabzon is warmest in August, with average highs around 27°C, and coldest in January, when nights drop to about 5°C. October is the wettest month, with rain on about 12 days. For mild weather with fewer rainy days, aim for May, June and July.

Warmest monthAugust · 27°C

Coolest nightsJanuary · 5°C

Wettest monthOctober · 12 rain days

Average temperature and rainfall in Trabzon by month
Month	Low	High	Rain	Rainy days
Jan	5°C	11°C	82 mm	12 d
Feb	5°C	11°C	68 mm	11 d
Mar	6°C	13°C	64 mm	11 d
Apr	9°C	16°C	58 mm	10 d
May	13°C	20°C	52 mm	10 d
Jun	18°C	24°C	54 mm	9 d
Jul	21°C	27°C	42 mm	8 d
Aug	21°C	27°C	56 mm	8 d
Sep	18°C	24°C	86 mm	11 d
Oct	14°C	20°C	118 mm	12 d
Nov	9°C	16°C	96 mm	11 d
Dec	6°C	12°C	92 mm	12 d