62 · City guide
Tunceli
Province of the Munzur, valleys and yaylas
Tunceli is a mountainous province between the Munzur Mountains and the Keban Dam reservoir, known for its deep valleys and high plateaus. The provincial center lies where the Munzur and Pülümür streams meet. The Munzur Valley, declared a national park in 1971, is the province's most visited nature area, with river, forest and rocky slopes along the road to Ovacık; the Munzur Gözeleri (Munzur Springs) in Ovacık are both a source point and a place of faith considered sacred by local people. To the south, Pertek Castle on the shore of the Keban Dam reservoir and Çemişgezek, with its historic mosques and tombs, form the province's history route. The Munzur Stream is also used for rafting in the summer months. Pülümür's honey and underground spring salt, the yaylas (highland pastures) of Ovacık and Pülümür, and mountain garlic are closely identified with the region.
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Places
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Routes
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Badges
Where shall we explore?
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Mosque
Çelebi Ali (Çelebi Ağa) Mosque
Pertek, Tunceli
A lead-domed mosque built in 1569–1570, moved together with the Sungur Bey Mosque from old Pertek, which was to be submerged by the dam waters, to the new district center.
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Faith
Düzgün Baba Shrine (Ziyaretgâh)
Nazımiye, Tunceli
Düzgün Baba Mountain near the village of Kıl in Nazımiye and the shrine on its summit, considered one of the most important faith centers for the Alevis of Dersim.
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Mosque
Elti Hatun Mosque and Tomb
Mazgirt, Tunceli
Tunceli's oldest Turkish-period works in Mazgirt: a mosque dated 1252 and an octagonal tomb with an iwan entrance dated to the late 12th–early 13th century.
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Faith
Gola Çetu
Merkez, Tunceli
A site in central Tunceli where the Munzur and Pülümür streams join, considered sacred in Alevi belief as the place where Hızır and Munzur Baba met.
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Castle
Mazgirt Castle
Mazgirt, Tunceli
A historic castle rising above the Mazgirt district center, linked to the Urartian period, at whose foot the district was built.
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Munzur Springs (Munzur Gözeleri)
Ovacık, Tunceli
The spring waters near Ovacık where the Munzur Çayı rises, identified with Munzur Baba in Dersim Alevi belief and visited for vows and offerings.
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Munzur Valley National Park
Ovacık, Tunceli
A national park of about 42,000 hectares along the Munzur Çayı valley between Tunceli and Ovacık, declared in 1971 and known for its rich endemic flora.
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Nature park
Örenönü Nature Park
Merkez, Tunceli
A rest and nature area on the Pülümür road about 3 km from central Tunceli, declared a nature park in 2011.
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Ski resort
Ovacık Ski Center
Ovacık, Tunceli
A small ski center near the Ovacık district center, established in 2015, offering about four months of skiing on the snowy Munzur slopes.
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Pertek Castle
Pertek, Tunceli
A castle that became an island in the middle of the water when the Keban Dam Lake filled, with origins attributed to the Urartians and its present form from the Mengujekid period.
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Mosque
Sağman Mosque and Monumental Plane Tree
Pertek, Tunceli
A 16th-century Ottoman mosque in the village of Sağman, 13 km from Pertek, with the tomb beside it and a protected centuries-old monumental plane tree.
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Tomb (türbe)
Tomb of Sarı Saltuk (Hozat)
Hozat, Tunceli
A tomb in Hozat attributed to Sarı Saltuk, the Bektashi dervish who played a role in the spread of Islam in the Balkans, dated to the 13th century in the Kültür Envanteri.
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Mosque
Süleymaniye (Kale) Mosque (Çemişgezek)
Çemişgezek, Tunceli
A three-aisled mosque in Çemişgezek dated to the late 15th–early 16th century, preserving its original white stone mihrab and minbar and its brick minaret.
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Mosque
Sungur Bey Mosque
Pertek, Tunceli
A single-domed mosque built in the 16th century, moved from old Pertek to the new district center because of the Keban Dam by numbering and dismantling its stones.
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Tunceli Museum
Merkez, Tunceli
A museum introducing Tunceli, opened in 2020 in a historic barracks building from 1935–1937, with halls on archaeology, ethnography, faith culture and recent history.
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Reservoir and pond
Uzunçayır Dam Lake
Merkez, Tunceli
The reservoir of the Uzunçayır Dam on the Munzur Çayı, formed after the Munzur and Pülümür waters join, stretching from the Mazgirt Bridge to the city center.
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Mosque
Yelmaniye Mosque (Çemişgezek)
Çemişgezek, Tunceli
A mosque of the Turkmen principalities period in Çemişgezek, dated to 1396–1404, with its stone door carved in relief and tile-covered mihrab.
Practical information
Machine translated — This content was machine-translated and may differ from the original Turkish text.- Note
- Check transport and security conditions with local authorities before heading to rural and mountainous areas; observe visiting etiquette at places of faith
- Climate
- Harsh continental climate; winters are cold and snowy, and roads at higher elevations may close
- Best time
- May–October; late spring and early summer for rafting
- Getting there
- There is no airport in the province; the nearest airport is in Elazığ. It is reached by road from Elazığ and Erzincan
- Getting around
- The provincial center is small; a private car or district minibuses are needed for the Munzur Valley, Ovacık, Pertek and Çemişgezek