Maçka: the Altındere Valley and Sümela
A route through Altındere Valley National Park, covered in oriental spruce forest, visiting Sümela Monastery, with its rock church and frescoes set against a sheer cliff, and the nearby Aya Varvara Church; it ends at Hamsiköy, an old Silk Road stopover village at the foot of Mount Zigana, famous for its sütlaç (rice pudding).
- Estimated duration
- ~4 h
- Straight-line distance (estimate)
- ~17 km
- Getting around
- By car
- Stops
- 4 stops
Duration and distance are estimates. Distance is the straight-line sum between stops; the actual road is longer. Check with a maps app before you set off.
Safety and caution
Route map
Numbers show the order of stops; the dashed line is a straight-line link between stops, not the actual road.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Stops
- 1
- 2
~1.4 km from the previous stop (straight line)
Monastery
Sümela Monastery
Maçka, Trabzon
~1.39 km from the previous stop as the crow flies
View place - 3
~350 m from the previous stop (straight line)
Church
Aya Varvara Church
Maçka, Trabzon
~0.35 km from the previous stop as the crow flies
View place - 4
~15 km from the previous stop (straight line)
Village and rural life
Hamsiköy
Maçka, Trabzon
~14.96 km from the previous stop as the crow flies
View place
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