Lake of Shadows
Tucked up in the far north-eastern corner of Turkey on the borders with Armenia and Georgia, this huge and glorious lake (123 sq km) backed by mountains to the south is curiously unknown to foreign tourists although it has been well and truly discovered by Turks since the Turistik Doğu Ekspresi train from Ankara to Kars was introduced in 2019 to make travel to the north-east easier. The result has been a rush of youthful Instagramers to the area.
The landscape around here will remind British visitors of some of the remoter Scottish lochs. It’s an intensely arable area, with drivers frequently needing to pause while huge herds of cows and flocks of sheep cross the road. As in Kars, many people rear geese to be eaten in winter and you’ll see mainly elderly people herding the birds from place to place.
Lake Çıldır sits at an elevation of almost 2000m and in winter the lake freezes over and people take to the ice in horse-drawn sleighs called at kızaklar; you’ll find them waiting in front of Atalay’ın Yeri at weekends.
Eating
Atalay’ın Yeri Balık Lokantası
Right beside the lake and five km from Çıldır, this small restaurant dishes up sarıbalık (carp) from the lake in winter and alabalık (trout) in summer when lake fishing is forbidden to preserve stocks. The walls are festooned with pictures of Turkish film stars who’ve dined here with pictures of the fun to be had on the ice in winter in pride of place.
Tel: 0535-211 0348
Sleeping
A few hotels and pensions have opened between Çıldır town and the lake but I haven’t had the chance to stay in any of them.
Çıldır Konak. Tel: 0530-911 9771
Çıldır Mavi Göl Restaurant and Bungalows.
Lake Çıldır Lodge. Tel: 0850-474 2003
Yılmazoğlu Apart & Otel. Tel: 0478-311 2323
Transport info
If you catch the early morning bus from Kars to Arpaçay you can grab a taxi to explore the eastern side of the lake and take a sleigh ride and still be back in Arpaçay in time to take the afternoon bus back down to Kars – check the time carefully though.
In winter the road from Ardahan is sometimes easier to use than the one from Kars via Arpaçay.
Around the lake
Şeytan Kalesi (The Devil’s Castle)
Read more about getting to the lake in winter: http://www.turkeyfromtheinside.com/blogbloggingaboutturkey/entry/50-cildir-or-die.html
