Routes DOĞU ANADOLU

Ani – Ardahan Plato Yolu (Kars ve Çıldır Gölü üzeri; 36-07 / D965 / D010)

From Ani to Lake Çıldır: a 2,017 m plateau road

DISTANCE: 214 km
DRIVING TIME: 2 h 54 min
STOPS: 13

Car
Motorcycle

Directions in Google Maps İz on Google Play

01Ani Ören Yeri girişi
02Subatan
03Kars doğu girişi
04D965 – D060 ayrımı
05D060 – D010 ayrımı
06Arpaçay kavşağı
07Taşlıyarma Geçidi
08Doğruyol – Çıldır Gölü doğu kıyısı
09Çıldır Gölü kuzey kıyısı seyri
10Çıldır
11Meryem köyü önü
12Çamlıçatak kavşağı
13Ardahan

DRAWING · NOT A LIVE MAP© OpenStreetMap contributors

A one-way plateau stage that starts at a ruined city on the border, crosses Kars and the 2,017 m Taşlıyarma pass, follows the shore of Çıldır Gölü and ends in Ardahan.

Both ends are stone. At the start, Ani: Bagratuni capital 961-1045, the city of 1001 churches, UNESCO World Heritage since 2016. At the end, above the Kura, Ardahan Kalesi — 328 by 180 metres, fourteen towers. Between them Kars, its grid laid out by Dutch engineers in 1890 in cut basalt and Baltic style, 101 buildings listed. The road follows Çıldır Gölü, 123 km² at 1,965 m and frozen in winter, under Şeytan Kalesi at 1,910 m. Aşık Şenlik was born at Suhara in 1850; this is his country.

What to eat

Kars Kaşarı
A mature mountain kaşar: firm yellow cow's-milk cheese, whitish and lightly salted when young, grey-rinded and sharp with age.
The dairies and cheese shops of central Kars; a mature mountain kaşar from the milk of cows grazing the pastures between May and August. A designation of origin since 2015 (No. 190), with a registered area that also covers Arpaçay, Çıldır and Hanak.
Kars Kaz Eti (tandırda kaz, pilavlı kaz)
Local goose, pressed, salted and air-dried for days, then baked in a tandır or served over rice; dark red meat, coarse-fibred and strong.
The restaurants of central Kars, from November to the end of winter; the slaughter season starts with the first snow. The carcass is pressed, salted and dried in the open air for 5-10 days, then comes out of the tandır or on a bed of rice.
Kars Ketesi
A milk-leavened pastry rolled 3 mm thin, folded like an envelope around a salty, sweet or ginger filling and baked until golden.
The bakeries and kete makers of central Kars; milk-leavened dough is rolled to 3 mm and folded like an envelope around a salty, sweet or ginger filling. It bakes at 180-200 °C for 40-45 minutes and is sliced and served once cool.
Piti (yörede bozbaş)
Mutton and soaked chickpeas cooked in a single-portion clay pot, the broth coloured with saffron and poured over flatbread laid in the bowl.
The restaurants of central Kars and central Ardahan; the local dish list of Kars cookery names it 'bozbaş yani piti', and it comes out of the same clay pot in Ardahan. Mutton and chickpeas soaked overnight cook in a single-portion pot, the saffron broth poured over lavaş.
Kars Gravyer Peyniri
A hard-rinded, holed cow's-milk cheese matured 6-12 months in wheels of 55-70 cm; lightly salted, faintly sweet and nutty.
Boğatepe village, 40 km from central Kars at 2,300 m and beside the D965; the gruyère tradition the Swiss began here in 1890 continues. Wheels are 55-70 cm across and mature for 6-12 months; the Zavot eco-museum has been in the village since 2005.
Hanak Tel Peyniri
A stringy brined cheese pulled into glossy pale-yellow threads that never stick together; each strand 0.6-3.8 mm thick and up to 6 metres long.
Hanak (Ardahan), at the end of the branch that leaves the D010 northwards at the Çamlıçatak junction, before you reach Ardahan. It is made only from June to September milk, 13 litres of milk give 1 kg, and the threads run up to 6 metres.

What to buy

Kars Kaşarı
Mature mountain kaşar in wheels, sold by the piece; pale and mild when young, grey-rinded, hard and strongly flavoured when aged.
The dairies and dairy shops of central Kars; 22 producers are on the register for this product. The designation of origin dates from 12.10.2015 under No. 190, and because the registered area covers Arpaçay, Çıldır and Hanak, the whole corridor is production country.
Kars Gravyer Peyniri (Boğatepe gravyeri)
Large hard cheese wheels of 55-85 kg, matured 6-12 months, holed and nutty in taste; cut to order in slices or chunks.
The dairies of Boğatepe village and the Ekomüze Zavot, which is open to visitors, plus the cheese shops in central Kars. Slices or chunks are cut from wheels of 55-85 kg; geographical indication No. 1640, 17.09.2024.
Kars Kaz Eti (kurutulmuş kaz)
Air-dried salted goose carcasses of 2.2-2.8 kg, sold whole or jointed in sealed packs — the form that travels best in a car.
On sale in central Kars in November and through the winter. The dried carcass weighs 2.2-2.8 kg and is sold whole or jointed in airtight packaging, which is the easiest form to carry by car. Designation of origin No. 1479, 03.10.2023.
Çıldır Gölü sazanı
Mirror carp from a high mountain lake, netted year-round and through cut ice in winter; carry it fresh or on ice.
The fishermen on the shore of Çıldır Gölü and the businesses at the lakeside; the district is 40 km from Ardahan and 90 km from Kars. Fishing runs all four seasons, the ice season begins in the second week of December, and January to March are the months the lake is frozen solid.
Ardahan Çiçek Balı
Strained wildflower honey from Caucasian bees, light to dark amber, crystallising to a creamy set in about two months at room temperature.
The Yöresel Ürünler Çarşısı in central Ardahan and the beekeepers' outlets in town; strained flower honey from Caucasian bees, creaming over about two months at room temperature. Designation of origin No. 213, 01.06.2017; the boundary is the whole province, Çıldır and Hanak included.

Road notes

Ani opens every day from 08:00 to 19:00 and the ticket office closes at 18:30; Turkish citizens enter with the MüzeKart. The site covers 250.7 hectares and everything beyond the car park is on foot — go early for the cathedral, the Menûçihr Camii and the walls, and allow at least half a day.
The line is 214 km and 2.9 hours if you drive it without stopping; it is one-way, and you do not come back to Ani. Split the day in three: 43 km from Ani to Kars, 99 km from Kars to Çıldır, 72 km from Çıldır to Ardahan.
Fill the tank in Kars. There is no other district centre on the road for the 52 km between the Arpaçay junction and Çıldır; the district of Çıldır is down to 9,833 people, and fuel and service are thin on the plateau section.
The route climbs from 1,750 m at Kars to 1,975 m at Çıldır and finishes at 1,829 m in Ardahan. In Çıldır the warmest month averages +25 °C and the coldest -30 °C; even in summer the evening chill is sharp, so take a windproof jacket.
Between November and April drive this line in daylight and fit winter tyres. Kars has more than 120 days of snow cover on average, the Taşlıyarma pass stands at 2,017 m, and along Çıldır Gölü the road comes within 25 metres of the water in places. The second high point comes after Çıldır: the pass by Meryem village also stands at 2,016 m, so you cross 2,000 m twice before dropping to Ardahan.
You turn off for Şeytan Kalesi north of Çıldır; the fortress is 1.3 km north of Yıldırımtepe village. A vehicle only reaches the viewpoint and the last stretch is a footpath — the rock falls away on three sides, so keep back from the edge.
If you are going to the lake in winter, book your table ahead — a place at the fish restaurants on the shore is very hard to find unannounced. The ice sets in late November, passes a metre in thickness and does not lift until early April; a horse-sleigh ride lasts ten minutes.
Buy the cheese on the way. Boğatepe village is 40 km from central Kars, at 2,300 m and beside the D965. Its seven dairies process 3,500-4,000 tonnes of milk a year, and Zavot Eko Müze, the first cheese museum in Türkiye, has been here since 2005.

Along the way

Ani Ören Yeri (Ocaklı köyü)
A walled medieval Armenian capital left as a ghost city of churches, a mosque and caravanserais on a treeless plateau above a border gorge.
Ani Katedrali (Meryem Ana Kilisesi)
The cathedral of 989, roughly 30 m tall, built by Trdat, who repaired the dome of Hagia Sophia; its own dome fell in an earthquake.
Menûçihr Camii
An 11th-century Shaddadid mosque with an octagonal Karakhanid-style minaret, standing on the cliff edge above the border gorge; often called one of the earliest mosques built in Anatolia.
Kars Kalesi
The citadel that rules the skyline of Kars, first raised in 1153 for the Saltukid ruler Melik İzzeddin, flattened by Timur, rebuilt by the Ottomans and repaired after the 1877-78 war.
Çıldır Gölü (Doğruyol – Çıldır kıyısı)
A 123 km² freshwater lake at about 1,960 m that freezes solid from late November, thick enough for horse-drawn sleighs and ice fishing until April.
Şeytan Kalesi (Yıldırımtepe)
A medieval fortress on a rock spur with cliffs on three sides, 161 by 93 m at 1,910 m, with a 14th-century church inside.

When to go

Summer / Early autumn

Warnings

The line runs along the border from end to end: Ani stands on the edge of the Arpaçay gorge with Armenia on the far side, and the eastern boundary of Arpaçay district is the same line. Carry your ID and do not go past marked military-zone or border signs. We found no record of a seasonal closure on this line; winter still makes it unrecognisable — Çıldır Gölü freezes in late November and the ice stays until early April, and Kars drops to -39 °C at times. Between November and April you need winter tyres or chains, daylight driving and a check on road conditions before you set off.

Itinerary

Distances between stops were measured along the route's line and scaled to the total; that is why the last stop reads the route's own kilometres.

01 Ani Ören Yeri girişi
02 Subatan
03 Kars doğu girişi
04 D965 – D060 ayrımı
05 D060 – D010 ayrımı
06 Arpaçay kavşağı
07 Taşlıyarma Geçidi
08 Doğruyol – Çıldır Gölü doğu kıyısı
09 Çıldır Gölü kuzey kıyısı seyri
10 Çıldır
11 Meryem köyü önü
12 Çamlıçatak kavşağı
13 Ardahan

START ▶ Ani Ören Yeri girişi · FINISH ■ Ardahan

Ani Ören Yeri girişi (Ocaklı, Kars)0 km
Subatan (36-07 üzerinde)+16 km16 km
Kars doğu girişi (36-07 – D965 kavşağı)+26 km43 km
D965 – D060 ayrımı (Kars kuzeyi)+15 km58 km
D060 – D010 ayrımı (Akçakale sapağı)+20 km78 km
Arpaçay kavşağı (D010 – 36-10)+12 km90 km
Taşlıyarma Geçidi (2.017 m)+24 km114 km
Doğruyol – Çıldır Gölü doğu kıyısı+4 km118 km
Çıldır Gölü kuzey kıyısı seyri+16 km134 km
Çıldır (D010 – 75-01 kavşağı, Şeytan Kalesi sapağı)+8 km142 km
Meryem köyü önü (D010)+23 km165 km
Çamlıçatak kavşağı (D010 – D965 birleşimi)+35 km200 km
Ardahan+14 km214 km

Directions in Google Maps

Sources

50 SOURCES

This record is the counterpart of the route card on İz's Explore screen. The whole shelf, and how it was compiled, is on the route shelf. İz is live on Google Play and on the App Store.