48 hours

First Day

It is necessary to drive to Tunceli, as the nearest airport is in Elazığ. From İstanbul, it is a 90-minute flight, and it is an hour’s flight from Ankara. Upon arrival at Elazığ, you can hop on a minibus (every 30 minutes during the day) to Keban Dam Lake. After the 20-minute ferry trip, which features views of historic Pertek Castle, you will arrive to the Pertek district. The trip between Elazığ and Tunceli is approximately 75 km and takes about 90 minutes. When you arrive at your hotel or lodging in the city centre, you can first visit Gole Çeto, at the intersection of Munzur and Pülümür. After that, head to the Cem House, just above, and consider the fundamentals of beliefs, rituals and conduct in the region. Also, take photos of the landscape and the intersection of two bodies of water. After visiting the Cem House, you may stop at Örenönü Natural Park, 3 km from the city centre, on the way to Pülümür Road. Take a rest and enjoy a snack or a drink surrounded by natural beauty. You can head back to the city centre for another tea break, and then visit the Tunceli Museum – a definite must-see. It usually takes a couple of hours to go through the museum, a former barracks that now features exhibits on archaeology, ethnology, and the beliefs and recent history of the area. Leaving the museum, you can stop by the shops in the city centre, on Dar Alley, and purchase regional products such as honey, cheese, kurut, dried fruit or kurtik seeds for yourself or a loved one. Get a good sleep to prepare yourself for Day 2.

Second Day

Get an early start: after breakfast, an adventure-filled day awaits you. After a short visit to the Ana Fatma Shrine by the Munzur River, at the 7-km marker of Ovacık Highway, you can head over to Munzur Valley National Park. You will probably want to take periodic breaks to enjoy the scenery: sometimes you will see fast-flowing waters, sometimes waterfalls and sometimes wildflowers – each more beautiful than the next. If you’re lucky, you may catch a glimpse of mountain goats, squirrels or foxes. After a 90-minute trip through natural beauties, you arrive at Ovacık District, 65 km from the city. Depending on the season, you can go to the ski resort at the district centre via a ski lift and tele ski or, in the summer, you can enjoy the mountain sledge. If you get hungry, the restaurants in the district centre serve excellent dishes prepared with the meat of organically fed animals. After, you can visit the springs, sourced by the Munzur and 15 km from the district. These springs are considered holy places, so you can light a candle and make a wish after learning about the legend of Munzur Baba. Explore the legend further, remembering that, according to the legend, Munzur baba puts the milk in a pot but the milk is poured out with each swing of the pot. And water coming onto the surface due to pressure is similar to the milk coming out with pressure.