Overview
The Black Sea city with the best nature for exploration. We visited with a tour and spent so little time that it left us craving more. A much longer trip with highland stays is definitely needed.
What to See
- The city center buildings are typical of any Turkish city, lacking in aesthetics and planning. However, unlike other cities in the region, government buildings here have been given wooden exterior cladding. Some applications aren't great, but the effort alone is commendable.
- There are two large tea-glass-shaped buildings in the city center. At night, they light up with the Turkish flag, killing two birds with one stone. The first was apparently such a hit they built a second. No comment.
- The Camlihemsin area feels absolutely fantastic. Almost like visiting a tropical region. It rained all night, the ambiance was wonderful.
- Cat Valley (Çat Vadisi)'s environment has turned out beautifully. Bungalows and such have really boosted tourism there. They've preserved the nature as much as possible. In the coming years, Rize looks set to become an even more fantastic destination.
- We absolutely loved the Pokut and Sal highlands. The best parts of our trip. Definitely stay at least 1-2 nights. Perfect for clearing your head, pure tranquility.
- At the Sal highland, don't skip Pilunc Tea House. We had the best sucuk sandwich and muhlama of our lives there. The owners produce everything themselves.
- Try to head to the highlands early morning if possible. We hit incredible traffic on the return from the opposite direction. The roads are poor, so unless you have serious off-road experience, we'd recommend using tour vehicles for the round trip.
- Senyuva Bridge is beautiful and historic, a definite must-see. Built in 1690.
- Zilkale is a 3rd-century castle. Small inside but nicely restored. Literally in the middle of nowhere. You can't help but wonder who came all the way here to build a castle.
- Palovit Waterfall isn't anything special, both in Turkey and globally, there are far better waterfalls. The road is rough, and I don't think it's worth the trip. The narrow road is made worse by Arab tourists driving their own cars poorly.
- Ayder Highland had terrible reviews. Probably because of lowered expectations, we went in pessimistic. It's definitely very touristy and can't compare with highlands like Pokut and Sal, and it's been overrun by Arab tourists. But it's still not so bad that it's not worth visiting. You can stop by for a day trip. The wooden house architecture creates a nature-harmonious center. Just the prices have gone insane, as of August 2024, daily parking was 1,000 TL. Pure tourist milking.
Tips & Advice
History notes:
- Tea was planted here in the 1930s after the founding of the Republic, as a way to develop the region. This truly surprised me. If you asked most people what Turkey's national drink is, they'd say tea. We're more fanatical about tea than the British, Sri Lankans, or even the Japanese. Many people I know get headaches if they don't drink tea that day. That a beverage so deeply embedded in our lives has only a 90-year history in the country is quite astonishing.
- This region actually isn't very efficient for tea production. In China and Sri Lanka, you can harvest 8-9 times per year; here, 3 at most. This means producers effectively lose more compared to other regions.
- There used to be extensive kiwi orchards here. They were all ripped out and replaced with tea when tea was more profitable. Now that kiwi is more profitable, they're ripping out tea and planting kiwi. Truly peak Turkish planning.
- In the highland areas, locals generally speak Laz among themselves. It's a very original language with virtually no resemblance to Turkish.
- I really liked the highland people especially, very open-minded. Definitely not conservative. Some have a slightly rough manner, but that's just their style; you get used to it after chatting a bit.