Trabzon Travel Guide
Everything you need to plan a trip to Trabzon — Turkey’s Black Sea gateway to cliffside monasteries, alpine lakes and green highland plateaus, and a world away from the country’s Aegean and Mediterranean coasts.
Trabzon sits on Turkey’s eastern Black Sea coast, a historic port city that was once the capital of the Byzantine Empire of Trebizond and a key stop on Silk Road trade routes. The city itself has a workaday, unpretentious feel — a busy harbour, a hillside old town around the Byzantine-era citadel walls, and the 13th-century Hagia Sophia of Trabzon (Ayasofya), a smaller, separate church-museum from its famous Istanbul namesake, decorated with well-preserved frescoes. But Trabzon’s real draw lies in the mountains behind it, in the damp, green, cloud-wrapped landscape that makes this coast so different from the rest of Turkey.
Above the city, the Pontic Mountains rise steeply into a world of tea plantations, hazelnut groves, wooden highland houses and mist. The single most famous sight is Sumela Monastery, an Eastern Orthodox monastery built directly into a sheer cliff face in the Altındere valley, founded well over a thousand years ago and reachable as a day trip from the city. Further into the highlands, Uzungöl is a glacial lake ringed by forest and traditional houses, and the yaylas (high summer pastures) around Trabzon — reached by winding mountain roads — are where much of the region’s life, food and hospitality still plays out.
This guide covers the essentials: the top things to do in and around Trabzon, when to visit given the region’s notably wet climate, how to get there, and where to base yourself for the city and the highlands.
Top things to do in Trabzon
Sumela Monastery is the unmissable sight: a cliffside complex of chapels, chambers and a rock-cut church covered in frescoes, set into a dramatic forested gorge in the Altındere Valley National Park, roughly an hour from the city. In Trabzon itself, visit the Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya) church-museum for its frescoes and sea views, and walk the old town around the Byzantine citadel and the Boztepe hill for a panorama over the city and coast. Beyond the monastery, head into the highlands for Uzungöl, a lake framed by pine forest that is popular with domestic tourists for its cool air and trout restaurants, and, if time allows, one of the higher yaylas such as Ayder in the neighbouring Rize province for a genuine taste of Black Sea plateau life.
When to visit Trabzon
The Black Sea climate is notably wetter than the rest of Turkey, with rain possible in any month, so Trabzon is a genuinely different weather proposition to the Aegean or Mediterranean coasts. Late spring to early autumn (May–September) is the most reliable window, with the highlands at their greenest and most accessible; June to August also brings the best chance of clear mountain roads and open yayla season. Winter brings snow to the higher plateaus and can close some highland roads, while the coast itself stays milder but grey and rainy.
How to get to Trabzon
Trabzon Airport (TZX) sits right on the coast a few kilometres from the city centre, with year-round domestic connections mainly via Istanbul; a taxi or transfer into town takes about 15–20 minutes. From the airport or the city, Sumela Monastery is about an hour’s drive, and Uzungöl around 1.5–2 hours, both usually done as guided or private day trips given the winding mountain roads. Trabzon also has long-distance bus connections along the Black Sea coast, though flying is by far the most practical way in for most visitors.
Where to stay in Trabzon
Most visitors base themselves in Trabzon city, close to the harbour and old town, using it as a hub for day trips to Sumela and the highlands before flying home. Travellers who want more time in the mountains sometimes add a night in or near Uzungöl, where lakeside guesthouses put you closer to the trails and cooler air, or push further to a highland yayla for an overnight stay. A city base with day trips out suits most itineraries of two to four days; only add a highland overnight if you specifically want to slow down and experience the plateau at dusk and dawn.
Know before you go
Trabzon Airport (TZX) is about 15–20 minutes from the city centre by transfer.
Sumela Monastery, built into a cliff face in the Altındere Valley, is about an hour’s drive from the city.
Uzungöl, a forest-ringed glacial lake, is around 1.5–2 hours into the highlands.
The Black Sea climate is wetter than the rest of Turkey; rain is possible in any month.
May–September is the most reliable season, with the highlands at their greenest.
The Hagia Sophia of Trabzon is a separate, smaller 13th-century church-museum from its Istanbul namesake.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Trabzon worth visiting?
Yes, especially for travellers who want a different side of Turkey — a historic Black Sea port city paired with cliffside monasteries, alpine lakes and green highland plateaus. It suits those interested in Byzantine history, mountain scenery and a slower, less touristed pace than the Aegean or Mediterranean coasts.
What is Trabzon famous for?
Trabzon is best known for Sumela Monastery, an Eastern Orthodox monastery built into a sheer cliff face nearby, and for its Black Sea highlands, including Uzungöl lake and the region’s yaylas (summer pastures). The city itself was once the capital of the Byzantine Empire of Trebizond and has its own smaller Hagia Sophia church-museum.
How do you get to Trabzon?
Fly into Trabzon Airport (TZX), a few kilometres from the city centre, with year-round domestic connections mainly via Istanbul; a transfer to town takes about 15–20 minutes. Sumela Monastery is about an hour’s drive and Uzungöl around 1.5–2 hours from the city.
What is the best time to visit Trabzon?
May to September is the most reliable window, since the Black Sea coast is notably wetter than the rest of Turkey and rain is possible year-round. This period also has the highlands at their greenest, with mountain roads and yaylas most accessible.
How many days do you need in Trabzon?
Two to four days is enough to see the city, take a day trip to Sumela Monastery and spend a day in the highlands around Uzungöl. Add an extra night if you want to stay overnight in the mountains rather than doing everything as day trips from the city.
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