Lake Çıldır: Sleighs on the Frozen Lake

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1. What is Lake Çıldır?
2. How do you get to Lake Çıldır?
3. When is the best time to visit Lake Çıldır?
4. What is the history of Lake Çıldır?
5. What is Lake Çıldır famous for?
6. What can you do at Lake Çıldır?
7. Frequently asked questions about Lake Çıldır
8. What do the official records say about Lake Çıldır?

What is Lake Çıldır?

Lake Çıldır (Çıldır Gölü) is a large, high lake on the plateau between Ardahan and Kars. It lies at 1,959 m, covers about 120 km² and is up to 42 m deep. Lava flows from the surrounding mountains blocked its northern end and created a natural dam, so it is a lake of volcanic origin.

For most of the year it is a wide blue lake ringed by bare hills and farming villages. In winter it freezes solid, and that is when most visitors come: horse-drawn sleighs gallop across the ice and fishermen cut holes to set nets underneath, scenes that have made Çıldır one of the best-known winter images of eastern Türkiye.

How do you get to Lake Çıldır?

The lake is about 45 km from Ardahan town, according to the 2002 inventory; Çıldır town lies near its northern shore. From Kars the drive is roughly 60–90 minutes depending on which shore you head for; the southern shore lies in Kars’s Arpaçay district, and many day tours from Kars go there for the sleigh rides. Public transport is limited to minibuses to Çıldır and Arpaçay, so a car, taxi or tour is the practical choice. The nearest airport is Kars Harakani.

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When is the best time to visit Lake Çıldır?

Winter (late December to March): The inventory records that the lake freezes at the end of November and that the ice does not melt until early April. Sleigh rides and ice fishing run while the ice is thick and safe, usually from late December into March. Temperatures can fall to −25°C, so wear proper winter clothing.

Summer (June to September): The lake is open water, the shores are green and wild birds are easier to see. Summer is also the time to visit Akçakale island and nearby Şeytan Castle.

What is the history of Lake Çıldır?

People have lived on the shores of the lake since prehistory. Akçakale island, in the lake about 27 km southeast of Çıldır town, holds the remains of an island settlement, with finds reported back to the Neolithic, and is protected as a first-degree archaeological site. About 30 km south of Çıldır, at Taşköprü, a rock inscription attributed to the Urartian king Sarduri II (8th century BC) is thought to be the oldest inscription in the region.

The lake shores lay on the medieval routes between the Caucasus and Anatolia, guarded by castles such as Şeytan Castle on the Karaçay canyon. The area passed from Georgian to Ottoman rule in the 16th century, was part of the Russian Kars region from 1878 to 1918, and has been Turkish since the Treaty of Kars of 1921.

What is Lake Çıldır famous for?

• Horse-drawn sleighs on the ice, the lake’s best-known winter image.
• Ice fishing. Fishermen cut holes in the ice with picks and shovels, set their nets through them and collect them a day or two later.
• Fried fish. The catch, mostly carp, is coated in cornmeal and fried in the lakeside restaurants and village houses.
• Birds. Ducks, herons, wild geese and gulls use the lake, especially in spring and summer.

What can you do at Lake Çıldır?

Take a sleigh ride. In midwinter, drivers with horse-drawn sleighs wait on the shore and run visitors out across the ice. Agree the price and duration before you set off.

Watch the fishermen. Ice fishing is a working livelihood for many families in the lakeside villages. Mirror carp is the main species, with trout and several smaller fish.

Eat fish by the lake. Simple restaurants and village houses fry the day’s catch; in winter, look for goose as well.

Visit Şeytan Castle. The cliff-top castle above the Karaçay canyon is a few kilometres from Çıldır town and combines easily with the lake.

See Akçakale island. Near Akçakale village on the eastern shore; the ruins are protected, so view them with respect and check locally about access.

Watch birds in summer. Migratory and breeding water birds use the shallows; Aktaş Lake, further north on the Georgian border, is also known for pelicans and velvet scoter.

Come for a festival. The inventory lists a Çıldır Lake Festival in early July and a Goose Festival in Çıldır at the end of October; dates vary, so check locally.

Frequently asked questions about Lake Çıldır

What do the official records say about Lake Çıldır?

The lake, 45 km from the provincial centre, lies 1,956 m above sea level. Because winters are very cold, Lake Çıldır freezes at the end of November and its ice exceeds 1 m in depth. The ice on the lake does not melt until the beginning of April. On Lake Çıldır, where around 1 m of ice forms on the surface in winter, fish are caught by breaking through the ice.

Akçakale island, in Lake Çıldır, is a first-degree archaeological site as well as a place of natural beauty. The remains belong to an island city located just west of Akçakale village, about 27 km southeast of the Çıldır district centre. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Ardahan Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)