Cilo-Sat Mountains: Glaciers and Reşko Peak in Hakkari

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

What are the Cilo-Sat Mountains?

The Cilo and Sat mountains form a high, glaciated massif in the south of Hakkari province. The Cilo range has more than 20 summits above 3,000 m, led by Reşko, also called Uludoruk or Durik, at 4,135 m. Only Ağrı Dağı (Mount Ararat) is higher in Türkiye. Sat Mountain, at 3,540 m, rises to the east in Yüksekova district, and between the two ranges lie the Cilo-Sat lakes, dozens of glacial lakes between about 2,500 and 3,300 m.

These are the most glaciated mountains in Türkiye. The provincial culture and tourism directorate names the Reşko, Suppadurek, Köşedireği, İzbırak and Çiçek Vadisi glaciers, and describes İzbırak as the country’s largest valley glacier. The official tourism portal GoTürkiye lists the area as the Cilo Sat Mountains National Park and Glaciers.

How do you get to the Cilo-Sat Mountains?

The massif is approached from two sides. From Hakkari city, valleys run south and east into the Cilo range. From Yüksekova, whose airport has flights from Istanbul and Ankara, routes lead to Sat Mountain and the Cilo-Sat lakes, and the Orşe route heads for the İzbırak glacier. Hakkari city is 78 km from Yüksekova and 210 km by road from Van.

The mountains lie close to the Iraqi border. UK government advice states that you must get permission from the local Governor’s Office to visit areas near the borders with Iraq and Iran, and climbing and trekking groups should arrange this in advance. Go with a licensed local guide or an organised expedition, and check current conditions with the Hakkari Governorship before you travel.

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When is the best time to visit the Cilo-Sat Mountains?

July to September. Before July, deep snow covers the high routes and the lakes may still be frozen; by October, weather on the summits becomes unreliable. For ski touring and ski paragliding, the directorate lists routes from Berçelan to the Cilo-Sat lakes in the snow season.

What is the history of the Cilo-Sat Mountains?

For centuries these mountains were used by local herders, who still drive flocks up to summer pastures, and by the communities of the valleys below. Until the First World War, Assyrian Christian villages of the Church of the East lay in the deep valleys of the region, and the churches recorded in the Zap Valley date from that tradition.

The rock art of the wider Hakkari region gives a much older picture of life in these mountains. The 2002 inventory describes thousands of images carved into the rocks on the Geveruk and Tırşin pastures in the west of the province, dating roughly from 6000 to 1000 BC, mostly stylised wild goats, bison and other game, hunting traps and emblems. It notes that despite their stylisation they give valuable information about the abundant game animals that lived in the region at the time.

Access to the high massif was restricted for long periods because of security conditions. Today the provincial culture and tourism directorate describes the Cilo glacial mountains as open for climbing and camping and promotes them for mountaineering, trekking and ski touring.

What are the Cilo-Sat Mountains famous for?

• Reşko. At 4,135 m, the highest summit of the Cilo range, with Suppa Durek (4,130 m), Büyük Hamza (4,116 m) and Küçük Hamza (3,980 m) close by.
• Glaciers. İzbırak, Reşko and the other named glaciers make this the most glaciated area in Türkiye.
• Glacial lakes. GoTürkiye describes tens of glacial lakes above 3,000 m; the directorate gives the range of the Cilo-Sat lakes as about 2,500 to 3,300 m.
• Wild flowers. The inventory notes that Hakkari is famous for its crown imperials (ters lale), asmin, narcissus, hyacinth and beybün.

What can you do at the Cilo-Sat Mountains?

Climb. Reşko and the other 4,000 m peaks are serious mountaineering objectives involving glacier travel. Go with experienced guides and proper equipment.

Trek to the lakes. The Cilo-Sat lakes in Yüksekova district are the most popular trekking destination. The Orşe route passes Orşe Waterfall, Terazın Lake, Mumın Lake and Kervan Lake to the İzbırak glacier and Serpel plateau; the directorate puts the glacier about 5 km from Serpel and Kervan Lake about 2.5 km further, and rates the route hard and suitable only for professionals.

Camp. The directorate describes the Cilo glacial mountains as open for climbing and camping. Bring all your own supplies; there are no services above the villages.

Ski tour and paraglide. In winter and spring, ski-touring routes run from Berçelan plateau towards the Cilo-Sat lakes, and the Cilo-Sat mountains are among the listed paragliding and ski-paragliding areas.

Frequently asked questions about the Cilo-Sat Mountains

What do the official records say about the Cilo-Sat Mountains?

In the “Geveruk” and “Tırşin” plateaus in the west of the Hakkari region, thousands of rock pictures engraved on the rocks have been found. Similar examples of these rich pictures, which have the character of an open-air museum and are spread over a very wide area, are found in the roughly 4,000 pictures drawn on rocks in Azerbaijan and the Gobustan region to the east, and in the hundreds of rock pictures in the Palestine region to the south.

The rock pictures on the Geveruk and Tırşin plateaus date back roughly to 6000–1000 BC. However, it is understood that many of them were also drawn in later periods. Most of the depictions here are stylised. Even so, they give important information, not to be underestimated, about the rich game animals living in the region at that time. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Hakkari Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)

Main photo: hamza atılgan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.