Fırtına Valley: Storm River, Stone Bridges and Zilkale

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

What is Fırtına Valley?

The Fırtına Valley is the deep, green valley of the Fırtına stream (Fırtına Deresi, “Storm Stream”) in the province of Rize. The river is formed by streams coming off the northern slopes of the Kaçkar Mountains and runs down past Çamlıhemşin to reach the Black Sea just west of Ardeşen.

The lower valley is lined with tea gardens and hazelnut groves; higher up, the slopes close in, covered in forest, with wooden houses and small villages clinging to them. What makes the valley unusual is the number of old stone bridges: more than 20 single-arched Ottoman bridges cross the Fırtına and its side streams. Above them stands the castle of Zilkale, and at the head of the valley lie Ayder and the Kaçkar Mountains.

How do you get to Fırtına Valley?

Follow the coastal highway east from Rize past Pazar to Ardeşen, then take the road south up the valley. The inventory gives 22 km from the coast road to Çamlıhemşin, the district town in the middle of the valley. From Çamlıhemşin one road continues to Ayder, and another follows the Fırtına further upstream towards Zilkale and the Çat valley.

Rize–Artvin Airport at Pazar is a short drive from the mouth of the valley, making it the most convenient airport; Trabzon Airport is the alternative. Minibuses run from Rize and Pazar to Çamlıhemşin, but a car makes it far easier to stop at the bridges and viewpoints.

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When is the best time to visit Fırtına Valley?

May and June are the best months for rafting and for waterfalls, when snowmelt fills the river. July to September are the driest and best for driving up to Zilkale and the plateaus, though fog often fills the valley by the afternoon. October is beautiful, with autumn colour on the slopes and fewer visitors. In winter the lower valley is accessible, but upper roads may close with snow. The inventory notes that the river is suitable for water sports all year round, but warns to take care after very heavy rain.

What is the history of Fırtına Valley?

The valley has long been a route from the coast to the high pastures, and its people, the Hemşin, have farmed the slopes and moved to the plateaus in summer for centuries. In the late Middle Ages the castle of Zilkale was built on a crag above the river to guard the valley; it may stand on the site of an earlier seat of a local principality from the first centuries AD.

The bridges are the valley’s great monument. Many date from the 18th and 19th centuries, some perhaps earlier, built by local masons under Ottoman authority. Because the valleys are steep and flash floods are frequent, they were given very high arches. The Şenyuva bridge, also called Cin Civa, carried an inscription dated 1696 or 1699 that was lost in a flood in 1946; the Mikron bridge dates from the mid-19th century and was repaired in 1998.

In 1992 the Ministry of Culture and Tourism selected the Fırtına, together with the Çoruh and the Barhal (Altıparmak), for its river tourism project, and the inventory notes that canoe and rafting clubs were founded in the region as a result.

What is Fırtına Valley famous for?

• Stone arch bridges. More than 20 Ottoman bridges, among them Şenyuva, Kaptanpaşa, Köprüköy, Buzlupınar and Mikron, plus the bridge at Çamlıhemşin.
• Whitewater. The inventory calls the Fırtına the most important river in Rize for river tourism, with a course passing through tea gardens beneath arched bridges.
• Zilkale. One of the most photographed castles in the Black Sea region, on a rock above the river.
• The gateway to the Kaçkar. The road to Ayder and the northern Kaçkar runs up the valley.

What can you do at Fırtına Valley?

Go rafting. The inventory describes a run of about 23 km starting about 1 km south of Çamlıhemşin and ending before the river reaches the sea. The riverbed is very stony, with sections of grade 3, 4 and 5 depending on the flow; it warns of large boulders around the 5th kilometre and of dangerous passages at the 7th, 8th and 9th, where the water should be studied carefully. Local operators run guided trips in season.

Walk to the bridges. The Şenyuva bridge, upstream of Çamlıhemşin on the road towards Zilkale, is the most famous and photographed; others lie along the main road and in the side valleys.

See the Duygulu waterfall. According to the inventory, at around the 12th kilometre of the rafting course the Duygulu waterfall drops down the western slope.

Visit Zilkale. About 12 km above Çamlıhemşin, the castle combines easily with a stay in Ayder, a short drive away on the neighbouring road. See our guide to Zilkale.

Drive on to the plateaus. Beyond Zilkale the road climbs towards Çat and the plateaus of Elevit and Palovit, where the inventory notes a high waterfall on the way from Elevit to Palovit.

Frequently asked questions about Fırtına Valley

What do the official records say about Fırtına Valley?

Of the rivers in Rize, the most important for river tourism is the Fırtına Stream. The Fırtına Stream was formed by the joining of the streams on the slopes of the Kaçkar Mountains that face the Black Sea. Flowing into the Black Sea about 2 km west of Ardeşen in Rize, the Fırtına is 57 km long. Passing through tea gardens and adorned with the arched bridges over it, the Fırtına has courses suitable for rafting.

Along the course, which lasts about 23 km, the riverbed is very stony, and depending on the flow of the water there are places of grade 3, 4 and 5 difficulty. Care must be taken after excessive rain. The Fırtına Stream is suitable for river sports all year round. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Rize Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)