Accommodation
Accommodation in the cities will take place in two of the best hotels in the area, in double or triple rooms with bathroom. Tents with substrates provided by the local partner will be used on the mountain. There is the possibility of staying in a single room and alone in the tent at an extra charge
Diet
Mountain diet is fully provided. It includes both cooked food, cooked on site, and dry food, hot drinks and drinking water.
Breakfast includes hot drink, juice, bread, butter, jam, honey, cheese, eggs, sausages, olives and fresh vegetables.
Lunch is mostly dry food, such as hot drinks, juice, biscuits, dried fruits, nuts, and fresh fruit.
Dinner includes soups, pasta, rice, bulgur, potatoes and fresh vegetables.
During each course, a snack with water, juice, chocolate, cookies or sandwiches is provided, which everyone carries in their backpack of the day.
Half board is provided in cities.
Geography - history
Ararat is located in eastern Turkey, just a few kilometers from the Iranian and Armenian borders. The ascents of Ararat officially began only in 1998, when the Turkish Mountaineering Federation issued a permit to climb to the summit, and in 2004 the area was declared a National Park and part of a protected habitat.
It is an important mountain in Armenian mythology, abode of the gods like Mount Olympus in Greek mythology. For the Armenians, it is a symbol of their national identity and adorns its coat of arms
Van (Greek: Eva) is the capital of the province of the same name in eastern Turkey. It is built on the shore of Lake Van, at an altitude of 1730 meters and has a population of about 370,000 inhabitants. It was the capital of the Urartu kingdom from the 9th century BC and was an important centre of Armenian culture until 1915. Today the majority of the inhabitants are of Kurdish origin.
Dogubayazit at an altitude of 1,625 m, is the capital of Dogubayazit province, the easternmost province of Turkey before the Iranian border. It has a population of about 115,000 and its population is mainly Kurds. The city's mayor comes from the Peoples' Democratic Party, a left-wing party that rallies mostly Kurds and defends both traditional Kurdish demands and the rights of Turkish women and other minorities.
Climate
The climate is continental, i.e. dry and warm while in winter cold with snowfall. Often the peak is covered in fog from the venting of hot gases of the volcano, while the valley on the outskirts has sunshine 300 days a year. At night the temperature at the top, even in summer drops well below zero, sometimes reaching -20ο C. At low altitudes, however, temperatures range from 17 – 34ο C.
July, August and September have the lowest rainfall heights, and especially in August the average rainfall is 2mm
Nature - Wildlife
On the slopes and around the mountain live wolves, white bear, deer, roe deer, red fox, weasels, wild cats, chamois, etc. It has a few forests of Beech, Oak, Fir and Pine, as well as a unique variety of odorless flowers
Switch plans
The escort of our office or the local driver has the option to modify the program if weather or other local conditions (strikes, civil unrest, etc.) require it, with the main criterion of the smooth development of the program and the safety of the participants. Any costs arising from such changes shall be covered by the participants.
Tip
Tipping is an optional gesture that is usually omitted even by happy travelers. However, the local staff of the climb relies heavily on a decent tip, as it is not a permanent job for them. So we suggest estimating an amount of around 20 € per person, which will be shared among all staff.
Insurance / insurance
Before travelling, please contact the Travel Medicine Office of EODY for instructions about our destination.
The cost of the trip includes Basic travel insurance, which covers various contingencies such as health contingencies (eg injury on a course at an altitude of up to 3,000 m, which requires transportation and hospitalization), missed flight and other cases, even coverage of total cancellation of the trip for an amount up to 5,000 € including cancellation due to covid-19
The coverage included is for ages up to 70 years old, while for ages 70 to 80 an additional amount is required, ask us for information.
In the following link you can see the benefits of the program and contact our insurance consultant to answer your questions about Travel Insurance coverage by Trekking Hellas
However, the included travel insurance does not cover evacuation at an altitude above 3,000 meters. And given that the trip takes place in an area with minimal infrastructure, an additional coverage of evacuation and rescue insurance is proposed.
Trekking Hellas cooperates with Global Rescue which covers incidents at altitudes up to 7,500 m with evacuation services. Follow the link below to buy Global Rescue & Trekking Hellas rescue insurance
