How to visit the Sumela Monastery in winter

Eastern Turkey 2023-2024 part 7

High in the mountains of Northeast Turkey is the Sumela Monastery, one of the most famous monasteries in Turkey. It is carved into a steep cliff, which is impressive considering how old it is. It dates back to the 13th and 14th centuries. Not surprisingly it gets crowded in summer, though there isn’t much information on visiting Sumela Monastery in winter. Nicole and I travelled to Sumela Monastery in January 2024. Here’s how we got there, and what it was like.

Trabzon

To reach Sumela Monastery you need to travel via Trabzon, a city on the Black Sea where over 800,000 people live. Trabzon is a nice destination with historical heritage, as it used to be an important stop on the Silk Route. A major landmark is the Hagia Sophia of Trabzon. Though don’t expect it to be as impressive as its namesake in Istanbul. My favourite historic spot in Trabzon is the 14th century Kızlar Monastery. It’s located on a hill with great views of the city, sea and mountains. More outdated stories on Trabzon mention the monastery is in ruins, but it recently got renovated to a very high standard and opened to the public. Another sight is the oldest church of the city, the 9th century St. Anna Church. Apart from interesting, Trabzon is pleasant during winter due to its subtropical climate, making it a good place to base yourself when visiting Sumela Monastery.

Getting to Sumela Monastery

In winter there is no direct bus covering the 45 kilometres from Trabzon to Sumela Monastery . Instead we took a bus from Trabzon to Maçka first (for details read ‘’practical advice on travelling here’’ below). From here there is a minibus to the monastery, though I personally recommend taking a taxi in winter. The minibus from Maçka towards the monastery doesn’t go often this time of year, and only takes visitors to the park entrance instead of the monastery itself. Therefore we went from Maçka to the monastery by taxi, and from there started to walk back to the bus stop at the park entrance. The regular walking trail was closed when we visited, meaning we had to walk three kilometres on an icy steep tarmac road used by cars and taxis. A friendly tourist from Ankara saw us struggling and gave us a ride back. So when visiting in winter, take a taxi from Maçka if you want to avoid six kilometres of walking on a main road and a lot of waiting time in the cold.

What the Sumela Monastery is like in winter

Surrounded by forest and mountains, and carved into a steep cliff over 300 metres above the valley, Sumela Monastery is beautiful from the outside. In January the monastery is still open. The inside area accessible to visitors is very small. In the centre of the monastery is an open courtyard. From here visitors can access a cave church with well-preserved frescoes on the ceiling. Other frescoes in the complex are heavily damaged, many visitors unfortunately scratched their names in them and they have been otherwise defaced over time. There are some empty quarters too, but apart from the cave frescoes there is not much to see inside.

*Frescoes in cave church, Sumela Monastery*

The upside of visiting in winter is that it isn’t very crowded, though there were still other visitors. The downside is that a big part of the area outside of the complex is closed off. The viewpoints around the monastery and the trails into the valley where all barricaded, most probably due to winter and safety concerns. Therefore one hour is enough to see everything, while it is quite some hassle to get to here this time of year. In case you’re on a short trip to Eastern Turkey in winter, I think there are better destinations in the region. During this season there is more to see in Mardin or Ani for example, and these destinations are more accessible too. We were on a bigger trip in the region though, and I’m still glad we added Sumela Monastery to it as well. For more on travelling in Eastern Turkey in winter, read ‘’How to travel around Eastern Turkey in winter’’.

Practical advice on travelling here

Getting to Trabzon

Trabzon is easily accessible by plane and intercity bus. We booked our direct bus from Kars to Trabzon on www.obilet.com. There are multiple flights a day between Trabzon and Istanbul.

Getting from Trabzon to Maçka and back

Minivans to Maçka leave near Maydan Park in central Trabzon. We asked around Maydan Park for directions, and found a minibus to Maçka from a small bus station marked as ‘’Uzungöl bus station’’ on Google Maps and ‘’Bus to Uzungöl’’ on maps.me. There is a bus schedule, but buses leave earlier when full. Both in Trabzon and on the way back from Maçka we didn’t have to wait long. The price was 30 lira per person one way. The journey took about 45 minutes.

Getting from Maçka to Sumela Monastery and back

When we arrived in Maçka at 9.40, we heard the first minibus to Sumela Monastery would leave at 12.00. As mentioned above, this minibus takes people to the park entrance and not the monastery itself. We took a taxi up there, which used a meter. Taking a taxi is expensive though (we paid 420 lira one way), especially when you want the driver to wait as well. It might be better to negotiate a fixed price. Options for getting back from the monastery are limited in winter.