When is the best time to hike the Kaçkar Mountains Traverse?

Best time to hike the Kaçkar Mountains Traverse

Best: July–August. Also good: September.

Jan

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Apr

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Jun

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Dec

BestAlso goodPossibleNot recommended

The Kaçkar Mountains Traverse is 34 km long, in 3 stages. Below is the average weather for every month at about 2,358 m, the middle height of the trail (1,228–3,219 m), from 10 years of daily data (2015–2024).

Weather month by month

Month	High °C	Low °C	Rain mm	Rain days	Daylight h	Snow cm
January	−6°	−15°	144	15	9.5	144
February	−5°	−14°	92	12	10.6	92
March	−1°	−9°	101	15	11.8	98
April	7°	−4°	65	11	13.3	45
May	11°	0°	86	14	14.4	22
June	15°	5°	86	14	15.1	0
July	17°	7°	87	13	14.8	0
August	18°	8°	79	12	13.8	0
September	15°	5°	134	13	12.4	1
October	9°	0°	194	14	11.0	60
November	2°	−7°	143	12	9.8	128
December	−4°	−12°	131	13	9.3	131

Higher up it is colder: about 6 °C less for every 1,000 m of height. The highest point of the trail is 3,219 m.

Season notes from our guide

The season is June to September, and the safest months are July and August. In June and often into early July snow lies on the Naletleme pass and on the summit route, so you need an ice axe and possibly crampons. Yayla pensions and tea houses open roughly from June to September. The Black Sea side is famous for fog: clear mornings often turn grey by midday, so start early. Ayder is very busy at weekends and during the Bayram holidays, and full around the Kaçkar by UTMB trail race in mid-September (11 to 13 September in 2026).

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Best time for other trails

Weather: NASA POWER (MERRA-2 reanalysis), daily values 2015–2024 near 40.87, 41.16, adjusted to 2,358 m. Rain days: days with at least 1 mm. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th of the month.