Mount Ararat Climb emergency & health guide: altitude, 112, rescue and hospitals

Emergency numbers

Phone signal on the mountain is unreliable, and your guide carries a radio, so stay with your group. In 2026 two survival shelters were set up at Camp 2 (4,200 m) and at 4,650 m, with first aid supplies, radios and an emergency button linked directly to 112: use them if bad weather or altitude sickness stops you, and wait there for the rescue team. Save the hospital and your agency numbers in your phone, tell someone at home your dates, and check the forecast with your guide before summit night.

Rules to know

• Permit: Ağrı Dağı is a military security zone and a national park, so every foreign climber needs a permit, issued by the Doğubayazıt District Governorship. In 2026 you must apply at least 30 days before the climb, through a licensed agency, with a copy of your passport; permits are confirmed at the latest 10 days before the climb.
• Fee: USD 50 per foreign climber in 2026, paid in Turkish lira to the District Governorship account, usually by your agency as part of the tour price.
• Guide: every group must climb with a local guide (alan kılavuzu) and an official escort (mihmandar), even if it brings its own guide. The directive allows at most 12 climbers per local guide above 3,500 m and 8 above 4,000 m.
• Agency: choose an agency licensed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and check its TÜRSAB number. For 2026 the Ağrı Governorship updated the climbing directive with stricter registration and entry–exit checks and with quotas for climbers and camps.
• Route: foreigners climb the main summit only by the southern route from Doğubayazıt (Topçatan – Eli) or from Iğdır (Korhan plateau – Küp Gölü), and must not leave the route set by the authorities.
• Equipment: besides climbing gear you may carry cameras, licensed radios, binoculars up to 6x30, and an altimeter, compass and GPS. Other electronic and optical devices, including drones, are not allowed. Professional filming and research need separate permits.
• National park: no fires, no loud music, do not pick plants or disturb wildlife, and carry all your rubbish down.
• Altitude: Camp 2 is at 4,200 m and the summit at 5,137 m. Climb slowly, take the acclimatisation day, drink often and tell your guide about headache, nausea or breathlessness. If symptoms get worse, go down at once.
• Weather and gear: the summit is below freezing at night even in August, and storms can bring snow, hail and strong wind. Crampons, and sometimes a rope, are needed on the ice near the summit. The season runs from mid-June to mid-September.

Nearest hospital for each stage

Hospitals

Pharmacies, cash and supplies

• Pharmacies:
• ATMs:
• Shops:
• Bus stops:

Doğubayazıt has about 20 pharmacies in the centre and a duty-pharmacy rota (nöbetçi eczane): the pharmacy open at night and on Sundays is posted on every pharmacy door. There is nothing to buy above Eli, so bring blister plasters, painkillers, sun cream and your own medicines. Ask your doctor before the trip about medicine for altitude sickness. The camps have little or no electricity: carry a power bank.

Pharmacies, ATMs, shops and stops: © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hospitals and health centres checked online.