Erciyes Summit & Hacılar Freeride Adventure
Private Guided Off-piste & Cat Skiing at Türkiye's Premier Ski Resort
Broaden your winter horizons & experience private, multi-day off-piste freeride & catskiing exploration of exclusive terrain at Türkiye's premier ski resort, Erciyes. The peak of Erciyes is the largest volcanic mountain in Anatolia and rises impressively above the surrounding plains to a height of 3,917m, providing stellar ski terrain unlike anywhere in the world.
The Erciyes Summit & Hacılar Freeride Adventure tour focuses on the best off-piste experiences Erciyes has to offer: from high-altitude descents starting at 3,400 meters to the legendary powder-filled "Lifos" and "Bey Yurdu" routes at Hacılar Gate, and even exclusive snowcat access to hidden zones like "Oğlak Kıran". Whilst in the region, spend a full day exploring amazing Cappadocia for a truly memorable winter holiday.
Highlights
- Be guided by a local to ski/board cold, dry powder snow where the only tracks will be yours.
- Private cat skiing for your group in an exclusive sector adjacent to Erciyes ski resort.
- Ski/ride for up to 11km to a local village before being transported back to your hotel.
- Exceptional Turkish hospitality & service.
- Feast on incredible Turkish cuisine.
- Savour the wonderful views across a fascinating landscape.
- Spend a full day sightseeing in one of Türkiye's most beautiful & unique regions - Cappadocia.
- Carefree ski holiday - everything is organised for you from the moment you exit the airport at Kayseri.
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Program
This multi-day tour can be for 8 days/7nights or fully customised to be shorter or longer. Days skiing on the groomed runs and lifts of the resort, more guided freeride days, more cat ski days, plus day or overnight trips to the nearby and extraordinary region of Cappadocia (only 1½ to 2hr drive away) can be added for a fully customised experience.
See the standard 8-day/7-night program via the Itinerary tab.
Accommodation & Meals
The accommodation on the tour can include the Erciyes Hill Hotel located near the Tekir Gate at Erciyes ski resort. The hotel has comfortable, mid-range lodgings, and as with all Turkish hotels, superb food offerings. For a small additional fee, guests can request an upgrade to other nearby hotels, including the Library Hotel or exceptional 5-star hotels like DAS 3917 located near the Develi Gate.
Half board (breakfast & dinner) is included in the tariff and is an absolute highlight of any visit to Türkiye. Each meal you’ll discover perfect Turkish cuisine, with a range of delicious dishes that are sure to delight your taste buds. Lunches are not included (except on the day tour in Cappadocia), but your ski guide will show you the best restaurants.
Catskiing & Terrain
On a 7-night tour, 2 days of the tour will involve cat skiing in an exclusive zone outside the ski resort boundaries at Erciyes. Your transport is a Prinoth Husky snowcat with a cabin and seating for 10 people. Two local, experienced guides will accompany the group each day and all avalanche safety equipment is included in the tariff. A total of 6-days of guided freeride skiing in the resort are available, but you can also include a free ski day to do as you please!
The terrain is all alpine, above the tree line. Beyond the upper area that the snowcat can reach, several hundred metres of additional vertical can be attained by skinning or boot pack up to as high as 3,700m (depending on snow/weather conditions and the fitness of the group). Runs as long as 4km can be achieved within the cat ski zone, and it is feasible to link into the ski resort trails at the end of the day for even longer descents. If conditions allow, after a short climb to 3,400m, an extended run of 11km in length, over 1,850m skiable vertical, into the village of Hacilar (at 1,350m altitude) is a tour highlight. Ground transport back to your hotel is included in the tour tariff.
Group Size, Ski Ability & Gear
The price is based on a minimum private group size of 3 to 4 guests. Smaller groups can be catered for, with the price per person adjusted accordingly upwards. The maximum group size is 10.
The nature of the skiing required on this tour make it suitable for groups with intermediate ski ability or better. Ideally all skiers & snowboarders will be of a similar ability & have experience in riding mixed off-piste snow conditions. As with any private tour, novices can be catered for, however it may impact on the itinerary. If in doubt, ask!
It is best for all participants to bring their own ski & splitboard gear. The tour workls better for those with full ski/board touring equipment. It is not possible to rent this sort of equipment at the resort.
How to Get There
Erciyes ski resort is the largest in Türkiye and is easy to get to from the nearby city of Kayseri. Regular flights to Kayseri Erkilet Airport (ASR) are from the new Istanbul (IST) airport. Flights to Istanbul can be made from anywhere in the world.
Once in Kayseri, you will be greeted at the airport arrivals hall and driven 30 minutes to your hotel at Erciyes. The road between Erciyes is an all-weather, dual carriageway highway allowing for a safe, comfortable journey to the mountain.
Make a Booking Request ->