Hello,

I’m a mountaineer who’s planning to go to the Cilo Sat mountain range (close to Hakkari in south-eastern Turkey) in late July/early August with friends. We’d like to trek in these remote and alpine mountains and if possible climb the highest summits (for instance Ulu Doruk at 4136 m…).

Would someone know anything about these mountains, their access permits and their climbing routes ? There seems to be no available data on the Web...

Thank you for your answer !


Thomas GURVIEZ

Try Graham at Cilogear:

cilogear@gmail.com

Keep your eye on the news. A new round of rioting just broke out in Hakkari and elsewhere in the southeast:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=turkey8217s-streets-rise-against-election-ban-for-independents-2011-04-19

Since Thomas has not updated this post, I'll put in some details.

Whenever you're thinking of going to a foreign country to climb, you should check out the legal implications and access of what you want to do. I find all too often that folks are lazy about this basic step and then get surprised and pissed off about how things work out for them. If you don't speak the local language, try contacting your own government officials in your embassy or consulate in the country that you're planning to go climbing in.

The Cilo-Sat mountain range is in an interdicted military control zone. Permits are given out by the provincial governor in Hakkari on a case by case basis. They give permits only to Turkish citizens.

Thomas did go to the Cilo area and do some climbing. He then tried to go to the Sat area and climb some more where he was detained by the army or police and sent back to Van. Luckily, he was not put in jail...read his trip report here: http://deprovenceetdailleurs.over-blog.com/article-cilo-daglari-81641134.html

I've got to say that I think Thomas got lucky with the military. Don't let me talk you out of going there, but I recommend having a good idea of where you're going and what is going on there...