In my previous post, I have told you about Nayino Hotel, which is the best hotel that you could stay in Trabzon. After spending two nights in Nayino, we hit the road on our third morning in the Black Sea Region towards Rize, a city famous for its tea and green highlands. We followed the coast and we arrived to Rize city center in about an hour. Our hotel was in Çamlıhemşin near Fırtına River. Fırtına means storm in Turkish so it’s no surprise that Fırtına River is very popular for rafting.
We stayed in Puli Mini Otel in Çamlıhemşin. Puli Mini is a very cute small hotel, with a terrace overlooking Fırtına River. The decoration of the rooms were very pretty and cool but unfortunately they were very small, especially the bathrooms. If you’re traveling alone, it’s fine but not I must say it’s not the prefect place for couples. Besides that, the breakfast was very good. If you let them know beforehand, they also serve dinner. We had diner one night and it was the best food we had in Rize.
Bear in mind that even though the highlands are not very far in distance, because of the bends and the bad conditions of the roads, it takes a long time to go up and down the highlands. Depending on the season and the time of the sunset, it can be hard to see to highlands in one day if you really want to take your time and enjoy them. We didn’t want to rush so we made a choice and went to Pokut. It took us about fifty minutes to get to the top.
I had seen so many photos from Pokut but it was even better to see it in person. Platoda Mola is the best place to have breakfast in Pokut. I had the best laz böreği (traditional Black Sea börek) there. If you wish to spend a night there, you must book in advance as it’s the only hotel there. I know that during summer, Pokut and the other highlands get very very crowded and I’m not sure that we would have enjoyed it as much as we did if it was packed. So the beginning of October or May could be the best times to go there.
On the way to Pokut, on the Çat road, you will notice a gift shop and a coffee shop side by side. The gift shop is called Peri Dükkan and it has so many beautiful scarfs, bags and all kind of designs reflecting the local culture. I personally bought lots of stuff from there for myself and my sister. The coffee shop is Zua Coffee. It’s a very cosy spot to relax before heading to highlands. Good coffee and desserts too.
The nature in Çamlıhemşin is as impressive as the nature in Trabzon. Among the other waterfalls that you can visit in the area, the Cloud Waterfall (Bulut Şelalesi), which is in the Tar National Park (Tar Deresi Milli Parkı), is the highest waterfall in Turkey. I think you’ll enjoy the walk in the park as much as we did.
Apparently, three days were not enough for Rize and Trabzon and we had to come back with so many places to see left in our list.