Trabzon Sümela Monastery and Hamsiköy Daily Tour
Description
Join a group tour starting from Trabzon at 09:30 and discover the region’s most iconic landmarks in one day. Travel through the lush landscapes of Altındere National Park before reaching the breathtaking Sümela Monastery, perched dramatically on cliffs at 1200 meters. Enjoy a short shuttle ride followed by a scenic 10-minute walk to explore this historic and spiritual site. Continue your journey to the Zigana Mountain Summit at 2000 meters, where you can admire panoramic views and enjoy a relaxing lunch break in nature. Pass along the historic Silk Road route and visit the charming village of Hamsiköy, famous for its traditional rice pudding. Experience the impressive Zigana Tunnel as you head towards Gümüşhane. Visit the glass terrace in Torul for stunning valley views from above. End your day with a local shopping stop for regional delicacies before returning to Trabzon around 18:00.
Tour Options
Itinerary
It is believed that the church was built between 365-395 AD. The rules of Cappadocia churches, which are frequently encountered in Anatolia, were made; in fact, there is a similar cave church in the Maşatlık area of Trabzon. Little can be said about the thousand-year period between the first foundation of the church and its conversion into a monastery. According to a legend told among the Black Sea Greeks, two monks named Barnabas and Sophronios of Athens had the same dream; in their dreams, they saw the place of Sumela where the icon was located, out of the three Panagia icons made by Saint Luke in the children of Jesus. Thereupon, unaware of the events, they came to Trabzon by sea, met there, told each other about their dreams and thought that the first church could be built. However, the fact that it is widely present in the frescoes in the monastery makes it thought that Emperor Alexios III of Trebizond, who is given special importance, is the real founder of the monastery.
Zigana Pass is a pass in the North Anatolian Mountains, within the borders of Gümüşhane province. Its altitude is 2032 meters. The pass is located at the transition point between the Eastern Black Sea geographical structure and the Central Anatolian plateaus. The Harşit Valley is located on the Central Anatolian side. On the Central Anatolian side of the pass, villages are less common than on the Black Sea side, collective settlements are seen and the density of forests decreases. The pass is located among dense forests.
Hamsiköy is an old accommodation place located 19 km away from Maçka District on the northern route of the Silk Road from China and India to Europe on the northern skirt of Zigana Mountain. Its name comes from the Arabic Hamse village (five villages). Hamsiköy has a unique natural beauty with its gushing waters flowing from its rivers throughout the valley, mountain slopes embraced by mist, forests with purple-flowered rhododendrons, historical mansions and fountains. In addition to its natural, cultural and historical values, it contributes to the economy of Trabzon and the country with its delicious milk originating from the flower flora of the region and the production of vacuum kashar, butter, string cheese and curd cheese. Hamsiköy Sütlacı: The specialty of Hamsiköy Sütlacı is that the delicious milk originating from the flower flora of the region is cooked in a long time like one hour with a special cooking technique using only rice, sugar and salt.
Visit the glass terrace in Torul for stunning valley views from above.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
If your hotel or location is not on the list please contact wiht us.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- The remaining 3 hours 45 minutes is for travel time.
Reviews(16)
A very enjoyable day The mini bus was comfortable, we were supplied with water throughout the day.Our guide Eran was excellent, he speaks excellent English and was very knowledgeable. The Sumela Monastery lived up to expectations, although very crowded. Lots of steps to walk up but we'll worth the effort. After we visited several locations including the charming town of Hamsikoy.We made a stop for lunch in a lovely restaurant in the mountains. I would recommend this tour to anyone visiting Trabzon
Overall, this was a very good and well-organized trip to the spectacular Sumela Monastery. The itinerary was well-planned, the transport was comfortable, the guide very knowledgeable & helpful, and the site itself is absolutely breathtaking and well worth the visit. However, there are two key areas where the experience could be improved: The Pick-up Process: There was a minor delay at the start of the day (due to one couple providing incorrect pickup location), which pushed back our schedule from the very beginning. Group Management: At the monastery, the same couple either ignored or misunderstood the guide's instructions regarding the meeting plan. This resulted in a significant delay for the entire tour group, who were left waiting for them. I highly recommend the tour, but I suggest that the operators enforce stricter and clearer time limits/plan or clearer consequences for passengers who do not respect the group's schedule/plan.
We had 2 day trips from Zagnos tours they are well established company..First Sumele manastir Hamsikoy and Cal Cave and Hidirnebi plateau both excellent day trips..Thank you to our guide Mais first trip and Mustafa the second trip highly recommended, good value for money.
I would have liked stories about the places, it was more like a taxi tour. Half of the monastery was inaccessible due to stone chips
Such a packed trip, covered so much, comfy transport, enough yime given to everywhere. Great tour guide, well worth the cost.
One of the best tours we had in Trabzon — a professional driver, a knowledgeable tour guide, and we explored several places in just one day
Very nice, unpublished places. Nice temperature, wonderful group and very friendly guide. Recommended.
The guide was nice and we enjoyed the ride. The organisation was horrible though (for example they overbooked). We came back 4 hours later and had very little information like: how much money should we bring extra, what kind of clothes are needed (the cave was very cold). You have to pay 20€ (no lira allowed) for monastery + 70 lira for shuttle + 100 lira for the cave. There were a lot of stairs to the monastery. The guide also doesn't really give a guided tour. You always get time and have to hurry to get back to meeting point. The guide was nice and spoke a lot of languages and we enjoyed the spots we visited.
you will have a shared bus. We paid extra 500 t| (12.5$) for taking us from our hotel. Be ready that you will need to have a cash, to pay 20 euro entrance fee, nobody told us that card is not available and we had to pay in USD and received money back in TL. Then you need to pay again extra money to get on a shuttle to Sumela Monestry 70 TL per person. Guide will not tell you anything about place itself just common information in a very poor English. Be ready that they will take you at the top of the mountains (btw it a very cold there, take some warmer clothes with you) just to have a very expansive lunch. There were many other places to stop for lunch but they take you to one of the most expensive. Then, they make you stop at another place to get more food. We keep stopping at random places where they want you to buy something. It is a waste of your time and everything is overpriced. You have to pay for each entrance of the stop every time and it would be nice to know the price in advance and which method of payment is accepted to be prepared. We don't recommend this company as they are unprofessional and unprepared and can't explain anything clearly. They even overbooked the bus that we are on and had to kick out 3 people of the bus he "tour guide" counted bus like 5 times a couldn't figure out who was who. At the last stop, it was a waste of time and unnecessary stop. Also, at the end, they passed our hotel and we have been driving around with other passengers because of unexperienced and reckless tour guide. It was extremely disorganized tour and waste of time and money. Do yourself a favor and pick another company.
We packed a LOT into one day without feeling rushed. We left on time and returned on time. In between, both the transport and the guide (Hakan) were excellent. I’d highly recommend the Zagnos tour. Sümela Monastery was amazing, but other stops like the restaurant and the cave were also special. Thumbs up!
