Volcano·Turkey

Mount Erciyes

3,916m

Taurus mountains

Georges Jansoone JoJan · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation: 3,916m
Prominence: 2,419m
Relief: 1,691mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope: 54°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit: Nov–JunSee month by month ↓
First ascent: 1837
Summit: 38.5317°N, 35.4469°E

Volcano in Kayseri, Turkey

Mount Erciyes is a volcano in the Taurus mountains (Turkey). Its summit stands 3,916 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 2,419 m. It was first climbed in 1837.

From the lowest point within 5 km (2,225 m), it rises 1,691 m. The steepest side is the north-west face: 37° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 54° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Hacılar, 13 km away at 1,398 m: 2,518 m below the summit.

Mount Erciyes for skiers and climbers

Two scores out of 10, built only from open data — every part is shown. They describe what the mountain offers, not how safe it is.

Hiking & mountaineering

6.0/10

Difficulty to the top

Alpine climb

Most path sections around the top are T5 on the SAC hiking scale. Glaciers around the top.

Indicative only — never a safety assessment. Conditions change: ask local guides and check the forecast.

0.8/2.50 waymarked routes and 19 path sections nearby
0.0/1.50 huts and shelters
2.0/22,518 m of ascent from the valley
1.5/1.52,419 m of prominence
1.5/1.57 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
0.3/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

7.2/10

2.7/449 km of downhill runs
0.6/1.516 ski lifts
0.8/1.5843 m between the lowest and highest lift station
3.0/35 months of snow at about 2,510 m

Runs by difficulty

Easy 18 km
Intermediate 17 km
Difficult 13 km

Snow season on the slopes (estimate)

Around 2,510 m, in the middle of the ski area: snow from December to April (some years from November to April).

Snow on the ground all month
Snow some of the time
No snow
This month

16 lifts · lift stations from 2,088 to 2,931 m · 0 km cross-country

How these scores are made

Ski (where OpenStreetMap has skiing within 12 km): up to 4 points for the length of downhill runs (300 km or more = 4), 1.5 for the number of lifts (40+), 1.5 for the vertical between lift stations (1,500 m) and 3 for the snow season — a month counts when the estimated mean temperature at the height of the ski area is −1 °C or lower and snow falls or lies there (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Hiking & mountaineering: up to 2.5 for waymarked routes and paths, 1.5 for huts, 2 for the ascent from the valley (2,000 m), 1.5 for prominence (3,000 m), 1.5 for the season (months with summit afternoons above −5 °C) and 1 for via ferratas, climbing and glaciers. OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: where few things are mapped, a score can be lower than reality.

Plan your visit

Stay, climb and get there

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Snow

When there is snow on Mount Erciyes

At the summit, snow from November to June (some years from October to June). Month by month below, at different heights on the way up.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Summit3,916 msnow from November to June (some years from October to June)	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	No snow	No snow	No snow	Snow some of the time	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Halfway up2,657 msnow from December to May (some years from November to May)	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	Snow some of the time	Snow on the ground all month
Hacılar1,398 msnow from January to February (some years from December to March)	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow some of the time	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	Snow some of the time

Snow on the ground all month
Snow some of the time
No snow
This month

Estimate for a normal year: average temperature and precipitation from NASA POWER, carried to each height, in a simple model of snow building up and melting. In a given year snow can come earlier or stay longer. It does not replace the local snow and avalanche bulletin.

Summit weather

Mount Erciyes, month by month

Not a forecast: long-term averages (1991–2020), carried up to the summit. The orange line is where an average afternoon reaches 0 °C; above the dashed blue line it freezes even at dawn.

On an average August afternoon the summit reaches about 14 °C; on January nights it falls to about -22 °C. In 6 months of the year it stays below freezing at the top even in the afternoon. In August the 0 °C line climbs to about 6,070 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, August is the driest month (6 mm) and May the wettest (47 mm).

0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit

Month	Summit high °C	Summit low °C	Hacılar high °C	0 °C line (m)	Rain & snow (mm)	Wet days	Sun h/day
January	-14	-22	3	1,790	45	9	4.7
February	-11	-21	5	2,180	38	8	6.5
March	-6	-18	10	2,920	46	9	6.3
April	-1	-14	15	3,730	40	10	7.9
May	4	-9	20	4,520	47	10	9.4
June	9	-6	26	5,330	28	7	11.8
July	14	-3	30	5,990	11	2	13.0
August	14	-3	30	6,070	6	1	12.3
September	9	-6	25	5,300	14	3	10.4
October	2	-11	18	4,240	26	6	7.7
November	-6	-17	11	3,050	32	6	6.0
December	-12	-20	5	2,130	40	10	4.2

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 1,577 m), adjusted to the summit by −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Rain, wet days and sunshine are those of the region. Mountain weather changes fast — always check a local forecast. ★ = mildest months at the top.

Relief

The mountain in profile

Two cuts through the summit, 16 km long, from the 30 m Copernicus elevation model. Heights drawn 2× taller than lengths, so the shape can be seen.

West – east

South – north

Steepness by direction

Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.

Around the mountain

Huts, lifts and trails around Mount Erciyes

Counted around the summit in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. The satellite plate shows 14 × 14 km.

Mount Erciyes seen from above (Sentinel-2)

N 5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

A lift reaches 2,931 m — just 985 m below the summit.

—mountain huts and shelters
13cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
13 - Kultepe tesisi, 5 - Yalcin tesisi, 4 - Karakulak tesisi, 3 - Hitit Tesisi and 9 more
2ski areas
Erciyes Kayak Merkezi, Kayseri-Erciyes
—waymarked hiking routes
—via ferratas
—climbing crags and routes
—named glaciers
1viewpoints
Erciyes Dağı
2campsites
10hotels, B&Bs and chalets
Magna, Radisson Blu Hotel, Mount Erciyes, Library Hotel Erciyes | Ski & Mountain Luxury Hotel, Peony Palace Hotel and 6 more
8restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

19 path sections within 5 km, by SAC hiking scale (T1 easy walk … T6 difficult alpine).

T3T4T5

T3 demanding mountain hiking
T4 alpine hiking
T5 demanding alpine hiking

Towns at the foot

Hacılar13 km · 1,398 m
Develi16 km · 1,260 m
Bahçebaşı17 km · 1,338 m
Talas20 km · 1,153 m
Kayseri22 km · 1,054 m
Melikgazi24 km · 1,045 m

Car hire at ASR airport (Kayseri)Discover Cars · Affiliate link

OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: a low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. Places © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Photos

Seen by climbers and visitors

A mountain under the stars (Unsplash) — Mehmet Kürşat Değer mkd · CC0

Ali dag - panoramio — brandmaster07 · CC BY 3.0

Recent years

How each month compared at the summit

Afternoon high at the summit (estimate). The first row is the reference, the 1991–2020 average in °C; the years show only the difference.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
1991–2020 average	-14	-11	-6	-1	4	9	14	14	9	2	-6	-12
2020	−0.5	−1.4	+0.7	−0.4	±0.0	−0.6	+1.7	−1.0	+4.1	+4.2	+0.1	+1.8
2021	+2.5	+1.6	−2.0	+0.8	+3.0	−1.2	+0.3	−0.9	−2.1	−0.2	+2.3	+0.4
2022	−2.3	±0.0	−6.9	+2.7	−0.6	+0.2	−0.7	+2.8	+1.5	+0.4	+1.5	+3.0
2023	+3.4	−1.8	+1.6	−0.6	−0.2	−1.8	−0.3	+3.2	+1.3	+1.3	+2.9	+4.8
2024	+2.8	+3.4	+0.6	+4.7	−0.8	+4.4	+0.7	+1.5	+0.8	+0.2	−0.5	+1.1
2025	+4.6	−3.8	+3.5	−0.6	+1.8	+1.0	+3.3	+2.4	+0.3	+0.1	+4.1	+0.6

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Nearby

More mountains nearby

3,268 mMount Hasan

Turkey121 km away

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominence	Wikidata (Q126804) · CC0
Relief, 3D view, profiles	Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Climate	NASA POWER, 1991–2020 · CC BY 4.0
Around the mountain	© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Images	EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

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