Things to Do in Tunceli: The Munzur Valley, Pertek and Pulumur

What Tunceli is actually like

Tunceli is one of Turkey's least populated provinces and far steeper than the map suggests. The city sits at 914 metres where the Munzur and Pulumur streams meet. The province took its current name in 1935; the older regional name is Dersim, still in everyday local use.

Most people come for the landscape. The Munzur mountains fill the northern half, and the Munzur river rises from springs west of the Ovacik plain before running through the city. The south is a different country: the Keban reservoir wraps around Pertek and Cemisgezek, and a lake shore stands where villages used to be.

The historic layer is scattered. Castles, tomb towers, mosques and ruined churches sit in separate villages. There are 13 numbered stops below, matching the pins on the map. Read distances as driving time, not kilometres.

Quick answer

Work the province along three lines: the Munzur valley and Ovacik northwest, the Pertek and Cemisgezek lake shore south, Mazgirt, Nazimiye and Pulumur east.

• Munzur Valley National Park was declared in 1971 and the valley starts about 8 km north of the city.
• Ovacik is 65 km from the city, and the Munzur springs lie roughly 15 km west of Ovacik.
• Pertek and Cemisgezek are reached from the Elazig side by car ferry.

Things to do in Tunceli

1. Munzur Valley National Park

Declared in 1971, the park covers roughly 42,000 hectares. The valley begins some eight kilometres north of the city and runs towards Ovacik, the river beside the road the whole way. Records list over 1,500 plant species, a number of which grow only in the Munzur mountains.

This is not a network of marked trails. The experience is the road: narrow gorges, gravel flats beside the water, oak and juniper on the slopes. Summer weekends fill with local visitors, midweek is close to empty. Fires, camping and fishing are restricted and the rules shift with the season, so carry your rubbish out. Dam schemes inside the valley have been a live local argument for years.

• Getting there: North towards Ovacik, asphalt all the way.
• Time: Half a day, a full day combined with Ovacik.
• Common mistake: Looking for a ticket booth. There is none.

2. Munzur springs

West of Ovacik, at Ziyaret village, the Munzur river comes out of the ground. Water surfaces from the base of a rock face at many points at once and is a full stream within a few metres. Volume changes with the season but the source does not dry up.

This is also a place of pilgrimage. For the local Alevi community the springs and the river are sacred, and you will see people praying, lighting candles and handing out food at the source. Do not treat that as a spectacle, and ask before photographing anyone. April and May bring the highest flow and the crowds with it. There is no car park, so vehicles line the verge.

• Getting there: West from Ovacik towards Ziyaret village, narrow but paved.
• Time: An hour, not counting the drive.
• Common mistake: Leaving bottles and litter. Nobody collects it here.

3. Ovacik and the Mercan valley

Ovacik sits at 1,252 metres in a broad plain ringed by mountains, 65 km from the capital. The town takes half an hour to walk; the reason to come is what surrounds it, and the Mercan valley opens northwards to Munzur ridges above 3,200 metres.

Mercan is territory for climbers and for drivers who enjoy an unsealed road. There are no marked routes and no signs. Where the asphalt ends gravel continues, and snow survives on the upper slopes into midsummer, so fill up in Ovacik before long stretches with no phone signal. Between June and September flocks crossing the road are routine. The road to the district town usually stays open in winter; the Mercan side does not.

• Getting there: Northwest on the Munzur valley road.
• Time: Half a day, a full day with Mercan.
• Common mistake: Packing for summer in August. Nights drop into single figures.

4. Duzgun Baba

West of Nazimiye, above Kil village, a mountain with a shrine at its summit. This is among the most significant pilgrimage sites in the Dersim Alevi tradition, and the mountain is held sacred locally under its Zaza name. Visitor numbers rise sharply in August, when families stay overnight and pray facing the sunrise.

Be clear about what this is. It is a working place of pilgrimage, not a viewpoint. Keep quiet, stay out of the areas set aside for offerings, and do not point a camera at people without asking. The path to the top has been stepped but is long and steep, so climb slowly and avoid the middle of the day. In winter it goes under snow.

• Getting there: Towards Nazimiye, then a narrow village road.
• Time: 2 to 3 hours including the climb.
• Common mistake: Expecting to drive up on a pilgrimage day. The road jams.

5. Tunceli Museum

The museum occupies military barracks completed in 1937. The four blocks total roughly 4,300 square metres and the architecture carries the German and Austrian influence of the period. The barracks left military use in 1949, served for years as staff housing, stood empty after 2015, and reopened as a museum on 24 December 2020 after restoration.

Inside, archaeological finds sit alongside ethnographic material. Excavation history in Tunceli is limited, so the collection is not large, but the section on highland and village life is worth the time. The building is as much the subject as the display. It is central and walkable, and ninety minutes is enough. There is little else indoors in the city, so save it for a wet or very hot day. Hours change, so confirm with the museum directorate.

• Getting there: Central, on foot.
• Time: 1 to 1.5 hours.
• Common mistake: Expecting a major archaeological museum. This is provincial.

6. Pertek Castle

The castle stands on a rocky rise inside the Keban reservoir. Its core is dated to the 11th century and it carries traces of Great Seljuk, Mengucek and Ottoman work. When the reservoir filled, the land around it went under and the castle effectively became an island. From the shore the walls appear to rise straight out of the water.

The view from the bank is good on its own, best at sunset. Getting inside means a boat, and that service is not continuous: it opens and closes with the season, the water level and restoration work, so ask Pertek municipality first. The castle lies about five kilometres southwest of the town, near the ferry pier, so you see it on the crossing from Elazig anyway.

• Getting there: From Pertek town towards the pier.
• Time: An hour from the shore, two if you cross by boat.
• Common mistake: Assuming a boat will be running. Confirm first.

7. The Sungur Bey and Celebi Aga mosques

Pertek's two 16th-century mosques now stand in the district town a few hundred metres apart. Both share a history: when the Keban reservoir flooded old Pertek, the buildings were dismantled and rebuilt in the present town. That is why they sit among new construction rather than in a fabric of their own age.

Knowing that changes how you look at them, and the marks of dismantling and rebuilding show in the walls and arches. Sungur Bey is the plainer of the two; the stonework on Celebi Aga is more elaborate. Both are in active use, so visit outside prayer times, women should carry a headscarf, and do not photograph the congregation. If the doors are locked, ask the shopkeepers nearby.

• Getting there: In Pertek town, on foot.
• Time: 45 minutes to an hour.
• Common mistake: Assuming they are on their original sites. Both were moved.

8. Sagman Mosque

In Sagman village north of Pertek stands a mosque dated 1555, its inscription crediting Salih Bey, son of Keyhusrev Bey. The plan is rectangular under a stone dome, and the octagonal drum carrying it reads clearly from outside. The carving on the portal and the coloured stone show a care rarely found at this scale locally. A hexagonal tomb adjoins the building.

Sagman also sits at the foot of a ruined castle, on a slope facing the reservoir, and you can see water from the courtyard. Before the dam this was a far larger settlement. There is no visitor infrastructure: weak signage, no information boards, and the mosque may be locked. Asking in the village for whoever holds the key is normal.

• Getting there: North from Pertek to Sagman village, about 20 km by road.
• Time: 45 minutes on site.
• Common mistake: Turning back at a locked door. Ask first.

9. Hozat

Hozat sits at 1,530 metres in the middle of the province. Under the Ottomans it was the seat of the Dersim sancak, and administration ran from here until that unit was abolished in 1922. The street plan still shows it: the centre is noticeably more ordered than the mountain villages around it.

Several pilgrimage sites lie in the surrounding villages, including the tomb attributed to Sari Saltuk and the Aguicen tomb. These are places of worship, so treat them accordingly. Southeast of the town are the remains of the Ergan Surp Garabed monastery, where Armenian stone carving is still legible although the structure is largely ruined. The last stretch is a dirt track, so ask directions in the village.

• Getting there: West on the Hozat road.
• Time: An hour for the town, half a day with the outlying sites.
• Common mistake: Expecting a restored monastery. It is a ruin.

10. Mazgirt Castle and the Elti Hatun buildings

Directly above Mazgirt town, on a steep outcrop, sits a ruined castle. The whole settlement and the valleys around it are visible from the top, which explains the choice of site at a glance. Part of the walling rests on the rock and part is cut into it, and the site is counted within a fortification tradition reaching back to the Urartian period. The climb is short but steep with no railings.

At the foot of the castle stand the Elti Hatun mosque and its tomb tower, a few minutes on foot. Records place them in the 13th century and the Aq Qoyunlu period, though the dating has been argued over; Ertugrul Danik's assessment is cited often. The tomb tower is small but well proportioned, the decoration gathered around the doorway.

• Getting there: Southeast on the Mazgirt road.
• Time: 1.5 hours for both.
• Common mistake: Putting them on separate half days. Same spot.

11. Bagin Castle

East of Mazgirt, near Dedebag, on a rock face commanding the Peri river. Sources link it to the Urartian period, and part of the castle is cut directly into stone, with chambers, steps and cistern traces still visible. The position is about water: the site controls both the valley and the crossing.

Getting here takes effort. It is close to forty kilometres east of Mazgirt town, narrow and winding at the end, and you walk the last part on an indistinct path over loose stone. Do not go alone and turn back before dark. In return you see one of the least known and oldest-layered places in the province. If you want a managed site, stay away.

• Getting there: East from Mazgirt towards Dedebag.
• Time: Half a day including the drive.
• Common mistake: Trying it in winter or after rain. The rock turns slippery.

12. Cemisgezek and the Yelmaniye Mosque

Cemisgezek lies at the western edge of the province at 999 metres and has the best preserved historic fabric in Tunceli. The Yelmaniye Mosque in the town is dated to the 14th and 15th centuries, with the Suleymaniye Mosque nearby. North of the town is an octagonal tomb dated 1572, popularly called the tomb of Uzun Hasan, although its inscription shows it was built for Sah Bey and his sons.

The Tahar bridge four kilometres north, also called the Yusuf Ziya Pasa bridge, was commissioned in 1807 and sits on the valley floor out of sight of the road. The Keban dam changed this district deeply: before the reservoir filled, some villages went entirely under water.

• Getting there: West via Hozat or Pertek. A long drive.
• Time: Half a day for the town, a full day with the surroundings.
• Common mistake: Treating it as a quick day trip. The drive is over two hours.

13. The Pulumur valley

The road between Tunceli and Erzincan follows the Pulumur valley, the easiest scenery in the province to reach. The valley is narrow, the stream bends with the road, and steep slopes rise on both sides. The drive is the attraction, with plenty of places to pull over.

Pulumur town falls at roughly the halfway point and is the only sensible stop for fuel and food. North of it, over the stream, stands the Hatun bridge, dated to the Roman period. It is small and long out of use, but it is the most tangible historic stop on this line. October is the month here, when the poplars turn. Winter is the opposite, with the pass closing for days under snow.

• Getting there: Northeast on the Erzincan road.
• Time: 2 to 3 hours as a roadside stop.
• Common mistake: Setting off in winter without chains.

When to go

June to September is the open season. The Munzur valley, Ovacik and the Mercan roads are comfortable and the Pulumur pass is straightforward. July and August run hot in the city and along the lake, though nights stay cool around Ovacik.

May is the month for water and October the month for colour. From November to April the northern half of the province effectively closes, so plan nothing beyond the city, Pertek and Mazgirt.

How many days

Two full days cover the main line. One day northwest for the Munzur valley, Ovacik and the springs. One day south for Pertek, the castle and the mosques.

A third day goes east to Mazgirt, Nazimiye and Duzgun Baba. Give a fourth to Cemisgezek, far enough that nothing else fits alongside it. With one day, do the city, the museum and the first stretch of the valley.

Where to stay

Almost all accommodation is in the capital, concentrated between the riverbank and the bazaar, and the choice is limited. Rooms go early on summer weekends and during the August pilgrimage period.

Outside the capital there are a few small places in Ovacik and Pertek. Riverside guesthouses have opened along the Munzur valley, but capacity is small and they close in winter.

Getting around

Tunceli has no airport. The nearest options are Elazig and Erzincan, each about a two-hour drive. Coming from Erzincan puts you on the Pulumur valley road, so the journey doubles as a stop on this list.

Buses serve the capital and minibuses run to the district towns. They do not reach the springs, the Mercan road, Sagman or Bagin, so a car is effectively required.

Pertek and Cemisgezek are reached from the Elazig side by car ferry. Bridge works are under way over the reservoir at Pertek, so check whether it has opened before you travel.

What to eat

Tunceli cooking is built on dairy, grain and wild greens. Kelecos, garlic soups and peskutan, a dried curd cheese, are the names that come up most. Spring brings dishes made from wild herbs; if you see greens you do not recognise in the market, ask how they are cooked.

Trout is the dish the province is known for, served by the water along the Munzur and Pulumur valleys. Fishing inside the national park is regulated, so most of what reaches the table comes from farms. Honey, walnuts and mulberry molasses are what to take home.

Honest warnings

Tunceli has little tourism infrastructure. Signage is sparse, there are no visitor centres, and many historic buildings have no information board. Asking in a village for directions is the standard method.

Treat pilgrimage sites as pilgrimage sites. Duzgun Baba, the Munzur springs and the tombs are places where local Alevi practice is active. Keep quiet and do not photograph people without asking.

Do not leave rubbish in the national park. The riverbanks get heavy use in summer and collection is irregular. Whatever you bring in, take out.

Distances mislead and every road bends. Put two stops in a day, not three. Confirm prices, hours and ferry crossings officially.

Frequently asked questions

**Is it Tunceli or Dersim?** Tunceli has been the official name since 1935. Dersim is the older regional name, still widely used locally. You will hear both.

**Are the Munzur springs and the Munzur valley the same place?** No. The springs are west of Ovacik, where the river rises. The valley is the stretch the water runs down to the city.

**Can you visit without a car?** The capital and the district towns are reachable by public transport. The springs, the Mercan road, Sagman and Bagin are not.

**Do you reach Pertek by ferry?** For now yes, from the Elazig side. Bridge works are under way at the same point, so check the current situation.

**How many days do you need?** Two full days cover the main stops. Add Cemisgezek and Bagin and you want four or five.