Zigana Pass, a road snow covered five months a year
Zigana Pass is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 2.032m (6,667ft) above the sea level, located on the Pontic Mountains in Gümüşhane Province, in northeastern Turkey. The road to the pass is asphalted.
The pass was bypassed by the Zigana Tunnel, located under the pass, at an elevation of 1,795m (5,889ft) above the sea level. The tunnel is 1,702m (5,584ft) long. The road is called D885, part of the European Route 97.
The weather on this zone is harsh and highly unpredictable. The pass is snow covered five months a year. Beyond the pass, located at a distance of 60 km (37 mi) from Gümüşhane and 120 km (75 mi) from Trabzon at the Black Sea coast, the landscape changes sharply. The rich green of the northern face is quickly replaced by the arid, craggy hills of the upper Harşit Valley.