The Ultimate Road Trip to Kop Pass
Kop Dağı Geçidi is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 2.423m (7,949ft) above sea level located on the boundary between Bayburt and Erzurum provinces, in Turkey.
Where is Kop Dağı Geçidi?
Set high on the eastern part of the country, it is an important passage separating the Eastern Anatolia Region and the Black Sea Region. Traffic is equally intense.
Is Kop Dağı Geçidi paved?
The road to the summit is entirely paved (in pretty bad conditions). It’s called D915, part of the European Route 97. It’s pretty steep. It is difficult to keep the pass open to traffic during the winters because of the harsh weather conditions due to high altitude. Due the dangerous weather conditions, a new tunnel is being built to bypass the most defiant parts of the pass.
How long is Kop Dağı Geçidi?
The pass road is 24.9km (15.47 miles) long, running north-south from Çalıdere (Bayburt Province) to Bozburun (Erzurum Province).
Is Kop Dağı Geçidi worth it?
At the summit, there’s a memorial (Kop Şehitler Abidesi). The Kop Martyrs Monument was built on the summit of Kop Mountain in 1963 in memory of the soldiers who resisted the enemy in the Kop Pass and Coruh Basin in 1916 and were martyred in this resistance. In the construction of the monument, generally cut stone and occasionally concrete and marble were used. Not far from the summit, there’s a bar-restaurant. If you've got your own vehicle, it's worth stopping for the views.