Planning Your Ski Day at Erciyes: Piste Map, Gates and Meeting Points

Erciyes is one of Türkiye's largest ski areas: around 112 km of marked pistes on 41 runs, served by 19 lifts and reached through four gates on different sides of the mountain. That is wonderful once you know your way around, and a little confusing on your first morning. Ten minutes of planning at breakfast makes the whole day easier.

Read the piste map

Piste maps everywhere use the same basic language:

• Coloured lines are pistes, coloured by difficulty, usually with a number or a name.
• Straight lines with symbols are lifts: gondolas, chairlifts and magic carpets.
• Small symbols mark restaurants, toilets, first aid and lift pass offices.
• The map is a drawing, not an exact plan, and distances often look shorter than they are.

Keep a copy of the map on your phone so you can check it at any lift station. Our guide to ski piste colours explains what each colour means.

The four gates

The resort is reached through four gates: Tekir, Hisarcık, Hacılar and Develi. Tekir is the best-known and most developed entry point. The gates are linked by lifts, so you can explore different slopes during the day, but it also means you can end up a long way from where you started. Always know which gate you need to get back to at the end of the day. Our Erciyes ski resort guide describes the gates, pistes and lifts in more detail.

Plan the day around your level

• Beginners: Stay in the beginner areas and on the easiest runs nearby. There is no need to cross the mountain in your first days.
• Intermediates: Plan a loop of blue runs and lifts that brings you back to where you started, and add a red when you feel ready.
• Experienced skiers: Head higher up early in the day, while the snow is at its best, and plan your way back before you get tired.

Check the conditions

In strong wind the upper lifts can close temporarily, so check which lifts are open before you set off and have a plan B lower down. Groomed pistes are at their best in the morning, and in spring the snow softens in the afternoon; our guide to skiing different snow conditions explains how to adapt.

Agree on meeting points

If you ski in a group, agree in the morning on a fixed meeting point and time, such as a lift station or the restaurant where you have lunch. Phones lose charge quickly in the cold, so do not rely on calling each other. Agree a backup meeting point too, in case a lift closes.

A typical day on our packages

• 09:00: Shuttle from the hotel to Erciyes.
• 10:00: Lesson or guided piste tour, depending on your package.
• 12:30: Lunch at the resort.
• Afternoon: Practice or free skiing until 17:00.
• Evening: Dinner at the hotel.

On our Experienced packages, our leaders take you on a piste tour on the first day, the easiest way to learn your way around the mountain.

• Erciyes
• Piste map
• Ski resort
• Travel planning