Mount Nurhak
Nurhak Mountain attracts a lot of attention with its unique scenery, steep rocks and shining limestones. Nurhak , which is the subject of legends, is visited by both local people and tourists. Nurhak , which has a special importance especially for those who are interested in mountaineering, hosts various mountaineering events every year. It has snow and ice masses on its summit every season. For this reason, climbing to the summit of Nurhak Mountain is very challenging both geographically and seasonally. However, mountaineers do various activities such as hiking, camping and rock climbing on Nurhak Mountain.
Where is Nurhak?
It is located in the province of Kahramanmaraş in eastern Turkey. It is located in the east of Elbistan district of Kahramanmaraş. You can View Google Map for Nurhak
What is the altitude of Nurhak?
It is another mountain in Turkey with an altitude of over 3000 meters. The altitude of It is 3090 meters. It is the 22nd highest mountain in Turkey.
How can we go to Nurhak?
To reach Nurhak, you must first go to the city of Kahramanmaraş in Turkey. Then, after reaching Kahramanmaraş city, you need to go to Elbistan district where It is located.
For transportation to the region, you can choose the railway, highway and airline. Guests who want to prefer the train route cannot come to the region only by using the train track. However, they can transfer by car from regions with train stations near the city.
If you prefer the airline for transportation to the region, you can come to the city by using Kahramanmaraş Airport. Then you can come to Elbistan district by using the shuttles. The distance between the airport and Elbistan is about 150 kilometers.
If you want to come to the region by bus, you can reach Kahramanmaraş City Bus Station every hour. Then you can reach Elbistan with a journey of about 2 hours.
Nurhak Mountain Climbing
It is considered a challenging track by mountaineers due to its high altitude and steep cliffs. Climbing times to Mount Nurhak may vary according to seasons and routes.
Climbers climbing Nurhak Mountain usually choose Lake Ali as their route. Climbers climbing Nurhak Mountain first reach the Malaplar Plateau, which is around 2100 meters. Then they reach Ali Lake, which is around 2600 meters. Ali Lake melts its ice like May – June and a beautiful view emerges. Mountaineers who want to camp usually choose between these two points to stay.
It is a structure composed of limestones and rocks. Climbers who climb this structure set off from Tekardıç location in Küllü Village of Elbistan district. Mountaineers start the hike from Tekardıç location. The reason why this location is called Tekardıç is that it is the only juniper area at the foot of Nurhak . Then, the mountaineers, who continue their hike on this route, reach Lake Ali. They climb the rocks that start right behind Lake Ali. Finally, they complete their climb by climbing to the top according to the weather conditions.
Nurhak Mountain Camp
Nurhak Mountain, with its untouched nature and geography, is one of the most preferred spots by mountaineers. When mountaineers come to Nurhak , they camp in various areas to complete the summit climb. There is no facility for camping on Nurhak . However, suitable points of the mountain are suitable for camping. Mountaineers generally prefer the upper points of the Malaplar Plateau, which is at an altitude of 2100 meters, for camping. The point we mentioned provides convenience for those who will camp because it is close to water sources. Since there is no facility close to the camping points, it will be appropriate to meet the needs from the nearest settlements on the way to climb the mountain.
The Legend of Mount Nurhak
There is a crater lake on top of Nurhak . The people of the region named this lake as Lake Ali. The local people, who named the lake “Ali”, base this name on a legend. According to the legend, a young man named Ali lives in the region and works as a shepherd. One day, this young man falls in love with a landlord’s daughter. Agha’s daughter also loves the shepherd. Aga learns about the situation between his daughter and the shepherd one day and calls the shepherd to his side. The girl’s father tells the shepherd that if he spends a winter on Nurhak Mountain, he will give his daughter to him. Thereupon, the shepherd drives his horse towards the mountain and takes refuge in a cave around the lake, which is now called Ali Lake. Here he settles in a cave to spend a winter. But the poor shepherd was able to endure the mountain conditions for a short time and eventually died, unable to bear to stay in the cave.
Legend has it that after the shepherd died, writings were found on the wall of the cave where the shepherd took refuge. The writings on the wall describe the shepherd’s death as follows; “I did not die of hunger or thirst, I died from the roar of the mountains.” According to the belief, the hollow stone in front of the cave is the manger of Shepherd Ali’s horse. After that day, the lake near the cave is known as Ali Lake.
Another legend with the Nurhak Mountains dates back to ancient times. According to the second legend, there was an agha who dominated Elbistan in ancient times and was famous for his good administration. This agha attaches great importance to the upbringing of boys and girls so that the next principality will continue. Agha raises his children in the political, administrative and military fields. This agha has three daughters. Bey gives education to his three daughters. Aga teaches his children the subtleties of war with the education he gives to his children. Children who grew up with this education learned how to use a sword well.
Agha used to take his daughters to war so that their war experience would increase. At such a time of war, a soldier who became famous for his heroism among the soldiers saved the little girl of the agha from a dangerous situation. Then this brave soldier fell in love with the agha’s daughter. However, although the girl and the soldier wanted to get married, the girl’s father stipulated the military service. The soldier said that if he wanted to marry the landlord’s daughter, he had to wait 40 days in the cave on Nurhak Mountain. The soldier said that if he waited in the cave on Nurhak for 40 days, the agha’s daughter would marry him.
Hearing this, the soldier went to the cave with his horse. However, the soldier only lasted 32 days in the cave. The Agha’s daughter waited for the young soldier to come when the fortieth day was up. However, when the soldier did not return after 40 days, the others went to look for the soldier. Then they saw that the young soldier was dead. Agha and his men did research on why the young soldier died and found an inscription on the door of the cave. The inscription on the door of the cave read, “Me and my horse did not die of hunger or fear, we died of moaning.” They saw what you wrote.
Songs Written on Nurhak
It is a mountain that is loved by the people because it is a special mountain by the people of the region and because it has hosted political events in the past. For this reason, songs and folk songs were written on Nurhak by many local artists. Aşık Mahzuni Şerif, Ahmet Kaya; are some of the artists who wrote folk songs on this mountain.
You can see beautiful photos of Nurhak from Google Photos
You may also want to learn about Turkey’s highest mountain, Mount Ararat. Please click on the link to read more about majestic Mount Ararat.
