Gumushane is a province of the eastern Black Sea highlands that most travelers only pass through on the road between Trabzon and Erzurum. That is a mistake, because the region holds some of the most striking natural and historic sights of northeastern Turkey: one of the country’s great caves, an abandoned Ottoman-era town, mountain lakes, waterfalls, and highland pastures that come alive in summer. This list of the top things to do in Gumushane will help you turn a stopover into a proper visit.
Karaca Cave
The star attraction of Gumushane is Karaca Cave, a vast underground world in the forested country of Torul district. Discovered in recent decades and opened to visitors, the cave spreads through galleries and chambers filled with stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and curtains of flowstone in shades of white, cream, and brown.
A walkway carries you through the cave’s most spectacular halls, with lighting that shows off the formations at their best. The scale is remarkable, with cavernous chambers that dwarf the visitors, and the silence and cool air of the underground create a genuinely otherworldly atmosphere.
The cave is an easy half-day trip from the city and works well combined with the mountain country around it. Go early to beat the groups, wear shoes with grip, and bring a light jacket, because the underground temperature stays cool whatever the weather above.
The Old Town of Suleymaniye
The historic heart of Gumushane is not the modern city center but the old town of Suleymaniye, a separate settlement that the city grew away from and abandoned in the last century. It is a remarkable place: steep streets lined with stone houses and mansions from the Ottoman era, many restored, standing in a quiet valley of their own.
The centerpiece is the Tas Han, a great stone inn of the nineteenth century that once welcomed the traders and caravans of the mountain road. Restored and opened to the public, it gives you a sense of the merchant life that the silver trade brought to this town, when Suleymaniye was a wealthy staging post.
Walking Suleymaniye is the essential Gumushane experience. The stonework, the views over the surrounding country, and the silence of the old streets combine into one of the most atmospheric historic quarters in the region. Allow a morning, and let the old town set the pace.
The Zigana Mountain Road
The road that connects Gumushane with the Black Sea coast crosses the Zigana mountains, and the crossing is one of the great mountain journeys of Turkey. The highway climbs through forest and over the heights, with views that open across ridges and valleys, and the tunnels that now carry the road beneath the summit are feats of engineering.
In the past, the Zigana pass was a point of struggle for travelers, and the old road still winds beside the modern one in places, offering a glimpse of the mountain route of earlier times. The newer tunnels, among the longest road tunnels in the country, make the crossing fast, but the old ways and viewpoints remain for those who want them.
Drive the Zigana road for its own sake, as a loop from the city, and stop at the viewpoints along the way. In summer the forests are deep and green; in autumn they turn gold; and in winter the heights are a world of snow. It is the province’s greatest scenic drive.
Limni Lake
In the mountains above the Torul country, a forest road climbs to the small mountain lake of Limni. Formed when a landslide dammed a stream, the lake lies in a bowl of steep, wooded slopes, its water dark and still, and the setting is one of the most beautiful in the province.
The lake has no development, which is exactly its charm. A rough road reaches the shore, and the quiet is almost complete, with the forest, the ridges, and the reflection of the sky in the water as the only company. It is a place for walking, picnicking, and doing very little.
Limni rewards those who make the effort. The road is narrow and slow, so allow time, and come early for the calmest water and the best light. For travelers who love hidden lakes, it is one of the highlights of Gumushane.
Tomara Waterfall
In the highland country of the Siran district, the Tomara waterfall drops through the forest in a series of cascades that together make one of the most beautiful water features of the northeast. The falls are at their most dramatic in spring and after heavy rain, when every step of the water runs full and white.
A path leads from the road to the foot of the falls, through trees that keep the air cool and damp. The sound builds as you approach, and the final view, water falling through a cleft in the green, is worth every step. On warm days, the pools at the base invite a careful splash.
Tomara works well as part of a day in the Siran country, combined with the Kadirga plateau or the district’s villages. Wear shoes that can handle wet ground, take your time, and let the waterfall set the mood of the afternoon.
Kadirga Plateau
The Kadirga plateau, in the Siran district, is the great highland of Gumushane, a wide world of green pasture and pine that rises above the valleys. In summer, the yayla life fills the plateau: families, herds, and the simple houses of the high pastures, all under the open sky of the Anatolian highlands.
Each August, Kadirga hosts one of the great festivals of the region, a gathering of music, dancing, and highland culture that draws crowds from across the northeast. The festival is rooted in the pastoral life of the plateau, and its energy and color make it the best day of the year to be here.
Outside festival time, Kadirga is a place of space and light. Walk the meadows, watch the herds, and eat the dairy food of the highland kitchen, and you will understand the culture that the festival celebrates. It is the pastoral heart of Gumushane.
Santa Ruins: The Abandoned Town
Hidden in the mountains between Gumushane and the coast lies one of the most extraordinary sites in the region: Santa, an abandoned mining town of the late Ottoman era, known locally as the Four Churches after the churches at its heart. The settlement was built by Greek miners who worked the region’s mineral wealth.
The town is a ghost of stone: streets of ruined houses, churches, and workshops, built solidly and abandoned in the population exchanges of the early twentieth century. It stands in a high, remote valley, reached by a mountain road, and the silence of the place is profound.
Santa rewards travelers with patience and an interest in history. There is no development here, only the ruins and the landscape, and the effect is haunting. Reaching it takes a long day and a sturdy car, but it is one of the most memorable places in the northeast.
The City Center and Its Culture
Between the natural and historic sights, the city of Gumushane itself deserves time. The modern center is calm and pleasant, with a main square, market streets, and the tea gardens where the city’s life unfolds at a gentle pace. The people are welcoming, and the provincial atmosphere is a world away from the coast.
The city’s museums and restored buildings fill in the story of the region, from its silver-mining past to the crafts and products of its orchards and highlands. The silver that gave the city its name appears throughout, a reminder of the trade that built the old town.
Take an evening to walk the city, sit in a tea garden, and watch the light fade over the surrounding mountains. Gumushane’s charm is quiet, but it is real, and it grows on you the longer you stay.
Pestil and Kome: Tasting the Region
No visit to Gumushane is complete without tasting the sweets that made it famous: pestil, the thin sheets of dried fruit leather, and kome, the classic rolls of walnuts bound in the same mulberry paste. Both are made from the dark, fragrant mulberries of the region’s orchards.
The making of pestil and kome is a seasonal craft of the late summer, when the fruit is cooked down and dried in the sun. The markets and shops of the city sell them in abundance, and the taste is deep, fruity, and completely unlike factory sweets.
Buy them to eat on the spot and to take home. They travel well, they carry the character of the highland orchards, and they are the taste that the rest of Turkey associates with Gumushane. For many visitors, the sweets become the memory of the whole trip.
Frequently asked questions
What is Gumushane best known for?
Gumushane is best known for two things: its silver-mining history, which gave the city its name, and its mulberry sweets, pestil and kome, which are famous across Turkey. The province is also home to Karaca Cave, one of the largest caves in the country, and to the atmospheric old town of Suleymaniye with its Ottoman stone houses. The highlands of the Siran district, with the Kadirga plateau and its summer festival, complete the picture of the region.
Is Karaca Cave worth visiting?
Yes, Karaca Cave is the single best attraction in Gumushane and easily worth a visit. It is one of the largest caves in Turkey, with vast chambers and a remarkable variety of stalactites, stalagmites, and flowstone formations, all lit and served by a walkway. The scale is impressive, and the cool, silent underground makes a memorable contrast with the summer landscape. It is an easy half-day trip from the city and combines well with the surrounding mountain country.
How many days do you need in Gumushane?
Two days cover the essentials: one for Karaca Cave and the mountain country of the Torul and Zigana area, and one for the old town of Suleymaniye and the city center. A third day allows the longer trip into the Siran highlands for the Tomara waterfall and the Kadirga plateau, or the demanding journey to the Santa ruins. Travelers passing through can see the cave and the old town in a single busy day.
All Over Information
The All Over Information editorial team researches and writes practical English-language guides to Turkey. Facts are checked against official and local sources before publication, prices are published as dated ranges rather than quotes, and guides are revised when things change. We accept no sponsored posts, paid placements or paid links.
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