Visitors enjoy troika rides on Turkey’s partially frozen Lake Çıldır

Lake Çıldır in Turkey’s eastern Ardahan and Kars provinces has partially frozen, drawing hundreds of locals and visitors to enjoy horse-drawn sledding and walking on the icy surface.

Çıldır, the second largest lake in Turkey’s eastern Anatolia region, was flocked by those who wanted to take advantage of the weekend enjoyed a traditional Turkish ‘halay’ line dance on the lake.

People dancing on the frozen surface of Lake Çıldır in the Çıldır district of Ardahan province, eastern Turkey, Dec. 12, 2021. (AA Photo)
People dancing on the frozen surface of Lake Çıldır in the Çıldır district of Ardahan province, eastern Turkey, Dec. 12, 2021. (AA Photo)

While those walking on the ice for the first time had exciting moments, some tourists did not dare to go on the ice.

Visitors who took a stroll on the lake with troikas and snowmobiles had a lot of fun.

A troika on the frozen surface of Lake Çıldır in the Çıldır district of Ardahan province, eastern Turkey, Dec. 12, 2021. (AA Photo)
A troika on the frozen surface of Lake Çıldır in the Çıldır district of Ardahan province, eastern Turkey, Dec. 12, 2021. (AA Photo)

Horse sleigher Ertan Daşdemir said that several local and foreign visitors come to the lake at the weekend, adding Taşbaş ı village of Arpaçay district in Kars froze first in Lake Çıldır.

“This makes us happy. We set up a stove on the ice, we offer tea and rose hips to the tourists. We are waiting for everyone,” he added.

People walking on the frozen surface of Lake Çıldır in the Çıldır district of Ardahan province, eastern Turkey, Dec. 12, 2021. (AA Photo)
People walking on the frozen surface of Lake Çıldır in the Çıldır district of Ardahan province, eastern Turkey, Dec. 12, 2021. (AA Photo)

A troika on the frozen surface of Lake Çıldır in the Çıldır district of Ardahan province, eastern Turkey, Dec. 12, 2021. (AA Photo)
A troika on the frozen surface of Lake Çıldır in the Çıldır district of Ardahan province, eastern Turkey, Dec. 12, 2021. (AA Photo)

Situated 1,959 meters (6,427 feet) above sea level, Lake Çıldır usually starts to freeze at the beginning of winter as the temperature drops to minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) during the night.

Each year the locals wait for lake to freeze who turn to the lake’s glassy surface for entertainment and income.

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