Mountaineers who come to climb Mount Ağrı also add the area's Rainbow Hills and salt caves, which take on a different beauty in every season, to their travel routes.
Mount Ağrı, the highest point in the country at an altitude of 5,137 meters (16,853 feet), hosts many nature enthusiasts from Türkiye and abroad during the summer months.
Located on the border of Türkiye with Iran, Azerbaijan and Armenia, the mountain is preferred for its cultural richness and the opportunities it offers for nature sports.
Some of the athletes who come a few days early to climb the mountain, which lies between the borders of Iğdır and Ağrı, stay in Iğdır or in the Doğubayazıt district of Ağrı. Before the climb, they visit the salt caves in the Tuzluca district and tour the Rainbow Hills.
Cengiz Erdener, a coach from the Turkish Mountaineering Federation, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they had come to Iğdır for a mountaineering event and organized a cultural tour before the climb.
Emphasizing that the Rainbow Hills are suitable for the mountaineering branch, Erdener said: "Today is the first day of the organization. The organizing committee arranged a local tour for the mountaineers who came from afar. We are on a cultural and touristic excursion, and our friends are both resting and discovering the surrounding beauty. After touring these places and resting, we will start our climb."
Iranian Mehdi Meimendi said that before climbing Mount Ağrı, they truly enjoyed their tour of Iğdır.
Expressing admiration for the Rainbow Hills and visit to the caves, Meimendi said: "This place is very beautiful. Most importantly, meeting with my friends in a place where three countries unite, where Turkic unity exists, made me feel very good, and I am very happy."
