Van travel guide

Van is a city in eastern Turkey's Van Province, on the eastern shore of Lake Van. It is the capital and largest city of Van Province.

Van is near the eastern shore of Lake Van (Van Gölü), a soda-salt lake also known locally as Van Denizi ("the sea of Van") for its size – it's the largest lake in Turkey. The lake surface is 1640 metres above sea level and ringed by high mountains, so the area has a harsh continental climate. An active tectonic boundary runs beneath, so earthquakes are not uncommon, and the nearby volcano Mount Nemrut is only dormant, not extinct. The region was the centre of the kingdom of Urartu from the 9th to 6th centuries BC. This Iron Age people named their country Biainili, which morphed into "Van".

Getting in

Highway D300 transects Turkey from Izmir on the Aegean coast via Konya, Kayseri, Malatya, Bitlis and Van right up to the border with Iran at Razi. It's a good fast highway, mostly undivided, but priority for the snowplows in winter. From Ankara take O-21 south (toll) then join D300 towards Kayseri. You could also take D200 / E88 east past Sivas and Erzincan. Buses run several times a day from Ankara (19 hours) and Istanbul (25 hours). From Adana change at Osmaniye for the bus from Hatay through Gaziantep, Şanliurfa, Diyarbakır and Batman.

Getting around

Dolmuşes and taxis take you anywhere beyond walking distance. For the castle and museum take a dolmuş signed "Kale", which means castle but also refers to the sprawling suburb north of it. Get out at the castle fence before it dives into the back streets, and walk the last 1 km west to the entrance. A dolmuş ride costs 20 TL in 2025, pay the driver as you get in. They seldom accept bank cards.

Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.