Ayder is the most famous of all the Black Sea yaylas, a highland resort of wooden chalets scattered across steep green pastures at around 1,300 metres, in the Camlihemsin district of Rize, an easy add-on from Trabzon. The drive in is half the experience, following a rushing river up a gorge past waterfalls and tea terraces into the foothills of the Kackar Mountains, the highest range on the Black Sea. Ayder itself is known for its thermal hot springs, where you can soak in mineral water after a day in the hills, and for the sweeping meadows above the village that turn a vivid green in summer and fill with wildflowers and grazing cattle. It is the main base for trekking deeper into the Kackars, visiting higher pastures like Pokut and Sal, and tasting the region's Hemsin culture and its famous muhlama (a molten cheese-and-cornmeal fondue). Mornings are often misty; by midday the clouds usually lift over the peaks.
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