MOUNT ARARAT EXPEDITION
8 days – 7 night trekking and climbing. The southern route spreads the climb over three days up and one day down, using two campsites at 3200m and 4200 meters, and mules to carry supplies to the first camp. It starts from Eliköyü, an abandoned village in the foothills and sticks to a ridge for much of the way, thus avoiding the Ulker glacier which careers down the face into deep and jumbled gorges below. The path, though rocky, is clearly marked. Above 5000m are permanent ice fields, so crampons, ice axes and ropes are required. The summit is reached via a long ridge and is no more than a rounded hump marked by cairns