A Day on the Kümbet and Bektaş Highlands

While the Giresun coast reaches thirty degrees in summer, sixty kilometres inland you put on a jacket. Kümbet and Bektaş are the two neighbouring yayla where that difference is felt most clearly, and they fit comfortably into one day.

Getting there: about sixty kilometres from the centre via Dereli. The road is paved but narrow and winding towards the end; it makes sense to fill up in Dereli. Public transport is infrequent, so a car is needed. The road can close under snow in winter.

The day: Kümbet is a broad meadow beginning at eighteen hundred metres where the spruce forest ends. Its July festival is among the best known in the region, bringing together the kemençe, the horon and a fair, and accommodation fills completely that week. Outside the festival it is quiet and misty. Move to Bektaş in the afternoon; though neighbouring, it is different in character, less developed and more pasture. At close to two thousand metres, herding families spend the summer here and the timber fabric of the highland houses survives.

Eating: corn bread, kuymak and fresh butter lead on the highland. There is trout in Dereli on the way back.

Tips: bring a layer even in summer, as the mist descends suddenly and the temperature drops. Check the festival date in advance; skip that week if you want it uncrowded.