The Orient Express runs daily, while the tourist Orient Express departs from Ankara to Kars on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and back from Kars to the capital on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.
The Eastern Express tourist train, which departs on two different routes from the Turkish capital Ankara and passes through the country’s most beautiful places on the way to Kars, has just opened another winter season. The Orient Express runs on one of the oldest railways in Asia with a length of 1,310 km. The approximately 25-hour train journey passes through the provinces of Kırıkkale, Kayseri (Cappadocia), Sivas, Erzincan, and Erzurum, and finally ends in Kars.
Eastern Express stops at 50 historic train stations. The train consists of Pullman cars and unique sleeping cars, there is also a dining car with 56 seats.
The tourist Orient Express, including a sleeping car, stops at 29 stations in 35 hours. At the same time, a stop on each of them lasts up to three hours, providing passengers with ample opportunities for sightseeing in remote cities.
The route ends in Kars, a UNESCO World Heritage Site whose main attractions are the Kars Castle, the Second Stone Bridge, and the Kars Museum. Here you can visit many traditional cultural performances, as well as ancient religious sites: the Ebul Menucher Mosque and the Church of Tigran Khonenets.
Winter sports also attract a lot of attention from travelers. The Sarikamis Ski Center in Kars offers the world’s third-highest drop-in ski slopes. Lake Childyr on the border of Kars and Ardahan invites you to walk on the frozen lake, ride a horse-drawn sleigh and go ice fishing for mirror carp.
The Orient Express runs from Ankara daily, while the tourist Orient Express departs from Ankara on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and back from Kars on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.