Mt Ararat Turkey Turkey's highest mountain, Ararat has a legendary status due to its geologic location and the fact that it is believed to have been the final resting place of Noah's Ark following the great flood. Mount Ararat is a snow-capped volcanic cone, located in extreme northeast Turkey, ten miles west of Iran, and 20 miles south of Armenia. A smaller cone, Little Ararat (12,877 ft.) rises just southeast of the main peak. The noble mountain rises in isolation above the surrounding plains and valleys, providing an extensive panorama for those who climb it. Ararat has no crater, and no eruption has ever been recorded. However, an earthquake rocked the mountain in 1840, burying a chapel, convent, and village that had previously occupied the slopes. Today Nomadic Kurds reside on the mountain, migrating between the valleys and high pastures with their herds of cattle and sheep. The summit of this mountain, which Marco Polo said no one would ever be able to climb, was successfully reached according to records on the 9th of October 1829 by Prof. Frederick Von Parat. The second successful ascent was made much later by the former president of the Mountaineering Federation, Dr. Bozkurt Ergör on the 21st of February 1970. In the 1980, the mountain saw thousands of visitors. In 1990 climbing Mt. Ararat was banned but this ban was lifted in 1998 when the Mountaineering Federation gave permission to a group of climbers. It’s possible to see Mt Elbrus in the Caucasus Mountains, Damavand Peak in Iran and Kaçkar Peak when looking from the summit of Ararat! Area : Turkey Altitude : 5165m Duration : 12 days Grade : 3