Tunceli Voyage Tips and guide

Tunceli is a city in the mountains of Eastern Anatolia, with industries based on wheat. Its population was 36,000 in 2022, mostly Kurdish Alevis, whose religion is akin to the Sufi tradition of Islam.

Dersim is the ancient name for the city and province, still occasionally used but politically charged. The early years of the Republic saw a series of uprisings by Kurdish traditional leaders against central authority and "Turkification". This culminated in the Dersim Rebellion of 1937, which provoked heavy military reprisals. Turkish sources acknowledge that some 13,000 civilians were killed and a similar number deported, other sources put the toll much higher.

39°6′36″N 39°32′42″E

Map of Tunceli

The nearest airports are Elazığ (EZS  ^IATA) to the south and Erzincan (ERC  ^IATA) to the north, both with daily flights from Istanbul.

Those are also the nearest railway stations. Elazığ has a train twice a week from Ankara, heading to Tatvan for connections to Van, Tabriz and Tehran. Erzincan has a daily train from Ankara heading for Erzurum and Kars.

By road follow E80 to Erzincan or D300 to Elazığ: D885 twists and turns through the mountains between those highways. Shorter is the old road from Elazığ, 77 km via the Pertek ferry crossing of Keban barrage lake.

Tuncelililer buses run once a day from Istanbul and Ankara. There are six a day from Erzincan (2 hours) and four from Elazığ.

39.108139.54581 Tunceli bus station is central in town.

Town is walkable but won't take long. You need your own wheels to reach Munzur Valley or the beach.

• Tunceli Museum is on Ali Demir Cd next to Grand Şaroğlu Hotel, in a former barracks. It's open daily 08:00-17:00.
• Mosques are modern though in trad style. The main ones are Paşalar Cami, Paşa Cami, Cem Evi and Yunus Emre Merkez Cami.
• Munzur Valley National Park is a scenic area in the side-valley 7 km northwest of town.
• Pertek castle is seen from the ferry on the road from Elazığ: once on an outcrop, it's now an islet in the lake.

• Atatürk Stadyumu is the main sports venue, 2 km south of town centre along D885.
• Beaches are the last thing you'd expect here, but there are sandy beaches on Pülümür River, on D885 8 km east of town.

Azem Market is by the bus station at Fevzi Çakmak Cd 8, open daily 07:00-23:00.

A cluster of small eating places in town centre are open daily 07:00-21:00.

Try the cafes, but this is a conservative area.

• 39.104239.5471 Grand Şaroğlu Hotel, Behice Boran Sk 20, ☏ +90 428 212 1424. Smart clean place, though the spa is never open.  (updated Jan 2026)
• 39.106739.54872 Royal Demir Hotel, Ata Sk 10, off Okullar Cd, ☏ +90 428 212 5501. This is closed for renovation.  (updated Jan 2026)
• Munzur Doğa Otel might be called glamping, they're cabins by the riverside.

As of Jan 2026, you might get a mobile signal in town from Türk Telekom or Turkcell, but there's no coverage on the approach roads. 5G has not yet rolled out in Turkey.

• Erzincan is modern bland. You might stop over heading east to Kars and Georgia.
• Elazığ is 7 km from the ancient citadel of Harput.

Trabzon ← Erzincan ←

N  S

→ Elazığ → Şanlıurfa