The Best Places to Visit in Ordu

Boztepe, rising steeply above Ordu city, is the most famous viewpoint on the Black Sea coast — a hilltop at 600 m with 360-degree panoramas across the city, the harbour, the Black Sea, and the green mountain ridges behind. The hillside is covered in tea gardens and the approach road winds through hazelnut orchards. At sunset, the view is spectacular; on clear days the islands of the offshore archipelago are visible. Cable car access is available from the city centre.

The Taşbaşı Kültür Merkezi is a beautiful 19th-century Greek Orthodox church converted into a cultural centre — one of the finest examples of Ottoman-era ecclesiastical architecture on the Black Sea coast. The building has a distinctive bell tower, elaborate stone carving and an interior that now hosts art exhibitions, concerts and local cultural events. It sits in the historic centre of Ordu among old Greek and Ottoman stone buildings.

Çambaşı Yaylası, 40 km from Ordu at 1,600 m altitude, is the most accessible of the high Black Sea plateaus — a broad alpine meadow with wooden highland houses (yayla evleri) and a small ski resort operating in winter. In summer, the plateau is covered in wildflowers; cattle graze on the meadows and the air is cool and clear. The drive up through dense beech and pine forest is as impressive as the plateau itself.

Perşembe Yaylası, further west along the coast at 1,400 m, is a traditional highland plateau — less developed than Çambaşı and more authentic. The wooden highland houses, the sound of cowbells, the cloud forest and the occasional glimpse of the Black Sea far below create one of the most characteristic landscapes of the Eastern Black Sea region. Perşembe the town (on the coast) has a small harbour with fish restaurants.