Bursa Teleferik

The Bursa cable car has run since 1963 and was rebuilt in the 2010s with modern eight-person gondolas, extending it to roughly nine kilometres and putting it among the longest gondola lifts anywhere. It climbs from Teferrüç on the eastern edge of the city, past intermediate stations at Kadıyayla and Sarıalan, up to Oteller, the hotel zone on Uludağ's plateau at around eighteen hundred metres. The ride takes twenty to twenty-five minutes and the view back over Bursa, the plain and the Sea of Marmara beyond opens as you climb. What waits at the top depends on the season: in winter it is Turkey's main ski area, with lifts, hire shops and hotels; in summer it is cool air, beech and fir forest, walking trails, picnic grounds at Sarıalan and a starting point for the walk up toward the summit. Queues at weekends and in the ski season can be long.

What you actually see

• The long ascent - nine kilometres of gondola in one ride.
• The city view - Bursa, the plain and the Marmara behind.
• The plateau - hotels, ski lifts and forest at the top.
• The Sarıalan stop - picnic grounds and trailheads midway.

When to go

December to March for snow and skiing; May to October for walking and cool air. Weekday mornings avoid the worst queues.

Honest expectations

Queues are long at weekends and through the ski season. It is markedly colder at the top - bring a layer even in summer. High wind closes the line without notice.

Nearby

Cumalıkızık is on the same side of the city; Bursa's Ulu Cami and bazaar are in the centre.