Artvin is a mountain city in the far north-east of Turkey, built in steep terraces on the slope above the Çoruh River, and it feels like the end of a long road in the best sense. The valleys here are deep and narrow, the forests are dense and the sky is often full of cloud pushed in from the Black Sea. Roughly twenty-four thousand people live in the city, so fuel, food and a bed are all easy to find, and the road down the valley leads on to Hopa on the coast.
The Çoruh is a powerful river, famed among paddlers, and in recent years it has been dammed in a series of hydroelectric projects that have changed the valley and put some older roads under water. The landscape is a mix of pine and beech forest, high pastures and small villages perched at improbable angles. The region is also the old Georgian borderland, and the valleys around Artvin hold ruined churches and monasteries from the medieval Georgian kingdoms, some of them wonderfully remote.
The riding to get here is dramatic. The roads climb and drop through gorges, often cut into rock walls above the river, with tunnels, tight bends and a surface that ranges from good to rough after landslides or heavy rain. Weather can be wet, and mist in the valley changes visibility quickly, so ride within your sight line and keep your visor clean. Trucks and minibuses use these roads too, and local drivers pass with more confidence than is always wise.
Near the city, in early summer, the Kafkasör festival draws crowds for traditional bull-wrestling on a high meadow, a custom that is more about the contest between the animals than any harm. The area is also known for its honey and for hearty food, with cornmeal dishes, local cheese and fresh trout in the valley restaurants. After a long ride through the Kaçkar valleys, a hot meal, a view across the terraced hillside and a bed with a window facing the river are all you need.