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Mount Babadağ: climbing 18.9km > 10% average. The Steep Mt Ventoux of Turkey!
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Thank you Niels Jansen (from Bergeijk, the Netherlands) for your contribution. Niels has been riding since March 2020 his lifetime adventure starting in Holland to the North Cape and then to the South Cape. He is on a mission: Cycling from Cape-to-Cape for a greener planet. 🚲🌍🌳 Follow Niels on: http://www.cyclingaroundtheplanet.com/
Mount Babadağ aka Mount Cragus is in Muğlia Province, southwest of Turkey. Babadag, a Turkish word (baba: "father, great"; dağ: "mountain"), refers to Babadağ (mountain). So here it is the Father of the Turkish Mountains. And by far this the steepest climb of Turkey. It is a Legendary Mountain marking the hit list of the world's steepest climbs. The mountain is very popular with paragliders. The entire road is recently paved from the village Oldeniz.
So why is this climb Legendary and steep? It reminds us a bit of Mt Ventoux. The length is almost the same. You start in a village (Oldeniz).....after five kilometers you enter the forest...and after 12km you come above the treeline…..rocks and sand and you end with a beautiful view, tower at the top and a restaurant. There is only one big difference? Babadağ is way steeper than Mt Ventoux!
And it gets you immediately from the start. And the steepest parts are at the final section, where 20% is the bar so now and then and thus demands the best out of your condition. And the last 10km the road has smooth cobbles. This gives the scenery more character but makes it also a tiny more difficult (10% more resistance).
Here is Niels his climb experience (January 4th 2021). And look at his super video
“I left my panniers down in the village today because I'm going for a training ride to Babadağ mountain. A beautiful but steep 20-km road goes to its peak, which lies at 1969m. The climb starts in the village of Öludeniz and continues on nice roads through the forest. There is almost no traffic, only some vans who bring up paragliders. From the smell and sounds of these vans you can tell how steep it is. The weather on Babadağ is perfect today, with spectacular views all around once you get above the treeline. On one side you can see the coastal city of Finike, on the other the snow-capped peaks of the Taurus mountains. The last kilometers to the top are the steepest and toughest, but also the most spectacular. Because it's summit lies less than 5km from the sea, it is also very popular for paragliding. But instead of flying down under a parachute, I'm flying down on two wheels on 20% downhill”.
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Switchback in the forest section (picture Niels Jansen)
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Cobbles can make a road slippery…..especially when there is ice! (Picture Niels Jansen)
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Working yourself up, treeline is getting near (picture Niels Jansen)
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See the snow of the summits of the nearby Taurus Mountains. (picture Niels Jansen)
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“Smile and wave”, getting to the spectacular grande finale near the top! (picture Niels Jansen)
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Spectacular, looks like an ancient road…..but this 20% ah……(picture Niels Jansen)
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Almost there…..there is a vessel lift going to the summit as well. (picture Niels Jansen)
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Amazing views from the summit (1969m) to the Oldeniz bay (pictures Niels Jansen)
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Thank you Niels, you rock!
