Sapanca Mountain Cable Car

Sapanca is a charming touristic destination offering green and blue for its forestry, mountains, rivers, and lake. Also, Sapanca is near Istanbul but a starting point of Turkey’s black-sea region, which is famous for its wildly green nature.

This beautiful city provides a glimpse of the black-sea region to its visitors without needing to go far away with its fresh air, green land, flowing rivers, and lively nature. 

Why You Should Visit Sapanca

Sapanca is a city full of tiny houses, bungalows, cabins, and cafes. If you are looking for a place to stay other than a hotel, you've come to the right place.

These daily vacation rentals often offer a mountain view, a riverside deck, a hot tub, a private pool, a fireplace, a provided barbeque, and a fire pit, or all of the above for a getaway year-round for families or couples from neighboring cities. Besides, there are a few decent size hotels as well as small motels. 

Where are the Sapanca Cable Cars Located?

This city is in Sakarya, which is surrounded by Sapanca Lake. The neighborhood of the cable cars is located in Kirkpinar.

As a local, I witness vans and shuttles transporting white-collar office employees from Istanbul’s concrete jungle during the weekend to provide them with a vacation from their repetitive daily routine. Moreover, during the summer months, tourists from the Gulf nations are among the most regular visitors to the area.

The Sapanca Cable Car ground station is located in the Kırkpınar district of Sapanca, which is full of huge parks, playgrounds, green space, walking streets shaded by tall trees, restaurants, and a variety of distinctive local cafés. The neighborhood has a unique character that is difficult to discover in many parts of Turkiye.

Even late at night, the surrounding beautiful cafés have plenty of indoor seating. If you are looking to relax outside, there's plenty of seating on the grass.

This is an excellent family-friendly destination for visitors with children. As a Turkish-American family residing in the area, Kırkpnar is the one location that reminds us of suburban life in the United States.

How Much Are Sapanca Cable Car Tickets?

Sapanca Cable Car Pricing (as of June 2023)

International visitors: 445 TL / person (around $18 US)

Domestic visitors: 150 TL /person

Domestic Students: 100 TL / person

Kids (0-6 years old):  free of charge

The prices are for shared cabins and max 8 people ride per cabin. You can request a designated cabin for yourself or your group for an additional fee.

How Much is Parking

• The ground station has paid parking lot for visitors.
• 20 minutes: Free parking
• 60 minutes: 30 tl (around $1.20 US)
• 120 minutes: 45 tl (around $1.80 US) every hour after that is an extra 15 tl (that's $0.60 US)
• All Day: 100tl (around $4.00 US)

Where Does the Sapanca Cable Car Take You?

The cable cars take you to an upper station area that is planning to offer bungalow hotels, 4-wheeler rides, paintball, an adventure park, walking paths, as well as, cafes and restaurants. However, not all facilities are ready. This area is still under construction.

We were informed that a Starbucks will be opened soon. Hence, it is expected that riders in the following days may have a better experience up there when all stores and attractions are ready to serve in July or August 2023. 

How Long Does the Cable Car Last?

The total cable car ride is 25 minutes.

Quick Facts for the Rides:

• Each car carries a max of 8 people.
• The cabin must contain 8 passengers before processing. In that case, you may have to ride with others.
• The ride takes a total of 25 minutes to complete.
• The first ride starts at 10:30 am at the ground station, while the last ride back to the city is at 8:30 pm at the top station. 
• Sapanca Mountain Cable Car has 2 stations and 36 cars dangling on the 0.93 miles-long lines over 9 poles to serve Sapanca visitors.

Finally, you may spend your day roaming the streets of Kırkpınar, Sapanca, drinking hot and cool beverages in cafés, eating kebabs in restaurants, and seeking an adventure journey in the cable car with the whole family.