Tunceli

Understand

Dersim is the ancient name for the city and province, still occasionally used but politically charged. The early years of the Republic saw a series of uprisings by Kurdish traditional leaders against central authority and "Turkification". This culminated in the Dersim Rebellion of 1937, which provoked heavy military reprisals. Turkish sources acknowledge that some 13,000 civilians were killed and a similar number deported, other sources put the toll much higher.

Get in

The nearest airports are Elazığ () to the south and Erzincan () to the north, both with daily flights from Istanbul.

Those are also the nearest railway stations. Elazığ has a train twice a week from Ankara, heading to Tatvan for connections to Van, Tabriz and Tehran. Erzincan has a daily train from Ankara heading for Erzurum and Kars.

By road follow E80 to Erzincan or D300 to Elazığ: D885 twists and turns through the mountains between those highways. Shorter is the old road from Elazığ, 77 km via the Pertek ferry crossing of Keban barrage lake.

Tuncelililer buses run once a day from Istanbul and Ankara. There are six a day from Erzincan (2 hours) and four from Elazığ.

is central in town.

Get around

Town is walkable but won't take long. You need your own wheels to reach Munzur Valley or the beach.

See

thumb | 300px | Town panorama Tunceli Museum is on Ali Demir Cd next to Grand Şaroğlu Hotel, in a former barracks. It's open daily 08:00-17:00. Mosques are modern though in trad style. The main ones are Paşalar Cami, Paşa Cami, Cem Evi and Yunus Emre Merkez Cami. Munzur Valley National Park is a scenic area in the side-valley 7 km northwest of town. Pertek castle is seen from the ferry on the road from Elazığ: once on an outcrop, it's now an islet in the lake.

Do

Atatürk Stadyumu is the main sports venue, 2 km south of town centre along D885. Beaches are the last thing you'd expect here, but there are sandy beaches on Pülümür River, on D885 8 km east of town.

Buy

thumb | 300px | Munzur Valley National Park Azem Market is by the bus station at Fevzi Çakmak Cd 8, open daily 07:00-23:00.

Eat

A cluster of small eating places in town centre are open daily 07:00-21:00.

Drink

Try the cafes, but this is a conservative area.

Sleep

thumb | 300px | Pertek Castle Munzur Doğa Otel might be called glamping, they're cabins by the riverside.

Connect

As of Jan 2026, you might get a mobile signal in town from Türk Telekom or Turkcell, but there's no coverage on the approach roads. 5G has not yet rolled out in Turkey.