Istanbul: Bursa & Uludag Mountain Day Trip with Cable Car

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.52 (112 reviews) 81% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/9

Duration14h

GroupUp to 15

LanguagesEN · AR

PickupAt your hotel

What happens when you take a cable car 2,000 meters up a Turkish mountain at midday?

You're picked up from your Istanbul hotel, ferried across the Sea of Marmara, and guided through Bursa's Green Mosque and Green Tomb—two of the finest Ottoman buildings still standing. A cable car takes you up Uludag mountain, where you eat barbeque lunch and have time to walk the national park. The cable car ride back down is included, as is all transport and the ferry. Plan for a full day—10 to 12 hours—and check the weather forecast, since high winds or fog can close the cable car.

14h

Step-by-step itinerary

Bursa and Uludag Mountain tour

Travel from Istanbul to Bursa
Visit Green Mosque
Visit Green Tomb
Take Bursa Cable Car
Explore Uludag National Park
Enjoy barbeque lunch on mountain
Rent ATV for Uludag carting

The Experience

You leave Istanbul early, cross the Sea of Marmara by ferry, and land in Bursa—a city that used to be the Ottoman capital and still feels like it. Your guide meets you at the hotel, and the first stop is the Green Mosque, built in 1424, its turquoise tiles catching light in a way that photographs don't quite capture. The dome is enormous, the courtyard quiet even when other tourists are there. Next door is the Green Tomb, where Mehmet Celebi was buried—the sultan's mausoleum, also tiled in that same green that gives both buildings their name. You're standing in front of 600 years of Ottoman architecture, and it's not crowded because most day trips from Istanbul don't make it this far.

After the mosques, you drive up toward Uludag National Park. The cable car—the teleferik—takes you the rest of the way, and the view opens up as you rise. At the top, lunch is barbeque cooked on the mountain, with soft drinks included, and you have time to walk around, breathe the cooler air, and understand why people come here to ski in winter. The cable car ride down is the same journey in reverse, but somehow it feels different when you're leaving. The whole Bursa & Uludag day trip runs about 10 to 12 hours from pickup to dropoff, which means you're back in Istanbul by evening, not exhausted but definitely moved.

One thing to know: the cable car doesn't run if the weather turns—wind, fog, or rain can shut it down, and there's no way around that. On those days, you still see Bursa's mosques and the park, but you miss the ride up. It's worth asking about the forecast when you book, though the guide will know on the morning itself. Hotel pickup and all transport in an air-conditioned minivan are included, so you don't navigate ferries or mountain roads yourself. The guide speaks English, and the group stays small enough that you're not herded through the sites.

What’s included

Hotel pickup and dropoff in Istanbul, ferry crossing to Bursa, professional English-speaking guide, all transport in a non-smoking air-conditioned minivan, entry to the Green Mosque and Green Tomb, one-way cable car passage up Uludag mountain, and barbeque lunch with soft drinks served on the mountain.

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Tourmania

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see Bursa's Ottoman mosques and ride a mountain cable car in one day without arranging ferries, transport, or a guide yourself—the fixed schedule and included pickup mean you step out of your hotel and into the itinerary.