The upper Karasu, the headwater branch of the Euphrates that flows through the Erzincan plain, has a series of rapids between Erzincan and Kemah that have made the area a centre for Turkish whitewater rafting. Several local companies run trips of varying lengths between May and early September, when snowmelt keeps the flow up.
The standard trip is a half-day descent of around 15 kilometres with class II-III rapids and several dramatic gorges. Longer multi-day expeditions go all the way to Kemaliye. The water is cold even in summer because the river is fed by glaciers in the Munzur Mountains; wetsuits are normally provided.