Lake Van is the largest lake in Turkey, the largest soda (sodium-carbonate) lake in the world, and one of the largest endorheic lakes on the planet — meaning no river flows out of it. The water is intensely blue, slightly salty, and feels soapy to the touch. The lake formed when a volcanic eruption in prehistory blocked the outflow of an older lake; the Nemrut and Süphan volcanoes that ring it are part of the same system.
The shoreline is dotted with stops worth making: the church on Akdamar, the medieval cemetery at Gevaş, the village of Adilcevaz under the Süphan volcano, and the warm-water beaches near Edremit just south of the city. A circuit of the lake by car takes most of two days and is one of the great underrated drives in Turkey.