Soguksu Milli Parki

The 1,050ha/2,600acre national park west of Kizilcahamam was established in 1959 to safeguard the natural forest of the upper Kirmir Çayi catchment area and create a groundwater reservoir. Whole villages had to be re-sited in the process. With its open-air theater, cafes and picnic places the park is popular for excursions. Ranging in altitude from 950m to 1,716m/3,120ft to 5,630ft, the tree cover is predominantly coniferous forest but with some stands of oak (quercus pubescens). Wolves, foxes, wild boar, brown bears and more than 160 species of birds, including such birds of prey as Egyptian vultures, booted eagles and buzzards, live here in the wild.