- Mount Ilgaz
Mount Ilgaz National Park is one of the most beautiful national parks of our country stretching from the Black Sea Region to the Central Anatolia Region in the cities of Çankırı and Kastamonu. The park, where you can see dozens of shades of green, has a very rich vegetation and vibrant presence because it is a transition area between the coastal and inland regions. In Ilgaz, which has become one of the important centers of our country in terms of winter tourism, walking among fir forests on snow is among the greatest passions of visitors. Fairy-tale images of snow-covered pine trees also attract photographers to the Ilgaz mountains. Ilgaz, one of the places with tourism potential in our country with its unspoiled natural beauties, has a surface area of 1,088 hectares and has been under protection since 1976. Mount Ilgaz National Park is in the Western Black Sea Region, 31 percent within the provincial borders of Çankırı and 69 percent within the borders of Kastamonu. The Mount Ilgaz, which have a length of approximately 160 kilometers, are located on the transition zone from the Black Sea to Central Anatolia and extend in the southwest-northeast direction. Mount Ilgaz is one of the highest mountains in the western part of the Black Sea Region, and the highest point is Büyük Hacettepe. The height of this summit is 2 thousand 587 meters. The national park is mostly covered with coniferous trees. Black pine, scotch pine, fir and juniper trees are among the tree species frequently encountered in Mount Ilgaz. The forest cover has developed in these mountains, which show humid and climatic conditions compared to their surroundings, and the lengths of the firs and pines that make up these forests reach over 30 meters in places. Where trees are dense, the sky is almost invisible.
The vegetation is also very rich and new species are discovered every year. It has the most important endemic diversity in terms of vegetation diversity. Some of the plant species you can see in the region are aloe, fern, cottonwood, Ergeçsakalı, Kırreyhanı plant species.
Mount Ilgaz are also considered as “Important Bird Area” and “Important Mammal Area” in Turkey due to the birds of prey and mammals it hosts. In addition, bear, wolf, fox, deer, roe deer and wild boar can be found in the region. In other words, natural life still continues.
How to get to Mount Ilgaz National Park?
The highway that goes to Kastamonu and Çankırı via Ankara passes through the borders of the national park. The nearest airport to the national park, 200 km from Ankara and 40 km from Kastamonu, is in Kastamonu. Flights to Kastamonu Airport are not very frequent, so you can also choose Ankara Esenboğa Airport.
