| Size: | 9500 ha. |
| Coordinates: | 40 28 N 32 33 E |
| Altitude: | 900 - 1849 m. |
| Location: | The National Park is located adjacent to the E5 (the old Istanbul - Ankara highway), west of Kýzýlcahamam which is 75 km north of Ankara. The gate of the park is at the end of the main road through the town. |
| Site description: | The park is a basin
surrounded by high mountains (peak with ca. 1800 m.) with steep slopes.
The lower altitudes are covered by oak scrubs while the upper slopes are
covered by forest, dominated by Black Pine and Yellow Pine on higher
altitudes.
The park includes a circular route (marked as çevre yolu). The start of the route is before the end of the metalled road to the right just before a fountain. The route leads to the top where the route follows the ridge of a high hill surrounded by to deep valleys on both sides. Here the road that goes strait on brings you back to the gate, whereas the road to the right leads to more virgin parts of the park and at last through a remote mountain village (Elören) and down to Kýrmýr stream. |
| Strategy: | Best time to visit is between mid-April and October. The spring migration and early summer can be prefered for breeding birds, but autumn is the best period for raptors. In winter good flocks of Vultures and Eagles may be encountered around some dead animals. Avoid weekends on bright good weathers as the park is used by thousands of picknickers from Ankara. The circular route is 20 km long and can be easily walked in a day. It is a good idea to get to the top and spend some time for the seach for raptors. |
| Birds: | The park and its surroundings
are especially important for raptors including breeding Black Kite,
Black Vulture (6-8 pairs), Bearded Vulture (2 pairs),
Egyptian Vulture (15 pairs), Short-toed Eagle, Sparrowhawk,
Goshawk, Buzzard, Long-legged Buzzard, Golden Eagle, Booted Eagle (3
pairs), Kestrel, Hobby, Peregrine and probably Lanner.
Griffon Vulture, Imperial Eagle, Lesser Spotted Eagle has also
been observed.
Other breeding birds include Black Stork (5 pairs), White Stork (min. 20 pairs), Ruddy Shelduck, Woodpigeon, Hoopoe, Crag Martin, Redstart of race sammamicus, Lesser Whitethroat, Chiffchaff, Sombre Tit, Kruepers Nuthatch, Raven, Chaffinch, Serin, Crossbill and Rock Bunting. On migration flycatchers especially Collared Flycatcher, warblers and thrushes may be observed. Several rare or important species like White-tailed Eagle, Bonelli's Eagle, Tengmalm's Owl, Black Woodpecker, Grey-headed Woodpecker, Olive-tree Warbler, Treecreeper have been observed in the area. |
| Other wildlife: | Hare, Wild Boar, Lynx, Fox, Wolf and Brown Bear are found in the National Park. |