Mudurnu Sülüklü Lake National Park Camp

I love being in nature, it's a kind of antidepressant for me, being in the mountains, watching the green… For this weekend, I wanted to do a quiet camp that I hadn't been to before. I made a call from social media, as I often do. Bolu, which I have not been to before, is among the suggestions. Mudurnu district caught my attention among the suggestions. Places to camp in Mudurnu I did a google search and from the options that came up. Lake Sülüklü National Park It provided the features I was looking for.

Our Stops on the Road: Taraklı and Göynük

We left the house early on Saturday morning. On the way to Sülüklü Lake, we extend our way a little and see the Ottoman cities on the Silk Road. splayed ve Goynuk We wanted it to enter our route. After Sapanca, we headed south and then east, and reached Taraklı approximately 2 hours after leaving Istanbul. You may remember Taraklı from Şener Şen's advertisements for the Village of Possible. When we went to Taraklı, it was just midday heat, and because it was Ramadan time, the surroundings were pretty empty. After taking a quick tour of the bazaar and shopping for fruit and vegetables we needed for camping, we continued on our way.

After 20km from Taraklı, we stopped in Göynük. This is one of Turkey's quieter cities. Since Ottoman houses are under protection, old houses have been restored or new buildings have been built in accordance with the old ones. It has become one of the beautiful city settlements that we rarely see in Turkey. At the same time, the tomb of Akşemsettin, the teacher of Fatih Sultan Mehmet, is located here. There is also a Victory Tower overlooking the city. This tower was built to symbolize Goynuk's achievements in the War of Independence. I can't say the same for Taraklı, but Göynük is worth seeing.

While continuing from Göynük in the direction of Mudurnu, there is also Çubuk Lake, but we did not stop by because we were going to Sülüklü Lake, maybe next time.

Sülüklü Lake National Park

Before going from Göynük to Mudurnu, we turned towards Adapazarı and started climbing up the mountain roads. The important point here is that you find the Tavşansuyu Village. After this village, you can reach Sülüklü Göl National Park by a 9 km stabilized road. They said the road is very bad but not too bad, maybe it can be difficult to go in rainy season. On the 9 km road, there is a stream next to you and a variety of trees around you. Even walking on this green road was a pleasure for me.

Considering that we went in June 2017, I would ask you to read the next chapter. 

National Parks put up a sign saying we are temporarily out of service. Normally, there is someone who charges for the entrance fee and camping at the entrance of the National Park. He becomes a toilet, becomes a night watchman. There are none at the moment. There is no place to buy anything, so it's a good idea to make sure you go fully equipped. I'm not sure what's in the nearest village 9km down, but there are a few trout facilities between the village and the park.

There are camping and picnic areas and picnic tables by the lake. Quite often there are fountains and litter boxes. The lake is not very big and because it was formed as a result of landslides, the hills around it are very steep, so there is no flat area for many tents. Since we went during Ramadan, it wasn't crowded, probably so we found a nice campsite and were able to spend two days without hearing human voices.

Of course, not everything was so rosy. Unfortunately, there were those who shot guns day and night. Since we were in a narrow valley, the sound of gunfire was incredibly loud. I don't know if they were hunting or shooting for fun, but it was a little annoying, of course. There was also a crazy population of frogs in the lake and they croak a lot, I never hung out because I love nature sounds, but I guess they didn't keep my husband asleep all night 🙂

Sülüklü Lake was formed as a result of a landslide 300 years ago, and there are still dry trees left from the landslide in the lake. It adds beauty to the beauty of the rose. I don't know if it was from the time we went or the light, but it offers a visual feast with wonderful reflections. There is a path around the lake, where you can take short walks, there is a walking route drawn between the lake and the village, you can also take a walk on that route.

Sülüklü Göl is a great choice if you want to rest your head, relax and get enough of the green on the weekend.