Aktaş Lake is a shallow lake of tectonic origin on a high plateau that straddles the border: of its 2700 hectares, together with twelve bare, thinly vegetated islands, 1400 hectares lie within Turkey. A few small streams feed it, and only in spring, when the water is very high, does it spill over into the Kura river. Its water carries a high concentration of soda. Around it are fields and meadows, with small reedbeds along the shore.
The lake matters most for its birds. It is one of three places in Turkey where the great white pelican breeds (50 pairs) and one of seven for the Dalmatian pelican (20 pairs), and it is the only wetland in the country where the two species nest side by side. The velvet scoter and ruddy shelduck add to its standing as an important bird area.
When to go
- Climate
- Across Ardahan as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from -11.2 °C in January to 16.1 °C in August; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in July and August; rainfall is heaviest in June (92 mm) and lightest in January (20 mm). Long-term means for 1958-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
