Cemal Tural Nature Park is a 51-hectare woodland on the edge of Ardahan, and it takes its name from the thirteenth Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Republic. It was declared on 11 July 2011. It lies near the Yenisey campus of Ardahan University, about nine kilometres from the city centre.
The forest is natural Scots pine, with a plantation of silver birch making up the other half of the picture. For a park this close to a city the mammal list is striking: roe deer, brown bear, wolf, lynx, wild boar, red squirrel, fox and hare. Sparrowhawk, common buzzard, lesser spotted eagle, blackbird, kestrel and little owl are the birds recorded.
The day-use area is laid out with drinking fountains, arbours, toilets, a children's play area, barbecue hearths and bins. Picnicking, walking and cycling are the activities, and the directorate says people come mainly in spring and summer to picnic. Capacity is 1,500 visitors and 100 vehicles.
Turning left off Kars Avenue, the park is on the right along the Ardahan-Çıldır road. Minibuses leaving the city centre pass in front of it.
- Designated
- 11.07.2011
Entry fee
- Southeastern Anatolia group 1 · category 2 · Per person
- 40 ₺
Visiting hours
- Visiting hours
- 08:30 - 20:00
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).
