The site around the Gilindire cave was first declared a natural monument in August 2013, and in June 2021 its status was changed to a nature park. It covers 107 hectares in the Aydıncık district of Mersin, with the Mediterranean to its south.
It is 7.5 kilometres east of Aydıncık; from Mersin, take the road towards Aydıncık for about 106 kilometres and then the Aydıncık turning for a further 7.5. It has capacity for 250 visitors and 200 vehicles.
The park lies on the coast of the Taşeli plateau, an eco-region represented by about 1,053 animal species, and because it takes in four of the ecosystems typical of the region, the directorate says it holds much of the faunal variety of the plateau and of Mersin province. Its list of species recorded or likely to occur includes the Mediterranean monk seal and the bottlenose dolphin offshore, several bats, the porcupine, the Egyptian mongoose and the chameleon. The plant cover is Mediterranean — red pine, oak, plane, cypress, carob, strawberry tree, mastic, myrtle, oleander and Judas tree — and every plant taxon assessed falls in the IUCN least-concern category. The nearest airport is Gazipaşa–Alanya, about 100 kilometres away in a straight line; Mersin lies about 60 kilometres away as the crow flies.
- Designated
- 1.06.2021
Visiting hours
- Visiting hours
- 08:00 - 19:30
When to go
- Climate
- Across Mersin as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from 10.4 °C in January to 28.5 °C in August; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in April, May, October and November; rainfall is heaviest in December (137 mm) and lightest in August (7 mm). Long-term means for 1929-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
