The Bird Paradise National Park lies within the Bandırma and Manyas districts of Balıkesir, at the northeastern corner of Lake Manyas, and it matters for the number of bird, plant and fish species and the reptiles that depend on it. It holds the Council of Europe's Class A diploma, an international distinction, and it is one of the few protected areas established specifically for birds.
Lake Manyas itself, within the park boundaries, was declared a Ramsar site in 1998 under the international convention for the protection of wetlands that provide habitat for waterbirds. The park is reached by turning south at the fifteenth kilometre of the Balıkesir-Bandırma road and following a three-kilometre road; buses and midibuses run from Balıkesir to Manyas, and local transport serves the park from there.
- Designated
- 27.07.1959
Entry fee
- Marmara group 1 · category 1 · Per person
- 85 ₺
Getting there
- Access
- The park is north-east of Kuş Gölü, also called Manyas Gölü, in the Bandırma district. At the fifteenth kilometre of the Balıkesir–Bandırma road turn south and follow three kilometres. Many buses and midibuses run from Balıkesir to Manyas, and from Manyas city transport reaches the park.
When to go
- Climate
- Across Balıkesir as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from 4.9 °C in January to 25.7 °C in July; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in May, June, September and October; rainfall is heaviest in January (87 mm) and lightest in August (5 mm). Long-term means for 1999-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
