Ovacık lies north of Tunceli and takes its name from the 74-square-kilometre plain set among the mountains. At 1,538 square kilometres it is the largest district of the province by area. It is 65 kilometres from the provincial centre, reached by a road that runs alongside the Munzur through the Munzur Valley national park.
The Munzur springs, which carry both a touristic and a sacred character, are 20 kilometres west of the district centre. The Munzur that flows through the city of Tunceli rises in the village of Ziyaret in Ovacık. That village has been named as one of four candidates put forward for the United Nations World Tourism Organization's Best Tourism Village programme run in 2026 — a candidacy, not yet an award.
The district stands at 1,300 metres, and its highest point is the 3,071-metre Ziyaret peak. Its main watercourse is the Munzur. Winters are cold with snow and summers cool.
What people come for is concentrated in a few places: the Munzur Valley national park, the Munzur springs, the Mercan valley and the Mercan stream with its own springs. The Munzur springs in particular are visited by thousands from spring onward.
Getting there
- Access
- The village is reached from the Tunceli-Ovacik road or the Hozat-Ovacik road.
When to go
- Climate
- Across Tunceli as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from -1.8 °C in January to 27.1 °C in July; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in May, June and September; rainfall is heaviest in December (133 mm) and lightest in August (5 mm). Long-term means for 1960-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
