Şah Ardıç is a stinking juniper of exceptional size in the Göltarla quarter of Elmalı district, Antalya province, declared a natural monument on 21 February 1995 on 0.25 hectares. Before planning a visit, note where it stands: inside the Çığlıkara Nature Conservation Area and within the Cedar Research Forest, which the directorate says is used for educational and scientific purposes only. Çığlıkara's own page states that entry and exit there are prohibited without special permission. The directorate nevertheless lists a capacity of 50 visitors and 10 vehicles, and directions by private car through Elmalı to the Işıkbeli locality.
The tree is of the species Juniperus foetidissima. The directorate gives its age as 996 years. It is 22.8 metres tall and 2.42 metres across.
Its size, its age and what the directorate calls its extreme growth are the reasons it was protected. There are no facilities at the site.
- Designated
- 21.02.1995
Visiting hours
- Visiting hours
- 08:30 - 17:00
When to go
- Climate
- Across Antalya as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from 10.1 °C in January to 28.6 °C in July; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in April, May, October and November; rainfall is heaviest in December (251 mm) and lightest in August (4 mm). Long-term means for 1930-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
