Sarıkayalar Tabiat Parkı covers 25.45 hectares at the Sığır plateau in the Çamlıyayla district of Mersin and was declared on 31 July 2017.
The site is forest ecosystem, and typical maquis covers most of it. Common juniper and prickly juniper are the dominant species; Calabrian pine appears only on the western face. Among the other principal species of the maquis are Lebanon cedar, kermes oak, strawberry tree, terebinth, elm, hornbeam and Daphne sericea, with flowering and herbaceous plants beneath them.
The park has a stated capacity of 50 visitors and 20 vehicles. The route runs from Tarsus along the Çamlıyayla road and Göpter Caddesi. Where the Çamlıyayla road divides — north towards Fakılar and north-west towards Çayırekinliği — continue about 650 metres towards Çayırekinliği, then leave Göpter Caddesi onto the asphalt road running north, about seven metres wide, and follow it 700 metres to the park's southern boundary. That road continues about 200 metres through the park to its northern boundary and 75 metres beyond before dividing again; the gravel road running north-east for a further 700 metres reaches the park's north-eastern boundary.
- Designated
- 31.07.2017
Entry fee
- Mediterranean group 3 · category 1 · Per person
- 65 ₺
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).
