Kartaltepe Nature Park sits high on the Ganos mountain ridge above the Sea of Marmara, in Süleymanpaşa district of Tekirdağ, and the altitude is the point: forest, sea and island are all in the same view. It was declared on 6 February 2014 and covers 254 hectares.
What brings people from Tekirdağ and the neighbouring provinces is paragliding, which is flown from here when the season allows, together with the park's closeness to the city. Walking, running, cycling and photo safari tours are the other activities listed. The day-use grounds have picnic units, a prayer room, toilets, a drinking fountain, children's play equipment and stalls selling local produce. Stated capacity is 5,250 visitors and 1,600 vehicles.
The park administration is explicit that visitors use the site at their own risk, and it names the risks rather than leaving them vague: lightning strikes, falling trees and branches, landslides, ground made slippery by rain and after it, insect stings and harm from wild animals. It accepts no responsibility for injury, death or loss of belongings arising from these or from the facilities.
Forest, steppe and meadow vegetation all occur. Pedunculate and Hungarian oak, prickly juniper, hornbeam and oriental beech are the dominant species, with rock rose, dog rose, common heather and hawthorn beneath them. Red fox, badger, brown hare and forest dormouse are the mammals the directorate singles out; hedgehog and mole rat were also confirmed during field work, and there are Greek tortoises, lizards, frogs and snakes. The approach from Tekirdağ city centre is the Mürefte-Barbaros road, passing Barbaros, Kumbağ and Yeniköy.
- Designated
- 6.02.2014
When to go
- Climate
- Across Tekirdağ as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from 4.9 °C in January to 23.9 °C in August; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in May, June, July, August, September and October; rainfall is heaviest in December (79 mm) and lightest in August (15 mm). Long-term means for 1940-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
