Guide
The Floating Islands natural monument lies four and a half kilometres off the Solhan–Bingöl road, at the Aksakal hamlet of the village of Hazarşah in the Solhan district. It formed entirely by natural means and was found by the people living in the district.
The lake is a crater lake on flat ground with mountains and hills closing it in on three sides. Its present area is more than 300 square metres, and the source holds that it would exceed 500 if the lake were improved. Its depth is known to be more than fifty metres. There is a constant flow: water entering beneath the lake and through its arches feeds the stream lower down, and the small springs there confirm this. The level stays the same in summer and winter. The water is fresh and clear and contains no mineral salt, and fish could be raised in it.
Three islands move about in the middle of the lake, independent of it. Stepped on, an island drifts slowly in any direction, like a raft. Four or five stunted ash trees grow on it, and the plants around are fed by the water of the lake. The grass roots on the island are creeping ones, so that the soil has knitted and stuck fast to them; looking closely at the structure of the island in the middle of the lake, meadow grass, couch grass and various water plants can be seen growing on it.
- Designated
- 5.08.2003
Entry fee
- Black Sea group 3 · category 2 · Per person
- 50 ₺