Şahinler Tabiat Parkı

About Şahinler Tabiat Parkı

Şahinler Nature Park is a small protected forest with a pond in the north of Kızılcahamam district, close to the border with Bolu province. It was declared a nature park in 2009 and is managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's Nature Conservation and National Parks directorate. According to the directorate, the park's main assets are its natural forest and the pond inside the site. It lies about 107 km from central Ankara, 30 km from Kızılcahamam town and 30 km from Gerede in Bolu, and is reached on the Ankara-Bolu state highway, which runs along its southern and south-western edge, so it is easy to reach by car. The site is run by a concession holder and has a guesthouse, toilets, a jetty on the pond and an entrance control point. The directorate notes that the forest has potential for trekking, hiking, photography and wildlife watching, but that at present visitors mainly come for picnics and short nature walks. Expect a quiet, simple setting rather than a developed resort; bring what you need for a picnic. Şahinler pairs well with the other protected forests of Kızılcahamam, such as Soğuksu National Park and Kartaltepe Nature Park.