Explore With Me: MOUNT IDA - TURKEY

With so many natural beauties, Turkey is a must see country. Thought I'd share with you our camping trip to the one of the scenic beauties today; Mount Ida or -as we call it in Turkey- Kazdagi.

It is believed that first beauty contest of the world took place here, and -with Paris choosing the winner- this contest caused the Trojan War. There are many more myths about Mount Ida. The only thing I can say is not a myth is that how breathtakingly beautiful it is.

What did we do?

The first day we went hiking on the national park. The 2,4 km^2 national park is under protection, for no other reason than the human effect on environment and ecosystem. We first visited the two waterfalls in national park;
-Hasanboguldu
-Sutuven
And than we just hiked around the national park and enjoyed the view. Here are some pictures;

After spending half day in national park, we left for Sahindere Canyon. If you like walking tracks, you might skip the national park but this canyon is a must to see. It is very secluded and -because some part of the track involves walking in the knee high-freezing cold-slippery river- not many people goes till the end. Once we finishd the track it was worth every challenge.

Where did we stay?

There are a great deal of camping areas at different locations on Mount Ida. We found a secluded one, inside the woods and right next to a river, called Endes Camping.

Later we found out that our camping area was in fact right next to a walking track. On our second day we decided to hike on that track.

On our way back to our tents, we were accompanied by goats and their shepherd.

Mount Ida was one the most peaceful, fun, relaxing camping experiences I had. Wheter you like hiking and exploring or you like relaxing and watching beautiful view Mount Ida responds to every taste.