Travel aficionados choose Ekincik as best camping site in winter

ISTANBUL

Travel writers have chosen the best 10 camping sites in winter across the country, with Ekincik camping site in the southwestern province of Muğla taking the lead.

“There are tents, bungalows and caravans in Ekincik. There is no TV or any music broadcast in the restaurant. There is only silence and peace in Ekincik,” Melih Uslu, a travel writer, told the daily Hürriyet on Jan. 2.

He suggested Ekincik to those who love to “bliss out in nature.”

The village of Belemedik in the southern province of Adana’s Pozantı district follows Ekincik on the list.

“The valley of Belemedik, which names the village, is a place to see at all seasons. But the valley is best at winter,” said Melih Daşgın, daily’s travel writer.

The reefs of Kanara in Istanbul’s neighboring province of Tekirdağ is the third camping site the experts suggest.

Travel enthusiast Bahar Gündoğdu recommends Kanara, which is located in the Saray district just 90 kilometers away from Istanbul, for those interested in mountaineering rather than camping.

The fourth destination on the list is Soğuksu National Park in the capital Ankara. Yıldırım Güngör called the national park in the Kızılcahamam district “a place to camp at all seasons.”

“There is a 20-million-year-old fossil tree inside the park. People can also visit Lake Karagöl,” Güngör added.

The Hacılı camping site in the Şile district of Istanbul made it to the fifth spot on the top 10 list.

“A stream, a pond, a waterfall, rock climbing, off-road activity… Hacılı has everything a camper would wish for,” Erol Geygel, a camper, told daily Hürriyet.

The Şahinler Natural Park in the capital Ankara ranks sixth, Çamlıhemşin district of the northern province of Rize ranks seventh and famous Abant Natural Park in the Black Sea province of Bolu ranks eighth on the list.

Another natural park in Bolu, Göksu and Keles Uphill in the northwestern province of Bursa shared the last spots on the travel writers’ recommendation list.