Turkey’s most biodiverse national park attracts shutterbugs

TUNCELİ

The eastern province of Tunceli, where Pülümür, Tağar, Mercan and Havaçor valleys are located, attracts visitors with its white appearance in winter and lush green in summer along with the Munzur Valley National Park, which is one of the largest national parks in Turkey.

The Munzur Valley National Park, spread over an area of 420 square kilometers in the city, offers eye-catching beauties in all seasons with its streams, plant diversity, waterfalls and endemic species.

According to records, the national park, which hosts visitors from Turkey and abroad every year, has 1,518 plant species, of which 227 plants are among the endemic species.

The national park offers a natural habitat to many species like birds, predators, fish, reptiles and rodents. And creatures such as wild goats, brown bears, chamois, lynxes, foxes, wolves, pigs and squirrels are frequently seen in the park, especially between May and August.

According to the records, 121 butterfly species also live in the region.
The national park, which becomes more colorful in the spring, also attracts the attention of wildlife photographers.

Photographers coming to the national park from the surrounding provinces and districts record the life of brown bears and wild goats living at high altitudes.

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency, nature photographer Malik Kaya said that the city stands out with its natural, historical and cultural beauties as well as its wildlife.

Stating that the Munzur Valley National Park presents a different beauty every season, Kaya said that there were many wild animals and plant species within the borders of the national park.

Noting that the borders of the national park start from the city center to the Ovacık district, he said: “When we take a walk in the national park, we can see many animals and plants in their natural environment. We especially come across wild goats, mountain goats, lynxes, bears, wolves, foxes and rabbits in the national park. It is said that an Anatolian leopard lives in the national park, too.”

Highlighting that the wild goat population is particularly high in the national park, Kaya said: “There are plenty of wild goat photographs in our archive. We go to the national park to take different and more impressive photos. We also see bears, and very rarely, we come across lynxes as well. There are many butterfly species in the national park and also endemic flowers. We take their photos.”