The Dilek peninsula is a natural reserve to many wild but interestingly also somewhat domestic animal species such as wildboars which you can watch in our video up , and you can see almost all of the plants of the Mediterranean and the Caucasus regions. If you’re visiting Kusadasi, you should definitely see the Dilek Peninsula (Guzelcamli National Park) which has been taken under protection by the Council of Europe as a Flora Biogenetic Reserve Area, which keeps many underwater beauties in its crystal clear water.
You can reach the peninsula via Kusadasi-Davutlar-Guzelcamli and you can also use the google map below. The entrance fee to the park is 17 TL as of 2020 and it can be paid with HGS (Fast Transit System). Apart from a private vehicle, you can also go to Güzelçamlı National Park by minibuses departing from Davutlar but you must be prepared for som strict rules in the peninsula. Neither samovar nor barbecue fires are allowed in the National Park naturally and if you see a fire burning call the gendarmerie immediately please, because it is an incredibly beautiful and delicate nature and it will be a disaster if it burns as a result of an accident.
All beaches have picnic tables, showers and changing booths, but keep in mind that there are no facilities to buy something. If you plan to stay during the day, definitely bring your water and snacks with you and be careful not to have them stolen by the piggies 🙂 . Also, if your mobile phone is open to roaming, be sure to close it to avoid a bad surprise, it connects to Greece where Turkish networks do not.
The National Park, which offers magnificent views with all shades of blue and green that you cannot get enough of with a view of Samos island in the background with 3 viewing terraces starting from the entrance gate, Olukludere Canyon track is another beauty that can be visited for nature walks and bird watching if you have time. On this route, you can find the Mykale observation deck at the 7th kilometer of the canyon, which offers you the magnificent valley and forest view of the Mykale (Dilek) mountain, where Icarus in Greek mythology takes off with its wings of wax. Especially for bird watching and photography, seeing this route is a must.
One of the most uncommon thing in Güzelçamlı National Park is of course the wild boars that visit while you have your breakfast. Sows that roam with their offspring are so almost domesticated that they get close like cats or dogs, but beware of lone and male pigs in general because they can attack. Though the male ones generally do not mess with people much and they hang out at a distance. The females and puppies wandering among people seem unlikely to attack, they are quite calm but nonetheless it’s important to be careful. Sometimes there were attempts to steal food from deserted tables. Keep in mind not to leave alone the food on the table here. So, Güzelçamlı National Park gives you an incredible experience in this respect. The National Park which hosts rare species such as the Mediterranean monk seal, is also known as the last place where the extinct Anatolian Leopard lived in Anatolia.
Although we have been mainly in this region for many years in the summers we hadn’t see this region so far but choosing the weekend to visit here was a real mistake we are sure that it would be much better to visit here on weekdays. We strongly recommend not to visit on weekends in order to enjoy this magnificent nature by listening to the nature and to stay away from the car queues that last almost half an hour.
The favorite places of the Dilek peninsula are of course its clean coves with their brilliant water. There are 4 coves in the National Park, actually more, but the gendarmerie seized the coves after the 4th cove, so you cannot go further. Especially since the first cove is near the entrance, it is incredibly crowded on weekends, so it would be better to pass the first cove or stop by briefly to see and continue.
1- İçmeler Bay (Springs Bay)
This cove which you can reach out about 1 km after the entrance, is actually quite wide with a length of 310 meters and can be enjoyable if you go on weekdays, but since it is the first cove after the entrance it is incredibly crowded, especially in the weekends. By the way, it may be preferred by families with children, as this is the beach with the shallowest water depth.
2- Aydinlik Bay (Bright Bay)
This cove is approximately 4 km from İçmeler cove and has the longest beach after Kavaklıburun cove. The red pines reach out to the beach like in other coves and you can enjoy the sea with the scent of pine trees. The crowd is getting smaller here but it is still crowded because of the weekend time.
3- Kavakliburun (Kalamaki) Bay
Kavaklıburun Cove, which is about 10 km away from the entrance, has the longest beach in the National Park with its 1000-meter beach. It is the best cove with its magnificent water and places where you can have breakfast under the pine trees to relax yourself. We encountered a lot of pigs in this cove so if you want to see the pigs, this cove seems to be the most preferred cove by the them.
4- Karasu Bay
The bay, which comes after Kavaklıburun has a 500-meter long beach and its distance from the entrance is around 10 km. Unfortunately, you cannot go on more after here. There is a gendarmerie barracks at the end of the road and they dont let you pass most probably the nature is much more delicate after this point.
Zeus Cave
Zeus Cave is on the left 200 meters before the entrance of the Dilek Peninsula and there is a parking lot in front of it which was currently being expanded. The cave, which you can reach with a 5-10 minute walk from the main road, is generally overlooked by the National Park visitors, but it is actually a really beautiful natural formation, but because of the crowd when we visited it had a blurry water and much noise … So if you go early in the morning, a better view will probably welcome you.
It is believed that you can see Zeus when you enter the cave, whose entrance was rocky but now accessible by platforms, and look carefully at the opposite wall. This cave has also different stories. In one of them Zeus came here and was washed to protect himself from the wrath of the god of the seas, Poseidon, when Poseidon hit the ground and mixed the sea and sky. According to another story, while the Pan-Ionian meetings (the union of Ancient Greece) were held by the kings in this region, the wives of the kings were swimming in this cave while they were wating their husbands.
You can also visit the official website of the peninsula clicking the picture below and use the google map under it.
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