Lake Abant |
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The lake extends at an altitude of 1,328 m at a distance of 32 km from the province seat of Bolu city. Thanks to the natural beauty of its surrroundings that are covered with dense forests and advantaged by easy access (it is served by a 21 km road leaving from İstanbul-Ankara E5 highway at the level of Mount Bolu, at three hours drive from these two largest cities of Turkey), it is favorite vacation and excursion spot both for Turkish and foreign travellers. Lake Abant is a natural park. The lake covers an area of 1.28 km² and its deepest spot is 18 m. The lake area has two large hotels in immediate vicinity of the shores, as well as other amenities and services for visitors, who sometimes also opt for the family guesthouses available in the nearby (18 km) town of Mudurnu to the south. To the north of the lake, at 8 km distance from Bolu city is the main campus of Abant Izzet Baysal University. European Black Pine, Scots Pine, oaks, ashes, hornbeams, willows, junipers, tamarisks, hazels, Common Medlar, and Strawberry Tree are among the tree species that compose the lake's woodlands, and there are Wild Boar, Fallow Deer, Roe Deer, Brown Bear, Red Fox, Jackal, Rabbit in the surrounding forests, which makes the lake a prized location by hunters during the season. An endemic Brown trout subspecies Salmo trutta abanticus of the lake, carries the Turkish name "Abant alası". |