The story of Küre Mountains National Park

Of the 8 sensitive spots in Turkey considered in the 1990s, only the Küre Mountains made it onto Europe's list of 20 hot spots, natural areas in urgent need of protection. The most sensitive part of these mountains, spread across Kastamonu and Bartın provinces, became a national park in 1999. The park itself covers 34018 hectares within the Western Black Sea Karst Belt, and 103575 hectares together with its buffer zones.

Here heavy rain has carved the limestone into giant canyons, known locally as kısık, and caves, all set inside dense, humid forests. Walk among fir, beech and maple, and keep watch for brown bears, roe deer, wild boar and otters.

Red deer, which had vanished from the wild in Anatolia in the 1950s, were brought from Bolu and released here in 1999. In the Valla canyon, look up: its walls rise more than 1000 metres, and storm-like winds make it hard to reach.