Bridge Over Abant Lake-3 Stock Photo

Lake Abant (Turkish: Abant Gölü) is a freshwater lake in Turkey's Bolu Province in northwest Anatolia, formed as a result of a great landslide. The lake lies at an altitude of 1,328 m at a distance of 32 km from the provincial seat of Bolu city. It is a favorite vacation and excursion spot for both Turkish and foreign travellers thanks to the natural beauty of its surroundings, which are covered with dense forests, and easy access by car (it is served by a 21 km road leaving from the İstanbul-Ankara E 80 highway at the level of Mount Bolu, three hours' drive from these two largest cities of Turkey). Lake Abant is a natural park.European black pine, Scots pine, oaks, ashes, hornbeams, willows, junipers, tamarisks, hazels, common medlar, and strawberry trees are among the tree species that make up the lake's woodlands, and there are wild boars, fallow deer, roe deer, brown bears, red foxes, jackals and rabbits in the surrounding forests, which makes the lake a prized location for hunters during the season