Abant, Turkey

Abant 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 stanbul-Ankara E5 highway at the level of Mount Bolu, three hours' drive from these two largest cities of Turkey). Lake Abant is a natural park.Lake Abant shoreThe lake covers an area of 1.28 km² and its deepest spot is 18 m. The lake area has two large hotels in the immediate vicinity of the shores, as well as other amenities and services for visitors, who sometimes alternatively opt for the family guesthouses available in the nearby town of Mudurnu 18 km to the south. To the north of the lake, at a distance of 8 km 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 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. A brown trout subspecies Salmo trutta abanticus, endemic to the lake, carries the Turkish name "Abant alas,