Midwinter tranquility Mount Ilgaz
It had been snowing hard ever since i left Istanbul. I turned off the motorway onto the Samsun road and before long i saw snow covered hills which filled me with a childish joy. I felt like getting out of the car and rolling in the snow until i was exhausted. I did not succumb however, and carried on until i reached the junction leading south to Cankiri and North to Kastamonu. There i was warned to fit the chains on the tyres, and carried on to Ilgaz. I took the winding road towards the summit, wreathed in cloud. The sun came out once in a while to wink at the earth. Fresh snow lay like a quilt over the forest. I passed the Highway Maintenance Office at the summit and 27 kilometers later
the sign reading Mount Ilgaz National Park guided me to the ski resort. From there i walked 2 kilometers past the resort and turned off into the forest. I exchanged greetings with elderly couples out for their morning walk. Evidently human beings were not the first to leave their footprints in the snow. The inhabitants of the forest had been seeking food at night, leaving prints which must have belonged to bears, wolves and other wild creatures. The chair lift had begun to work and following its course which gave me a bird`s eye view over the north slopes of Ilgaz, i climbed up to Karakecilik peak. The chair lift carries skiers to the top of a 900 meter long ski slope, and just to the west of this is a 1500 meter ski slope served by a ski lift. The skiing instructors told me that both these slopes are close to international standards, with an average gradient and suited to short slalom races.
Mount Ilgaz became a national park in 1976. The ski resort here has two private hotels (Ilgaz Kayakevi and Ilgaz Dagbasi Otel) and a guest house belonging to Department of Rural Services. On the southern slopes of Karakecilik are two more hotels, the Doruk and Motel Derbent. As the day advanced the ski slopes became busier, with inexperienced skiers and their instructors, children on sleds, professional skiers, people riding on the chair lift, and walkers. At the weekends people come here for the day from Kastamonu, Ankara and other nearby cities to enjoy the spectacular natural beauty of Ilgaz. When the sun dips behind the summit of Kazancal, skiers and walkers head back for the hotels.
The winter sports season at Ilgaz begins in December and ends in April. It is within easy reach of several large towns and cities, including Ankara, and many skiers and university students come here from the capital at weekends. Coaches from Ankara to Kastamonu pass close by, so it is not essential to have your own car. Mount Ilgaz is 450 kilometers from Istanbul and 720 kilometers from Izmir.
If you come by a car, turn off motorway onto the Samsun road at Gerede, and drive eastwards until you reach the crossroads where the Cankiri and Kastamonu roads go their seperate ways. The ski resort 27 kilometers further on.
Out of skiing season Mount Ilgaz National Park is popular, too, particularly with mountain climbers and hikers drawn by its beautiful wild scenery. In the Baldiran Valley inside the park is a trout farm and fishing lakes, where angling is permitted between 15 June and 15 September. If you do not want to catch your own, you can buy fresh trout from the local trout farms.
Whether you come to fish, ski, walk along the snowy paths through the forest, breathe the fresh crisp air, or just enjoy the scenery, Ilgaz is the perfect place for a tranquil winter or summer break.
