Dilek Peninsula National Park

The park takes in the mountainous peninsula reaching west from Guzelcamli towards Samos, with Mount Samsun rising above twelve hundred metres along its spine. A single road runs about ten kilometres in from the gate and touches four beaches in turn, Icmeler, Aydinlik, Kavakliburun and Karasu, all pebble, all backed by pine and all with clear, cold water. Wild boar come down to the picnic areas in the late afternoon and are thoroughly used to people, which is not the same as being safe to approach. Beyond the ridge the park also covers part of the Buyuk Menderes delta, a different landscape of reedbed and salt flat with flamingos and a great deal of birdlife.

What you actually see

• The four beaches - pebble coves strung along a single road.
• Mount Samsun - the wooded ridge running the length of the peninsula.
• Wild boar - families crossing the picnic grounds late in the day.
• The delta - reedbeds and salt flats with flamingos beyond the ridge.

When to go

Swimming season runs May to October, though the water stays cold well into June. In July and August private cars are usually turned back at the gate in favour of shuttle buses, with queues by mid-morning. Weekdays are much quieter. Rangers clear the beaches before dark, and the last shuttle back leaves earlier than most people expect.

Honest expectations

The beaches are stone, not sand, and Icmeler at the entrance fills first and hardest. Facilities are minimal: cold showers, basic toilets, a few kiosks charging well over town prices. The boar are habituated and will go through an unattended bag. Summer road restrictions mean standing in the heat waiting for a bus.

Nearby

Kusadasi, the ruins at Ephesus and the Menderes delta wetlands.