İğneada Longoz Forests

A longoz is a forest that floods - woodland growing on a plain behind coastal dunes where rivers back up and stand among the trees for part of the year, producing something closer to a temperate swamp forest than anything else in Turkey. The İğneada national park protects one of the few good examples left in Europe, a mosaic of flooded ash, alder and oak woods, four coastal lakes, dunes, marsh and the sea, packed into a small area between the Strandzha hills and the Black Sea coast. Otters, wild boar, deer and a long list of birds use it, and it is on a migration corridor. Boardwalks run into the flooded sections and marked trails cross the drier woods; boats work some of the lakes. The village of İğneada has a beach and a handful of small hotels. It is four hours from Istanbul on ordinary roads, at the far end of Thrace, which keeps visitor numbers low outside August.

The landscape

• The flooded woods - trees standing in water behind the dunes.
• The boardwalks - raised walkways into the wet forest.
• The coastal lakes - Mert, Erikli, Hamam and Pedina.
• The dune belt - sand and marsh between forest and sea.

When to go

April to June for high water and birdsong, September to October for colour and quiet. The flooding is seasonal, so late summer can find the longoz mostly dry.

Before you go

Mosquitoes are severe in the wet season - repellent is not optional. The flooding varies year to year and may be minimal in a dry summer. It is a four-hour drive from Istanbul with limited public transport.

Nearby

Kıyıköy is down the coast; the Strandzha forests run inland along the border.