Macahel

Macahel - officially Camili - is a cluster of six villages in a valley in the far north-eastern corner of Artvin, cut off from the rest of Turkey by a mountain pass that closes with snow for much of the year, with the international border along the ridge on the other side. That isolation preserved things. In 2005 it became Turkey's first UNESCO biosphere reserve, protecting old-growth forest of spruce, fir, chestnut and beech, along with wetlands, bear, wolf, lynx and a long list of endemic plants. The valley's other distinction is its bees: the Caucasian honeybee here has been kept genetically isolated as a protected native population, hives are traditional log types as well as modern boxes, and the honey is a serious product with a strict local regime around it. Villages are wooden houses with stone bases, farming is small-scale, and tourism is guesthouses and walking. Access is a single road over a high pass, and it is genuinely remote.

What's there

• The old-growth forest - spruce, fir and chestnut in the reserve.
• The bee valley - protected Caucasian honeybee and log hives.
• The six villages - wooden houses along the valley floor.
• The pass road - the single route in, over the mountain.

When to go

June to September; the pass is closed by snow for much of the rest of the year. Honey harvest is late summer.

Practical notes

The road in is a high unpaved pass and is impassable in winter - check before setting out. Facilities are village guesthouses; there are no hotels or ATMs. This is a border district, so carry identification.

Nearby

Borçka Karagöl is south; Artvin town and the Çoruh valley are beyond it.

Key facts