Mount Spil National Park

Spil Dağı rises straight up behind Manisa to about fifteen hundred metres, and the park on it protects pine and juniper forest, wild horses that range the upper meadows, and the flower it is best known for: Manisa lalesi, the wild tulip of these slopes, a small scarlet species that flowers in spring. Ottoman gardeners drew on stock from this region, and the mountain still has a claim in the tulip's history. On the lower slope, above the city, is the Weeping Rock - a natural formation in the cliff that resembles a seated woman's head and shoulders, identified since antiquity with Niobe, turned to stone in grief after her children were killed and weeping still. Water does seep from the rock. Higher up are picnic grounds, walking trails, a small lake and viewpoints over the Gediz plain. A cable car runs from Manisa to the middle slopes, and the road continues above it.

The landscape

• The wild tulips - Manisa lalesi flowering in spring.
• The Weeping Rock - the Niobe formation in the cliff.
• The pine forest - trails, picnic grounds and viewpoints.
• The Gediz plain - the valley laid out below.

When to go

March to May for the tulips, which flower briefly and are the reason to time a visit; April to October for walking. The mountain holds snow in winter.

Practical notes

The tulip season is short and shifts with the weather. The Weeping Rock is a suggestive natural formation, not a carving - some visitors find it underwhelming. Trails are lightly marked.

Nearby

Manisa's mosques and the Mesir festival ground are below; Sardis is east along the Gediz valley.

Key facts