Uzungol

Uzungol formed when a landslide blocked the Haldizen stream, leaving a long, narrow lake at around eleven hundred metres in a steep valley of spruce forest. A wooden-galleried mosque stands at the northern end, and the reflection of forest and minaret in still water is the image the place is known by. It became one of the most heavily visited spots on the Black Sea coast, particularly with visitors from the Gulf who come for the cool and the rain, and the valley floor filled up with hotels and restaurants to match. The higher yaylas above the lake, reached on rough road, still give the open pasture and drifting cloud the valley itself has largely lost.

What you actually see

• The lake and mosque - the wooden-galleried mosque at the water's edge.
• The spruce valley - steep forested walls closing in on both sides.
• The yaylas above - open pasture on rough tracks up the valley.
• Morning mist - cloud filling the valley before the sun clears it.

When to go

Summer is the season and also the problem: July and August are packed, with traffic backed up along the single valley road. June and September are cooler and considerably quieter. The hours before the coaches arrive are the only reliably calm ones. Rain is frequent year-round and the valley holds cloud for days.

Honest expectations

The valley has been overbuilt to a degree that surprises people who came for the postcard: hotels, car parks and restaurants ring most of the shore, and action against unlicensed building has been running for years. Prices are inflated, the food is aimed squarely at tour groups, and the lake itself is small. Weekends are worst.

Nearby

The Demirkapi and Haldizen yaylas, and the coast at Trabzon.