Bolu, which becomes beautiful with unique shades of brown in winter, has an oil painting-like appearance wherever you look. With the uniquely beautiful Gölcük, Pamukkale of Bolu Akkaya, the apple store Seben, the village of Solaklar that hides the rock houses; We are in Bolu where colors dance.

Honey boat, goldfinger yellow, wood warmth… Whatever you say, I got used to this color well. When it comes to autumn, Yedigöller comes to everyone’s mind, but everywhere in Bolu is as beautiful.
Think of such a lake that it is beautiful every season, every day, every hour. After Gölcük in İzmir and Bilecik, again Gölcük. But this time from Bolu. The second stop is Akkaya, Pamukkale of Bolu. Then we will go to the village of Solaklar in Seben district to see the rock houses. During our tour, we will eat kebab in Bolu Mountain as the mountain air makes you hungry, drink from the water which is digested in the mineral water fountain in Akkaya, and after the meal, we will buy scented apples in Seben.

With its provocative beauty and maddening colors, November creates a space as if it is illuminated. So as I started this journey, I knew that there would be sparkling and bright photos. Before returning to Gölcük, I really wanted to photograph the “Water Fairy” sculpture in the halls of the Archeology Museum, which was the cultural center of Bolu, where the Bithynians once lived. Unfortunately, the walls of the museum that cracked on September 17, 1999 caused the artifacts to be packed and put into storage and the museum closed to visitors. Museum officials are trying to work in temporary huts set up in front of the building. They are waiting for now. On the way from Bolu to Mudurnu road to Çepni village, there are Akmina mineral water filling facilities at the entrance. While the water from the spring is bottled here, some of the water is left to travertines with 300 meters of facade. The water has a pleasant course and formed formations similar to Pamukkale travertines. You can walk around, enter the travertine caves, and wander on the wet but non-slip rocks that look like fish scales. There is also a mineral water fountain at the promenade. If the air is clean, the area is covered with trees and the travertines can get more water in the Akkaya Strait area, which is easy to access, it seems that the expansion and whitening will increase even more. And if there were cafes and buffet style places …

Bolu-Golcuk

The guesthouse of the Ministry of Forestry, where only bureaucrats are hosted, and a casino that can be used by the public, are serving around the in-forest lake, located at the 10th km of Seben highway and has infrastructure for picnics. Gölcük is actually an artificial pond. It has a surface of 45 thousand square meters, a circumference of 1350 meters and an altitude of 950 meters above sea level. There are picnic tables, stoves, fountains, wc and parking in the area. As in Abant, it is not allowed to drive around the pond. The road is used as a pedestrian walking area. The lake, shimmering with fir trees and light effects in Gölcük, which has different beauties every season, is full of picnics from Ankara-Bolu-Istanbul-Sakarya. In the region (Karacasu) M.S. With its history dating back to the 1st century, there is also a hot spring with thermal water used for drinking, inhalation and bathing.

Cyprus / Kibriscik

If you follow the left side of the road, which is divided into two at the Gölcük exit, in the direction of Kıbrıscık, you will reach Beypazarı at the end of İnözü Canyon by traveling on a different route where driving will provide enjoyable driving. Along this road, in Seben Kızıkköyü plateau, the wooden houses, which are used as highland houses by the villagers in summer, look nice and promise a beauty that can be used for tourism purposes at the weekend with a small renovation in the hands of a business owner. Those who move on the left-handed part of the road travel among forest trees parallel to the flow of a rickety stream in Ayman Plateau. While Bakırlı Plateau is passed between two small settlements, toothed and mossy rocks attract attention in Karaköy. After Kıbrıscık, mossy green rocks adorn the distant hills this time. Located on the bed of Cuma Creek, the bridge acts as a passage for the canyon’s ups and downs. The village of Yazıcıada, which you will see, displays a cute and warm look with tree houses of the same color. The “Karagöl Forest Recreation Facilities”, located around a small lake on the road, can be seen 34 km before Beypazarı. From this point on, the asphalt road, which has been continuing from the beginning, reaches a height of 1650 meters and is overcome by Taşocağı pass, and İnözü Canyon welcomes the district before Beypazarı with all its beauty.

Solaklar Village, Rock Houses

When you turn right at the exit from Gölcük and take the road to Alabarda Plateau and Seben, you come to Solaklar village 3 km before Seben district from the snow-covered forest sea. The village, 1 km from the road, consists of two neighborhoods. The men of the village, which was determined to live 54 people in the last count, migrated to the cities to work. The rest live in aesthetic wooden houses of 100-150 years and grow apples around Seben, which is famous as an apple store.

The young and enlightened imam of the village helps the tourists who come to the village to go to the rock houses. The rock houses, which can be reached by a 500-meter walk, also have an earth road, but they do not allow vehicle passage due to a few pits. It is also the wish of the villagers that the tourist buses can come to the rock houses with a little digging work. Rock houses consist of 5 × 5 m rooms connected to each other with chimneys in a large mass. Resembling an apartment with 4-5 floors, the rock houses were laid with water pipes. The sleeping places were carved into the flat ceilinged rooms, which are 1.5 man tall. There are also Fairy Chimneys and wild animals of the hawk type in the environment (It is necessary to pay attention to herd dogs in places that are used as pens for sheep and goats.

“Muslar cave houses”, which is 7 km away from Seben, formerly known as Çarşamba, is another ancient settlement. It can be reached after a 20-25 minute walk through the village. Those who continue to Nallıhan-Beypazarı from Seben can see the colorful rocks and Nallıhan Bird Sanctuary and erosion zone, which is known as bird paradise, which we mentioned in our previous issues.
Among the places to visit around Bolu, Yedigöller is 42 km away from the city center. Kartalkaya, which is 38 km away from Bolu in the south of the province and is the highest hill of the Köroğlu mountains, and Abant lake in the region covered with pine and fir trees, 34 km southwest of the province, are among the favorite places of the new year.

Bolu’s Black Sea coast is famous for Akçakoca, Fadıllı cave and Aktaş waterfall. Konuralp museum and ancient theater can be visited on the same road. In Düzce, Samandere waterfall, Efteni lake, Göynük decorated with the best examples of civil architecture, Sülüklü lake, the pearls of Dokurcun plateau, Sünnet lake, Mengen, Mudurnu plateau and hot springs can be your other stops.

Where is Bolu Golcuk