Turkey
Bolu
Turkey's chef capital, surrounded by alpine lakes and the last primeval beech forests in western Anatolia.
The trout is smoked over beech wood and served at a table overlooking Abant Lake, its surface reflecting the primeval forest that rings the basin. In the town below, the culinary school that trained half of Istanbul's chefs is still producing graduates who will scatter across Turkey's kitchens. Bolu is where Turkish cooking learns to walk.
Bolu in Turkey's Western Black Sea region is the country's culinary capital — its professional cooking school has trained the majority of Turkey's hotel and restaurant chefs. Abant Lake sits at 1,328 metres in a glacial basin surrounded by beech, fir, and hornbeam forest. The Yedigöller (Seven Lakes) National Park protects one of Turkey's last fragments of primeval beech forest. Bolu's weekly market sells over forty varieties of local cheese.
Couple
Lakeside lodges at Abant, smoked trout, beech forest walks, and the knowledge that the food here is genuinely Turkey's best — Bolu is a weekend escape that prioritises eating and breathing.
Family
Abant Lake is safe for paddling, the forest walks are manageable for all ages, and the food culture gives children something to taste at every stop. Bolu is nature plus nourishment.
Friends
Rent a lakeside cabin, hike the Seven Lakes trail, and eat your way through the cheese market. Bolu is the least glamorous and most satisfying outdoor weekend in Turkey.
- Bolu's professional culinary school has trained the majority of Turkey's hotel and restaurant chefs.
- Abant Lake sits at 1,328 metres in a glacial basin surrounded by beech, fir, and hornbeam forest.
- The Yedigöller (Seven Lakes) National Park protects one of Turkey's last fragments of primeval beech forest.
- Bolu's weekly market sells over forty varieties of local cheese — more than any other Turkish province.
Bolu is Turkey's culinary academy town — nearly every chef in Istanbul trained here.
Abant trout smoked over beech wood, served at lakeside lodges in Abant Nature Park.
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