If you’re travelling in northeastern Turkey and are unlucky enough to have to stay in Borçka you might want to travel north to Muratlı (22km) which is home to one of three Karagöls (Black Lakes) in the vicinity of Artvin. Just one caveat. It’s only really worth doing this is the weather is fine – on the day I chose it was hardly possible to make out the lake for the fog!
No dolmuşes serve the Muratlı Karagöl which lies at the end of a suspension-threatening road running through deep forest; when you finally reach the end of it you’ll find national park wardens waiting to relieve you of a parking fee. A short walk from the car park is the Karagöl Pansiyon – a concrete eye-sore, unfortunately – right beside the water and surrounded by picnic kiosks that attract lively crowds at weekends.
The drive out here is through lush green countryside where old wooden houses just
about survive, clinging to the valley sides amid new concrete versions.
Look out on the right for the restored Aralık Köprüsü, one of many glorious humpbacked bridges to be seen in this part of the world. It’s probably been standing here for a couple of centuries.
Sleeping
Karagöl Pansiyon The Karagöl Pansiyon may be a concrete eyesore but one advantage to staying in what look like comfortable hostel-style rooms is that there’s a fair chance even in summer that you’ll arrive to find the lake entirely obscured by swirling mist that makes it hard even to pick out the picnickers at the water’s edge. If you’re lucky, by the morning the mist will have lifted.
Transport info
There is no public transport to get you here and the taxi drivers in Borçka will probably only want to risk their suspensions on the road in decent weather.
