ABOUT BAFA LAKE

Lake Bafa Nature Reserve is an important rescue for flora and fauna. So the Lake became the status of a Nature Reserve. In the surrounding area of Lake Bafa and the Meander Delta over 250 kinds of birds can be watched. With its 60 species of orchids, only 20 species on our ground, and the very naturaly olive gorwths with many flowers in spring it is also a favorite for botanists and birdwatchers. But we have also zoologists, luminologs and other groups.

Bafa Lake offers an ideal location for relaxation with its impressive setting, and full with visitors who prefer cooling off in the lakeside cafes & restaurants for enjoying the excellent view. As an ancient gulf transformed into a lake by the alluvial deposits of the river Meander (Buyuk Menderes), Lake Bafa, is situated at the foot of Mount Latmus, at the size of 10 miles length and 3 miles width.

The lake is fed by little torrents and by the river Meander during the rainy season. The water flows back into the Meander along the same direction in the summer. The lake is rich for the great variety of fish, salmon, carpi, mullet principally. Also, at certain times, the lake and its environs are visited by thousands of wild ducks, pelicans, water hens, making a marvelous setting.

The magnificent Bafa Lake is situated in the southwest region of Turkey. It is a long-drawn lake, approx.150 km south of Izmir and 90 km north of Bodrum.
More than 255 different bird species are native to the Bafa Lake and the nearby Great Menderes Delta - observed by ornithologists from all over the world coming every year to this birds’ paradise! This area forms one of Europe’s biggest bird refuges and is part of the nature park "Aydin".