Atatürk Arboretum

Another joyful day we left behind was our trip to the botanical garden called “Atatürk Arboretum”. Located directly in the area of the Belgrade Forest it represents a museum containing living collections of woody plants. In this facility you can find many non-native tree species and various other plants which are partly used for special medical and scientific purposes. Aside from that the arboretum embodies a living environment also of some kind of animals such as ducks or swans.

To see the forests fascinating foliage the best time for visiting is in the autumn when the collection of oak trees from all around the world can be viewed. As winter approaches some of the tree species go increasingly photogenic with crimson, golden, purple leaves, this offers a beautiful landscape view. But no matter what the season is, the arboretum always displays a mystic place waiting to be discovered by its visitors.

Walking around this peaceful and relaxing place offers you an atmosphere of calmness and enables an opportunity to become distant of the noisy and stressful city life of Istanbul. Embracing the nature and taking a deep breath of fresh air gives you a new power and fills your spirit with liveliness. Atatürk Arboretum can be described as a hidden paradise of Istanbul where you can enjoy being in the nature and hardly believe that you are just 5 km away from the concrete jungle of a metropolis with a population of 15+ million people.

During weekdays the arboretum’s token fee is 2 TL for students and 4 TL for adults, and at the weekends it’s 5 TL for students and 10 TL for adults. Remember, no eating, no picnicking, and no smoking!