Visiting the Tuz Golu lake
Located 120 km south of Ankara, on the way to Cappadocia, the Tuz Gölü, also called Tatta in antiquity, is a saline lake occupying a huge area in the arid central plateau of Turkey and provides over 60% of the country’s salt. Although it is the second largest lake in Turkey, it doesn’t contain much water due to its shallowness.
Tuz Golu is one of the world’s lakes with higher salinity, and the salt can only be collected in July and August when the lake dries. In fact, during the summer, because of evaporation, the lake dries into a layer of salt of about 40 centimetres, covering the mud. In winter, when the weather is rainy, the water gets together again, but in its deepest part does not exceed 1.5 – 2 meters.
Driving south along the E90, passing by the northeast side of the Tuz Golu ( 100 mt before the junction with D757 ), there is the entrance at the site with a free car park and the Salt Museum. From here, take off your shoes and walk towards the water on the soft sand until it turns into a bright white salt.
Strolling in the shallow is very cool; the surface is clear as a mirror, the reflection of the clouds in the tinted water is amazing, and the lake seems to go into infinity. Indeed, if you are travelling by your own rental car towards Cappadocia, this is a quick stop that is worth doing.
