Guide
Divriği National Park lies in the Çaltı stream canyon in the Divriği district of Sivas and was designated on 1 November 2024 by presidential decision, published in the official gazette the following day. It covers 5,049.34 hectares. Although it sits at the district centre, the park boundary runs through several neighbourhoods rather than around an empty tract.
What is inside those boundaries makes this unlike most national parks. Along with the canyon are two castles, a disused church, a castle mosque, a tomb, a historic bridge, four railway bridges, six railway tunnels, and an old hydroelectric station with its building. Visitor facilities added to them are a glass viewing terrace, a walkway, an observation tower, an amphitheatre, and a cafeteria with lavatories.
The plants recorded include Festuca pinifolia, Tatar sea kale, Silene ruscifolia, Onobrychis albiflora and Matthiola longipetala alongside oak, juniper, Scots pine, Christ's thorn, willow, tamarisk, reed, poplar, wild bramble, mosses, fig and walnut, together with a great many annuals. Among the mammals are wild goat, wild boar, brown hare, lynx, brown bear, wolf, fox, badger and beech marten, with several small rodents and insectivores. The birds include chukar, rock dove, wood pigeon, bearded vulture, golden eagle, long-legged buzzard, common buzzard, cinereous vulture and goldfinch; the reptiles, the snake-eyed lizard and the blunt-nosed viper.
Activities the park is set up for are walking, mountaineering, cave tourism, climbing, camping, plant and animal observation, and bird-watching from the wildlife terrace. One practical point: the stated capacity is 1,000 visitors but only 10 vehicles, so arriving by car on a busy day may not work. Divriği is 172 kilometres from Sivas by dual carriageway and 176 by rail, served by regional trains and the Doğu Ekspresi; Kangal is 85 kilometres away, İmranlı 108 and Zara 109.
- Designated
- 02.11.2024
Entry fee
- Black Sea group 1 · category 2 · Per person
- 50 ₺
