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A Guide to Ankara's Parks and Ponds

Ankara is a capital founded in the middle of the steppe, and most of the city's greenery and water was created later, by planning and hard work.

Radar TürkiyeRadar Türkiye15 Ekim 2026
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A Guide to Ankara's Parks and Ponds

Ankara is a capital founded in the middle of the steppe, and most of the city's greenery and water was created later, by planning and hard work. That is why Ankara's parks are not just places to rest but documents of how the city grew in each period. Gençlik Parkı in Ulus carries the mark of the 1940s, Kuğulu Park in Kavaklıdere that of the 1950s, Altınpark and Seğmenler that of the 1980s, while Göksu, Harikalar Diyarı and Esertepe opened in the 2000s. In this piece we move from the centre out to the surrounding districts, visiting the parks that have water and the city's two natural lakes district by district. Because fees and hours for boats, playgrounds and sports facilities change often, we give no figures; before you go, we recommend checking the operator's current announcements.

Gençlik Parkı in Ulus

Gençlik Parkı was laid out on roughly 28 hectares of land that was covered in marshes in the early years of the Republic. Construction began in 1936 and the park opened on 19 May 1943. The first design included a bird garden, an open-air theatre, a children's garden, a maze, a swimming pool and a long promenade for horse rides. The large pool in the middle of the park is the easiest way to step out of the bustle of Ulus within a few paces. The funfair set up in 1951 and the two miniature trains that TCDD began running around the park in 1957 are childhood memories for several generations of Ankara residents. The park was renovated between 2007 and 2009, and the benches along the pool are still a meeting place for office workers on their lunch break and grandparents out with their grandchildren.

Kuğulu Park in Kavaklıdere

Kuğulu Park is far smaller but is considered the symbol of Çankaya. The pond and its surroundings, a remnant of the stream and poplar grove that gave the Kavaklıdere district its name, were turned into a park in 1958. The park takes its name from two white swans, named Vienna and Ankara, that the City of Vienna gave as a gift in 1975. The black swans seen on the pool today were a gift that came from Beijing. In the park of about 7,743 square metres, twenty-four different bird species live alongside the swans, geese and ducks. The park was declared a protected site in 2012 and reopened after a redesign in February 2013. The steel sculpture Standing Kissers, which sculptor Attila Onaran donated to the municipality in 1977, and the Tunalı Hilmi statue at the entrance are the park's two familiar figures. Because it is a crossing point between Tunalı Hilmi Caddesi and Atatürk Bulvarı, it is ideal for a short break.

Seğmenler below the Çankaya Mansion

A little to the south, between Atatürk Bulvarı and İran Bulvarı, lies Seğmenler Parkı. Selami Sözer won the design competition held to mark the centenary of Atatürk's birth; the park's foundation was laid in 1981, it opened on 10 October 1983, and it covers about 67,000 square metres. The Kavaklıdere stream runs through the middle of the park, which has pools, a children's garden and an amphitheatre that once hosted television programmes. The Seğmenler Monument that gives the park its name is the work of sculptor Burhan Alkar and shows seymen folk warriors playing the saz and carrying a flag on horseback. The park also holds a bronze sculpture that İlhan Koman gave the city as a New Year's gift. After it was pulled from its plinth and stolen in 2016, a new one was cast from the mould kept in Ankara and put back in place on 31 December 2018.

Waterfalls in Dikmen Vadisi

Dikmen Vadisi, south of Çankaya, is a long green corridor running through the city. One of the first urban regeneration projects prepared for squatter settlements began in the valley in 1989 and moved forward in stages; the first stage was completed in 1994, the second in 2002 and the third in 2009. Today the area of about 378,000 square metres has a pond of 31,000 square metres, two large waterfalls and a small one, and more than 120,000 trees. Walking along the path at the bottom of the valley while listening to the water is one of the nicest ways to cool off in the centre on summer evenings.

Altınpark in Altındağ

Altınpark in Aydınlıkevler, with an area of about 640,000 square metres, is one of the city's largest recreation areas. The land was used as a golf club until 1977; the winning entry of a design competition opened in 1985 was built to create today's park, whose foundation was laid on 19 October 1986. Eighty-five percent of the park consists of green space and ponds, and the ponds cover about 32,700 square metres. Inside are an exhibition centre, an Olympic swimming pool, skating rinks, a mini golf course and the Feza Gürsey Science Centre, where children meet science by doing experiments. Walking around the pond and then going into the science centre is a good plan for half a day with children.

Esertepe on the heights of Keçiören

Muhammed Ali Esertepe Parkı, between the Etlik and Esertepe neighbourhoods of Keçiören, sits at one of the highest points in Ankara; the park's elevation ranges between 985 and 1,055 metres. From the early years of the Republic the site was used by the army as an open-air firing range, and that use ended in 1970. The metropolitan municipality took over the land in 2013 and turned it into a park, which opened on 19 May 2015. In June 2016 the park was named after the boxer Muhammad Ali, who had died shortly before. The park of about 180,000 square metres can be entered from four separate points, and its four entrance squares bear the names of the Hun, Seljuk, Ottoman and Republican periods. Escalators and three diagonal lifts were installed to make it easier to move around the sloping ground. The view opening towards the city as you walk between the gazebos on the slope and the pond below is the park's real gift. A map of Türkiye laid out in plants, with illuminated edges, is also noticeable when you look down from above.

Göksu in Etimesgut

Göksu Parkı in Etimesgut was built around the former Susuz Pond and also gave its name to the neighbourhood where it lies. The pond was taken into maintenance in 1960 under a flood prevention plan of the State Hydraulic Works; a recreation project drawn up in 1972 was not carried out, and the surroundings were used for farming and livestock until the 1980s. Today's park came from a 2003 design by the architects Hüseyin Bütüner and Hilmi Güner. Of the park's total of 550,000 square metres, about 127,000 square metres is water surface. Wooden boardwalks that ring the pond, a lighthouse that offers a bird's-eye view and boat shelters are the main elements of the design. You can stroll along the shore as if you were in a seaside town, but swimming and fishing are forbidden. Walking along the boardwalks in the late afternoon offers one of the calmest moments in western Ankara.

Harikalar Diyarı in Sincan

Harikalar Diyarı, in the Fatih district of Sincan, is counted among the large parks of Europe with an area of about 1,320,000 square metres and opened on 5 October 2004. Football pitches, basketball and tennis courts, mini golf, a go-kart track, a skate park and the Nejat Uygur Amphitheatre with five thousand seats are all inside the park. The metro station near the park carries the same name, so you can come from the city centre by rail. Because the area is so large, planning your visit around one or two sections is the way to see it without tiring yourself out.

Mavi Göl in Mamak

Mavi Göl in Mamak is the reservoir of the Bayındır Dam, built on the Bayındır stream between 1962 and 1965 to supply drinking water. The reservoir of this earth-fill dam covers about 0.71 square kilometres at its normal water level. The Ankara Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism lists Mavi Göl among the natural assets of the district. Remember that you are on the shore of a drinking water source; do not approach the water outside the marked areas, and take your rubbish back with you.

Mogan and Eymir in Gölbaşı

The city's two natural lakes are in the south, in Gölbaşı, and both are barrier lakes. Sand and gravel carried by streams coming down from Elmadağ blocked an old valley, and the basins of the lakes formed behind them. Lake Mogan, with a surface of about 6.3 square kilometres and a shoreline of 14 kilometres, is the larger of the two. The lake and its surroundings lie within the Gölbaşı Special Environmental Protection Area. So far 226 bird species have been recorded here, and the lake is known as a wetland where white-headed ducks and red-crested pochards breed in large numbers. The Ankara Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism also highlights the two lakes for walking, cycling tours, picnics and birdwatching. Walking along the lakeside park early in the morning and looking at the reed beds through binoculars is the best way to get to know the lake.

Lake Eymir is fed by a channel from Mogan and by a regulator built in 1972, and it lies about three metres below it. The lake's land belongs to the Middle East Technical University. Its surroundings, which a traveller in the 1930s described as completely barren, were afforested in the 1960s through the efforts of rector Kemal Kurdaş, and this work was recognised in 1995 with the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The lake, with a shoreline of about nine kilometres, is the training ground of the university's rowing and sailing teams. The road around the shore is a favourite of walkers and cyclists; because entry conditions depend on the university, check the current rules in METU's announcements.

Where to go in which season

If you want to see migrating birds, head to the reed beds of Mogan in spring and autumn. On summer evenings the waterfalls of Dikmen Vadisi and the boardwalks of Göksu cool you down, while in the midday heat the tree-lined Seğmenler and Gençlik Parkı are more comfortable. In winter, watching the snow-covered city from the top of Esertepe is an experience of its own, but dress warmly against the steppe wind. Most of the big parks get crowded at the weekend; if you want a quiet walk, choose a weekday morning.

Practical notes

None of the ponds is a swimming place; be careful on the boardwalks and along the shores with children. Feeding the swans and ducks with bread harms them, so do not throw them food. Take binoculars for birdwatching, and water and a windbreaker for long walks. Ankara is a high city and the sun burns even in cool weather, so do not forget your hat. When moving between parks, check metro and bus lines on EGO's current page; rather than combining more than two big parks in one day, it is more enjoyable to explore one of them fully.

Sources

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