National Geographic names the Black Sea highlands of Türkiye a top destination for 2026

National Geographic names the Black Sea highlands of Türkiye a top destination for 2026 - The Black Sea Highlands' Moment: Why National Geographic is Spotlighting Türkiye's Gem

I've been looking into why everyone is suddenly talking about the north of Türkiye, and honestly, it’s about time this region got its flowers. National Geographic just put the Black Sea Highlands on their 2026 list, and when you look at the data on the Kaçkar Mountains, it’s easy to see why. We aren't just talking about pretty hills; these peaks hit 3,937 meters and hold some of the only active glacial systems left in the country. It’s a literal temperate rainforest where the Euxine-Colchic forests house over 2,500 different plant species. But the environment is tough, with over 2,200 millimeters of rain a year, which is why locals built those gozdolgu homes using timber frames and stone to handle the humidity. Then there’s the Anzer honey, which I think is kind of wild because it relies on the Caucasian honeybee foraging across 500 types of wildflowers at altitudes above 2,300 meters. If you’re into birding, you probably know the Artvin corridor is a massive highway for over 100,000 raptors moving south every autumn. It’s also the engine of the country’s tea culture, with Rize’s acidic soil pumping out about 60 percent of the nation’s entire harvest. Let’s pause and think about the yayla lifestyle, where families still move livestock to alpine pastures that stay buried under snow for half the year. This isn't some manufactured tourist trap; it’s a living transhumance tradition that feels like a glitch in the modern world. I think the reason National Geographic is finally leaning in is that travelers are tired of the same three Mediterranean beaches and want something that feels raw and untamed. It's a rare chance to see a place before it gets completely figured out, and frankly, that’s a luxury you can’t really put a price on.

National Geographic names the Black Sea highlands of Türkiye a top destination for 2026 - From Peaks to Plateaus: Uncovering the Region's Natural Grandeur

You know, when we talk about a region's "grandeur," it's easy to just picture pretty views, but here in Türkiye's Black Sea highlands, it's so much deeper than that; it’s a story written in time itself, stretching back millions of years. I mean, think about the Pontic Mountains – they're part of this massive Alpide belt, and guess what? They hold these really significant copper and zinc deposits, all formed when the ancient Tethys Ocean was subducting, like 60 million years ago. And that incredibly specific volcanic-sedimentary soil along the Ordu-Giresun coastline? It's not just dirt; it's the reason this region accounts for about 70 percent of the *entire world's* hazelnut production. It’s pretty mind-blowing, really. You’ve got the Kaçkar Mountains National Park, not just with glaciers, but over 100 glacial lakes – like Lake Deniz, sitting way up at 3,384 meters, and honestly, it’s still partially frozen sometimes even in late August. And those purple rhododendrons, *Rhododendron ponticum*, they're not just bushes; they grow into these dense, tree-like understories up to five meters tall, which is wild and super unique to this humid environment. Then there’s this incredible "sea of clouds" phenomenon, caused by frequent thermal inversions, leaving those alpine plateaus above the clouds for nearly 200 days a year – creating this distinct atmospheric layer for specialized high-altitude flora to thrive. It's a critical sanctuary too, for species like the near-threatened Caucasian Grouse, totally reliant on those specific subalpine birch forests and rhododendron thickets. And talk about wildlife, the dense forests in Artvin and Rize provinces actually support one of Eurasia's highest brown bear densities, thanks to all those wild chestnuts and berries. It just shows you, this place isn't just scenic; it's a living, breathing geological and ecological powerhouse.

National Geographic names the Black Sea highlands of Türkiye a top destination for 2026 - Giresun, Ordu, and Beyond: A Journey Through Unique Culture and Coastal Life

When we move away from those high alpine pastures and head toward the coastline of Giresun and Ordu, the atmosphere shifts from rugged isolation to a deeply layered maritime history. I've been digging into the roots of this area, and it turns out we’re standing in the old heartland of the Colchian kingdom, a Bronze Age power that was famous for gold and copper metallurgy way back in the 3rd millennium BCE. It’s kind of wild to think that the myths of Jason and the Argonauts were actually grounded in these very shores. But if you look past the legends, the physical world here is a masterclass in survival, specifically those Oriental Beech forests that dominate the slopes between 500 and 1,500 meters. They create these nearly pure stands

National Geographic names the Black Sea highlands of Türkiye a top destination for 2026 - Preparing for 2026: What to Expect from Türkiye's Ascending Travel Star

We’re looking at a massive shift in how people actually get into the region, starting with the Rize-Artvin Airport that’s sitting right on land reclaimed from the sea. It’s on track to handle three million passengers this year, but don’t let that shiny new runway make you think the highlands have gone soft. Honestly, the deeper you look into the data, the more you realize how much the environment still calls the shots here. Take the Vavilovia formosa, a rare living fossil legume found on the scree slopes that researchers are studying to figure out how crops might survive in freezing temperatures. And look at the local architecture; those aggressively steep roof pitches are built that way for a reason. They have to be, because the wind gusts up there can easily top 150 kilometers per hour without warning. We’re also seeing the payoff of a huge reforestation effort that’s linked up 160,000 hectares of forest, creating a massive green bridge for wildlife. It’s actually working, too—there are documented sightings of the Anatolian leopard returning to these remote mountain corridors. I find it fascinating that they’re now using high-tech LiDAR to map old chestnut mansions, which were built with specific wood that naturally fights off rot in the constant 90 percent humidity. Down in the valleys, the Fırtına River is still one of the few places left that hasn't been dammed, keeping its 50 cubic meter per second flow perfect for endangered salmon spawning. There are even 400 different types of fungi growing in the damp soil that international labs are currently testing