Güzelcehisar Basalt Columns: Lava Cliffs West of Bartın

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1. What are the Güzelcehisar Basalt Columns?
2. How do you get to the Güzelcehisar Basalt Columns?
3. When is the best time to visit the Güzelcehisar Basalt Columns?
4. What is the history of the Güzelcehisar Basalt Columns?
5. What are the Güzelcehisar Basalt Columns famous for?
6. What can you do at the Güzelcehisar Basalt Columns?
7. Frequently asked questions about the Güzelcehisar Basalt Columns
8. What do the official records say about the Güzelcehisar Basalt Columns?

What are the Güzelcehisar Basalt Columns?

The Güzelcehisar Basalt Columns (Güzelcehisar Lav Sütunları) are a wall of dark, angular rock columns on the shore at Güzelcehisar, a village on the coast west of Bartın town. They formed when a mass of basalt lava cooled slowly and cracked into near-vertical columns. Turkish reports describe them as around 80 million years old.

Near sea level the columns are regular, mostly five-sided; higher up, landslides, tectonic movement and weak rock have tilted and broken them. A wooden walkway leads from the village along the shore to a small islet beside the rocks, which ends in a viewing terrace. The site was declared a nature monument in 2017 and has become one of the most visited natural sights in the province.

How do you get to the Güzelcehisar Basalt Columns?

From Bartın town, take the road towards Bartın Port for about 8 km, then turn southwest at the Güzelcehisar junction and continue for about 11 km to the village. In a straight line the site is about 13.5 km from the town centre. There is parking near the beach, and the walkway starts from the village.

Public transport is limited, so a car or taxi from Bartın is easiest. The nearest airport, Zonguldak Airport near Çaycuma, is only about 15 km away as the crow flies.

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When is the best time to visit the Güzelcehisar Basalt Columns?

May to October, when the walkway is dry and the sea calm enough to enjoy the shore. Late afternoon light shows the texture of the columns best. On summer weekends the site is very busy; weekdays are calmer. Avoid walking out to the islet in rough weather.

What is the history of the Güzelcehisar Basalt Columns?

The columns are a product of volcanic activity: as thick basalt lava cooled and contracted, it split into polygonal columns at right angles to the cooling surface, the same process that formed the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. At Güzelcehisar the sea has eroded the coast to expose them in section.

On 14 August 2017 the area, covering 14.3 hectares, was declared a nature monument and placed under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s nature conservation directorate. The walkway and viewing terrace followed, and visitor numbers have risen sharply since; Turkish media reported around 2.5 million visitors in its first nine years as a protected site.

The 2002 provincial inventory, written before the columns became famous, already listed Güzelcehisar among Bartın’s beaches and day-use areas.

What are the Güzelcehisar Basalt Columns famous for?

• Columnar basalt, regular five-sided columns near sea level, rare on the Turkish coast.
• The wooden walkway along the shore to a viewing terrace on an islet.
• The beach and village setting, with tea gardens and restaurants nearby.

What can you do at the Güzelcehisar Basalt Columns?

Walk the boardwalk. The wooden walkway runs from Güzelcehisar village along the coast to the islet and its viewing terrace, passing right beside the columns. Allow 30 minutes to an hour.

Photograph the columns. The best angles are from the walkway looking back at the cliff, and from the islet. Do not climb the columns: the upper parts are fractured and unstable.

Use the beach. The beach beside the site and the restaurants and tea gardens in the village are run privately, not by the conservation authority. A very small part of a coastal dune system lies inside the protected area.

See Bartın town. On the way back, stop in Bartın to see its wooden houses, set in gardens behind timber fences, and the Bartın River, navigable between the town and the sea.

Combine with Amasra. Amasra and the Kuşkayası Monument are on the other side of Bartın, so the three make a full day by car.

Frequently asked questions about the Güzelcehisar Basalt Columns

What do the official records say about the Güzelcehisar Basalt Columns?

İnkumu, Amasra, Çakraz, Kızılkum, Mogada, Güzelcehisar, Bozköyaltı, Delikli Şile, Göçgün, Çambu, Tekkeönü, Kurucaşile and Kapısuyu Beach are recreation areas with facilities suitable for day visitors.

The parts of the Black Sea belonging to Bartın hold underwater riches of crystal clarity and turquoise colour. It is known that, after the Red Sea, some of the world’s most beautiful underwater scenery is in the Black Sea. Among these, the waters off Tarlaağzı, Çakraz Point and near Mogada are just a few of the places to recommend to underwater explorers. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Bartın Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)