Çamlık National Park

Lying a few kilometres south of Yozgat city centre at an altitude of about 1,360 metres, Çamlık National Park was declared on 5 February 1958, making it Turkey's very first national park. Commonly known simply as 'Çamlık,' the park initially covered 267 hectares before its boundaries were redrawn in 2022 to expand the protected area to 517 hectares. Its most notable feature is a stand of 400-500-year-old Caucasian Black Pines (Pinus nigra subsp. pallasiana), a subspecies found nowhere else in Turkey and still capable of producing seed; one specimen is recorded as having germinated in 1564, making it a living witness to every Ottoman sultan since Süleyman the Magnificent. Alongside the black pine, the park's flora includes juniper, oak, trembling poplar, Anatolian red pine, and various wild fruit trees and herbaceous plants; as of 2024, a total of 212 plant species from 43 families have been recorded there, nearly 30 of them endemic. Thanks to its rich vegetation, water sources and ancient trees, Çamlık has long served as a beloved highland retreat and picnic area for the people of Yozgat and visitors from neighbouring provinces, and it holds significant scientific value both for Turkey's conservation history and for the genetic diversity of Anatolia's black pine populations.