The Turkish Lakes are a series of huge shallow lakes trapped between the folds of the northern Taurus mountains. At an average altitude of 1000m, they are surrounded by peaks which rise to 3000m. On their shores are the old Selcuk towns of Beysehir, Egirdir and Burdur, and many small villages and summer pastures overlook their tranquil waters. Often frozen in winter, the lakes are a haven for migrating birds, and the surrounding meadows and marshes support a huge mix or orchids and other wild flowers, as well as apple orchards in abundance. Untouched by time, the pastoral life style, the richness of history, the beauty of the nature and diversity of wild life gives this area almost everything a trekker would like to encounter on a walk. At Middle Earth Travel we are proud to have been part of the St Paul Trail trekking project from the very early stages. We helped Kate Clow, (the author of the St Paul Trail book and the creator of the Project) with route finding, field research, way marking and organisation of the Trail. We don’t think it is too much to say that we are the best equipped team to run tours in this area! The region is home to the three major mountains: Davraz – near Egirdir (2560m), Dedegol – near Beysehir (2998m) and Barla – near Egirdir, (2799m). All the peaks are snow-capped from December to May, and offer some wonderful winter climbing, snowshoeing and, on Davraz, skiing. In summer the snow melt bulbs are a bright contrast to the green turf, and the peaks are a cool haven from the summer heat. Best times to visit are in spring/summer from mid-May to end September, when the weather is almost guaranteed perfect and the water is warm enough for swimming.