How to Get There: The location is 2 kilometers from Gölyaka district in Düzce city center, 15 kilometers from the D-100 highway, and 10 kilometers from the TEM motorway. It is accessible by public transportation within the city.
Efteni Lake is located at the foot of the Elmacık Mountain range, at the confluence of the Düzce Plain's river network (Aksu, Asar, Uğur, Küçük Melen rivers and their tributaries) and a nodal point in an ecological network where the Büyük Melen canal flows into the Black Sea. Located within the Gölyaka district of Düzce, Efteni Lake is 5 kilometers from the district center and 25 kilometers from the Düzce city center.
Efteni Lake and its surroundings, with their rich vegetation and water resources, are one of the important and rare centers on the migratory route of birds. In 1992, the General Directorate of National Parks, Hunting and Wildlife Protection of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry granted it protected status and prohibited hunting, with the aim of conserving game and wild animals, securing the migratory routes of migratory species, protecting and improving their habitats, taking corrective measures, and providing shelter, food, and suitable living conditions.
Within the protected area, habitats with diverse ecological characteristics, such as reedbeds, open water surfaces, marshes, and mudflats, provide a rich ecosystem for various animal species, primarily waterbirds. Waterbirds constitute the most important faunal elements around Lake Efteni. It is home to a total of 150 bird species, 35 of which are permanent residents. Storks, wild ducks, crested white egrets, shelducks, coots, and swans are regular visitors to the lake and are among the easily visible.
Located on the northwest-south migration route (Thrace-Bosphorus-Central Anatolia), the area harbors rare or endangered bird species in Turkey. As an important stopover and feeding ground on bird migration routes, Lake Efteni is a wintering ground for some migratory birds that live in Europe but cannot migrate south, and a breeding ground for others. Therefore, a large number of birds of various species can be observed during the migration season. Other bird species found in the Efteni Lake protected area include: endangered swans, cranes, curlews, bustards, Siberian geese, little cormorants, mallards, wigeon, spoonbills, and potentially threatened species such as mallards, wigeon, pintails, teal, snipe, tufted duck, and common pochard.
There is one observation deck in the area for observing bird species. Efteni Lake, a resting place on the migratory routes of birds, provides shelter for birds with its water lilies and reed beds above water level, creating compositions for photography and birdwatching.
In addition to bird species, Efteni Lake also harbors rare plant species. Five different plant zones are found in the mountainous area south of the Efteni Lake Wildlife Protection Area. These include water lilies, irises, buttercups, reeds, mint, and duckweed. Trees with aquatic characteristics such as willow, ash, alder, and plane tree are among the first plants that catch the eye. Source: Düzce Provincial Culture and Tourism Directorate archive