THE magnificent Bafa Lake is situated approx.150 km south of Izmir and 90 km north of Bodrum. More than 255 different bird species are native to the Bafa Lake and the nearby Great Menderes Delta - observed by ornithologists from all over the world coming every year to this birds? paradise! This area forms one of Europe´s biggest bird refuges and is part of the nature park "Aydin".

2000 years ago the Bafa Lake was a bay of the Aegean Sea called the "Gulf of Lade". Due to deposits of the river Menderes the bay  was slowly separated from the sea. This explains why the lake contains water with a slight salt content, in which mullets, sea breams, eels and carps are caught.

The lake is surrounded by the Latmos Mountains (Turkish: "Besparmak") which rise up to 1400 meters. These mystic mountains are an excellent area for ambitious hiking and trekking tours.

Since 700 A.D hermits and monks have left their marks on these remote mountain slopes. Byzantine monasteries and hermit caves are a favourite destination for study trips.