Amlakit Plateau
Place in Rize, Turkey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Amlakit Plateau also known as Hamlakit Plateau,[1] is a plateau located in Çamlıhemşin District of Rize Province, Turkey. The plateau is famous for its Varvator festivals.[2] A source from 2005 stated that there was a coffeehouse, a grocery store, a mosque, a guesthouse and around 50 wooden plateau houses present, which were mostly active during the summer months.[3][4]
Amlakit Plateau
Hamlakit Plateau | |
|---|---|
Amlakit Plateau (September 2012) | |
 Interactive map of Amlakit Plateau | |
| Coordinates: 40°54′0″N 41°4′21″E | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Province | Rize |
| District | Çamlıhemşin |
| Elevation | 1,900–2,200 m (6,200–7,200 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (TRT) |
Location
The plateau spans 1900 and 2200 meters in elevation. It is positioned below Palovit Plateau, adjacent to the pine groves in the valley descending to Zilkale.[5] It is one of the plateaus that is easier to reach compared to others in the region.[6] The plateau is 55 kilometers from Çamlıhemşin town center and 83.8 kilometers from Rize-Artvin Airport.[7][8] Palovit Stream divides the plateau into two parts.[9]
To the west of the Amlakit plateau is the Kotençur Plateau, also known as the Upper Amlakit Plateau, at an elevation of 2250–2300 meters.[10]
Demography
Amlakit Plateau is regularly used by the residents of Aşağı Çamlıca neighborhood (A. Vice), Yukarı Çamlıca neighborhood (Y. Vice), Boğaziçi village (Tumaslı-Pogina and Ovaklı neighborhoods), Ortan village, Hala village, Aşağı Şimşirli neighborhood (Çuklanut) and Bahçeli Konaklar neighborhood (Habak - Citne). In the plateau used by the Hemshin people, men and women were dancing horon together even in the 1970s.[11] A type of horon is named after the plateau.[12]
Tourism and facilities
The plateau is a popular destination for camping and is one of the preferred locations for tourists.[13] There were 300 visitors to the plateau in 1991, 400 in 2002 and 750 in 2009.[14] The plateau is considered suitable for nature walks and ecotourism activities.[15] The villages have had electricity since 2001. According to 2014 data, phones generally do not have signal in the region.[16]
Flora
Plant species present on the plateau include
- Cystopteris fragilis
- Pteridium aquilinum
- Dryopteris dilatata
- Dryopteris remot
- Dryopteris filix-mas
- Dryopteris × initalis
- Dryopteris expansa
- Polystichum aculeatum
- Polystichum lonchitis
- Equisetum arvense
- Equisetum palustre
- Botrychium lunaria
- Polypodium vulgare
- Cryptogramma crispa
- Thelypteris (Oreopteris) limbosperma
- Phegopteris connectilis
- Isothecium holtii
- Scilla monanthos
- Riccardia palmata
- Blepharostoma trichophyllum
- Rhododendron caucasicum [17][18][19][20]