A guide to Sapanca and Masukiye

There are walking paths and tea gardens along the shore of Lake Sapanca. Masukiye is known for its forest waterfalls and trout restaurants built over the stream. Driving up to Kartepe brings you to a viewpoint above the lake; on a clear day it produces the best photograph of the trip.

A Sapanca day involves far less walking than an Istanbul tour and moves at a gentle pace. Stops along the way are flexible and the programme can be shortened when children tire. Some paths are unpaved and sloping, so a pushchair will not roll easily everywhere.

Thinking of Sapanca as only a lake sells it short; the real day is spent in the forest south of it. Maşukiye is a village known for the trout restaurants built along the stream: tables set out over the water, the sound of it stretching lunch out, and air a few degrees cooler than at the lake in summer.

The waterfalls in the forest are reached on short walks. The paths can be earth and damp; shoes with grip help, and a pushchair does not run easily on every one.

Kartepe is above, at around 1,600 metres. On the way up there is a viewpoint looking down on Lake Sapanca, and the photo stop is made there. It draws visitors for snow in winter, but road conditions then are changeable; nobody sets off without checking the morning forecast.

All three fit into one day: the lakeshore in the morning, Maşukiye at midday, the Kartepe view in the afternoon. That also explains why this is the calmest programme we run — the three stops are close together and the walking is optional.

Spring (April to May) is the finest window here: the forest fully green, the waterfalls strong with snowmelt, the air right for walking. Rain is possible, but you are going into the forest anyway.

Summer (June to August) is chosen as an escape from Istanbul's heat; the Maşukiye forest is shaded and cool. Weekends are very crowded — day-trippers from Istanbul use the same roads. Going midweek shows you the same place transformed.

Autumn (September to November) is the best time for photographs: the forest turns, the crowds disperse and the lakeshore is quiet.

Winter (December to March) means snow at Kartepe, the nearest snow to Istanbul. But the lakeshore is wet and cold and the forest paths muddy. If snow is not your aim, winter is Sapanca's weakest season.

One note that holds all year: you do not swim in the lake. Sapanca is a place for walking and sitting, not bathing — guests who want to swim we point towards Antalya or Bodrum.