Güzelcehisar Lava Columns

At a glance

• What: Basalt columns about 80 million years old
• Where: On the shore of Güzelcehisar village, 17 km from Bartın town centre
• From Amasra: About 35–40 minutes by car via Bartın
• Admission: Free
• Walkway: 800-metre wooden boardwalk, two viewing terraces
• Protection: Natural monument, 14.3 hectares
• Right next door: Güzelcehisar Beach

80 million years of cooling

Volcanic activity in the region began about 90 million years ago and ended 70 million years ago. As the floor of the Tethys Ocean sank northwards and melted at depth, magma rose to the surface along a line stretching from Bulgaria in the west to Georgia in the east. The Güzelcehisar columns are a product of this period; they are about 80 million years old.

What created the columns is the slow cooling of the lava. As the cooling rock contracts, near-vertical cracks open up and the mass splits into prisms. Most of the columns at Güzelcehisar are pentagonal; hexagonal and quadrilateral ones are fewer. Their diameters range from 50 to 100 cm, and they reach heights of more than 30 metres. In the upper sections, landslides and tectonic movements have disturbed the pattern.

Why are they special?

Similar basalt columns elsewhere in the world are found in Northern Ireland (the Giant’s Causeway), Scotland and California. According to the natural monument’s descriptions, in Turkey they are found only in Bartın.

One more feature sets Güzelcehisar apart: here the columns run both vertically and horizontally. Walking along the shore, you can see prisms lying on their side right next to ones standing bolt upright.

The site is protected as a natural monument covering 14.3 hectares.

Visiting

A landscaping project completed in 2018 gave the site an 800-metre wooden walkway. The path runs along the roughly 850-metre Güzelcehisar beach and ends at a small islet beside the rocks. There is a viewing terrace on the site and another on the islet, as well as a pier.

The car parks and tea gardens belong to private businesses in the village. You can swim from the beach and camp around it; details are on the Güzelcehisar Beach page.

The site has drawn many visitors in recent years: according to a news report published in 2024, 650,000 people came the previous year. Spring and autumn are also good seasons for birdwatching.

How to get there

• From Bartın: about 8 km west towards Bartın Port, then about 11 km more after the Güzelcehisar turn-off
• From Amasra: first to Bartın, then on to Güzelcehisar; about 35–40 minutes by car
• Nearest airport: Zonguldak Çaycuma, 15 km as the crow flies

On the same day

• Güzelcehisar Beach — the beach right beside the columns
• Mugada and İnkumu — the other two beaches on the Bartın coast
• Accommodation: Amasra hotels and guesthouses