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Saltuklu Canyon stretches 865 meters between the villages of Saltuklu and Oycali in the Arac district of Kastamonu, a province in Türkiye's western Black Sea region, about 245 kilometers north of Ankara. Locals also call it Cibis Canyon, marked by clear water and rocky walls.
Cibis Creek carved the canyon over thousands of years, cutting through rock along its route. The gorge reaches a depth of up to 100 meters in places. That slow process shaped the rocky structure and the narrow passage that visitors now walk through on their way in.
Cibis Creek runs clear between the canyon walls. On hot days, visitors step into the water to cool off. Samet Buyurucu, whose village lies close to the canyon, describes the water as clean, saying the water is among the reasons villagers return often.
Buyurucu says the canyon sits 25 kilometers from the Arac district center. Photographer Cebrail Keles says access to the site is easy, though he cautions that entering the canyon itself without a guide can be dangerous for visitors unfamiliar with the terrain.
Guests keep coming back, Buyurucu says. "We swim here, we fish, we picnic and we chat," he says, describing what draws people from nearby villages. Keles adds that young visitors often enter the water to swim and enjoy the surrounding scenery on warmer days.
Keles, who photographs the canyon often, says the area also offers walking routes and outdoor sports. Inside the canyon stands the ruin of a structure whose origin is unknown, he says, adding that he believes the remains merit further research to identify what it once was.
Ali Sefa Bayramoglu, born and raised in Kastamonu, says he only now learned the canyon existed. "The water gets deeper gradually," he says of swimming there, adding that caves higher up the canyon also deserve research. Buyurucu asks only that visitors leave the site clean.
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