[Mella]

In the area of Balçova, a district of Izmir, lies a small piece of heaven in the otherwise busy city of Izmir.

The cable car was built in 1974 by Balçova Belediye. There are 20 cable cars altogether, each cable car is able to carry up to 4 people. The distance from the bottom of the hill to the top is 1000 meters.

Whist you are in the cable car going up the steep hill, you can see the most amazing view of Izmir Bay.

When you get to the top, there's a long road with many cafes and restaurants and a few shops. At the end you will see a picnic area where you can have your own bbq.

You don't need to bring anything (even if you wanted to - you can't - they check your bags for drinks etc.) But there's a small supermarket there where you can buy fresh salads, vegetables and all kinds of different meat for your BBQ. The staff from the supermarket bring a BBQ set to your table and your fun can begin.

The view from one side is the beautiful bay of Izmir, whilst on the other side there is a spectacular view of a dam, with luscious green trees and mountains surrounding it.

It's great and makes for a lovely day out, especially if you want to chill out and have some peace and quiet away from the bustling city.

Website: http://www.balcovateleferik.com/index.asp

Here are some piccies...

[Hephaestion]

Oh wow that Mountain Valley!!! Now you don´t get to see that in many Cities.

This is definately on my to do list.

I visited the Balcova Spa Center back in 95 which is close to the cable cars. But they didn´t look like they were in operation that day.

Thanx Mella, another informative post with super pictures!!

Keep ´em coming!

[Angelika]

It looks delightful. Could you explain how do you get there?

[Mella]

It's pretty easy. Follow signs going to Balcova: when you come from the city centre drive along the big shopping places - Kipa and Agora.

At a big roundabout you will see a sign that says Teleferik. Continue straight ahead until you see on your left the Economic University Campus. You can park your car on a free parking space which is about 20 meters before the Teleferik area.

You can also get the bus from Konak/Alsancak or a taxi which will know where it is.

[Angelika]

thanks.

[beyza]

we use to live just 5 minutes from here and it is as beautiful as it looks, some amazing views and so peadeful to . definatly worth a visit. bewarned the que can get very long in the summer months you definatly need to get there early x

[teosgirl]

We went on the teleferik last year. It was really scary as the carts a look like the ones used in 74! There's not a lot of room in them and I wouldn't want to go with 4 adults. If you don't have a fear of heights it probably isn 't a problem

We had a great BBQ and you can purchase ready made salads and marinated meat and very reasonable prices, plus cheap beer! The BBQ comes to the table fully loaded with hot charcoal, so theres no need to wait. They also provide you with plastic cutlery and salt and pepper. It's a lovely place, very peaceful and I think it only cost about 2ytl each , one way, so definitely a bargain and worth it if you have the stomach for it!
Charlotte

[Jenny]

Oh yum, food always tastes better outdoors. And with those views it looks amazing.

[Mella]

Originally Posted by teosgirl

We went on the teleferik last year. It was really scary as the carts a look like the ones used in 74! There's not a lot of room in them and I wouldn't want to go with 4 adults. If you don't have a fear of heights it probably isn 't a problem

I know, how scary are those carts! I have a fear of heights, and we didn't have much of a choice as to where we were seated. The man made us get into a cable car with 2 other adults. It was shaking and bouncing around as we went further up this mountain, it was an experience I won't forget.



Thankfully when we got to the top - the view and the delicious BBQ we had made up for the bumpy journey.