Amlakit Plateau
The Amlakit Plateau also known as Hamlakit Plateau, is a plateau located in Çamlıhemşin District of Rize Province, Turkey. The plateau is famous for its Varvator festivals. 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.
Location
The elevation of the plateau varies between 1900 and 2200 meters. It is positioned below Palovit Plateau, adjacent to the pine groves in the valley descending to Zilkale. It is one of the plateaus that is easier to reach compared to other plateaus in the region. The plateau is 55 kilometers from Çamlıhemşin town center and 83.8 kilometers from Rize-Artvin Airport. Palovit Stream divides the plateau into two parts.
Demography
Amlakit Plateau is regularly used by the residents of Aşağı Çamlıca neighborhood, Yukarı Çamlıca neighborhood, Boğaziçi village, Ortan village, Hala village, Aşağı Şimşirli neighborhood and Bahçeli Konaklar neighborhood. In the plateau used by the Hemshin people, men and women were dancing horon together even in the 1970s. A type of horon is named after the plateau.
Upper Amlakit Plateau
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.
Tourism and facilities
The plateau is a popular destination for camping and is one of the preferred locations for tourists. There were 300 visitors to the plateau in 1991, 400 in 2002 and 750 in 2009. The plateau is considered suitable for nature walks and ecotourism activities. The villages have had electricity since 2001. According to 2014 data, phones generally do not have signal in the region.
Flora
Plant species present on the plateau include Cystopteris fragilisPteridium aquilinumDryopteris dilatata Dryopteris remot Dryopteris filix-masDryopteris × initalisDryopteris expansaPolystichum aculeatumPolystichum lonchitisEquisetum arvenseEquisetum palustreBotrychium lunariaPolypodium vulgareCryptogramma crispaThelypteris (Oreopteris) limbospermaPhegopteris connectilisIsothecium holtiiScilla monanthosRiccardia palmataBlepharostoma trichophyllum