Where is Mengen, and how far is it from Bolu?

Mengen is a district in the north-east of Bolu province. According to the Mengen District Governorate, it lies 56 km from Bolu and 20 km from the Ankara-Istanbul highway. The drive from Bolu city centre to Nesilce Tatil Köyü takes about 50 minutes (55 km).

Can you get to Mengen by bus?

Yes. According to the Governorate, regular minibuses run between Bolu and Mengen, and buses departing from Zonguldak and Bartın connect Mengen with many parts of Türkiye. There is no information on scheduled public transport from the town to the village properties or to Yedigöller, so you need a car for that last stretch.

Is there a hospital and a duty pharmacy in Mengen?

The district has Mengen Dr. Mustafa Körpeoğlu District State Hospital; in an emergency call 112. There are pharmacies in the town centre; you can find that night's duty pharmacy with the e-Devlet duty pharmacy search by choosing Bolu as the province and Mengen as the district.

Where does the name Mengen come from?

According to the Governorate's history page, there is no definitive view. Suggested roots include 'mengeç' (a spinning shuttle), 'mengel' (an anklet) and 'mengü' ('eternal'); it is also said that the word 'bengü' in the Göktürk inscriptions was carried into Anatolia as 'mengü'.

Mengen Hotels and Stays: A District Guide for Visi

Q: Is it better to stay in Mengen town or in a village?

For a one-night stopover or if you want to walk out to dinner, the town centre is practical. For families and groups staying two nights or more who want quiet, open space and breakfast included, a village nature resort is the better fit.

Q: Which highland pastures and picnic spots are there in Mengen?

The Governorate lists the main pastures as Soğucak, Akçakoca, Bürnük, Sırıklı, Çukur Yayla, Çorakkadirler, Göl Yaylası, Aktepe, Ağalar, Küçükkuz, Civcivler, Mamatlar, Elemen and Afşar, and the Ödek, Kemal Savaş, Şirinyazı and Hızarderesi ponds as picnic spots.

A district guide for first-time visitors to Mengen: location, a short history and chef tradition, practical services, transport and how accommodation is spread across the area.

Where is Mengen, and what is it like to stay there?

Mengen is a forested, highland district in the north-east of Bolu province, known across Türkiye as the "land of chefs". According to the Mengen District Governorate, the district lies 56 km from Bolu and 20 km from the Ankara-Istanbul highway. Staying in Mengen means not a cluster of city hotels but nature resorts and bungalows spread across the villages, plus a limited number of places to stay in the town itself; guests usually explore the town and the countryside by day and return to a quiet village property in the evening.

This is a district guide for first-time visitors to Mengen: where it is, a short history and its chef tradition, the practical services you can find there, how the accommodation is spread out and how to get around. If you are choosing an area across the whole of Bolu by purpose, see our where to stay in Bolu guide.

Mengen at a glance

Topic	Details
Province	Bolu
Distance to Bolu city	56 km (Governorate)
Distance to the Ankara-Istanbul highway	20 km (Governorate)
Area	874 km²
Municipalities	Mengen and Gökçesu
Number of villages	56
Population	13,679 (2021)
Known for	Chef tradition, forests and highland pastures
Link to Yedigöller	A 45 km road branching off at km 10 of the Mengen-Devrek road

Area, municipalities, number of villages and population come from Wikipedia's Mengen District article; the Yedigöller link comes from Kültür Portalı. Hacıahmetler, where Nesilce Tatil Köyü is located, is one of Mengen's villages.

A short history of Mengen and its name

The Governorate's history page says there is no definitive view on the origin of the name "Mengen". Suggested roots include "mengeç" (a shuttle used for spinning wool), "mengel" (an anklet) and "mengü" ("eternal, everlasting"); it is also said that the word "bengü" found in the Göktürk inscriptions was carried into Anatolia by the Oghuz Turks as "mengü".

According to the same source, Mengen and its surroundings are an old area of settlement, as archaeological remains found there show, although no scientific excavation has ever been carried out in the district. After the Hittite period the area was home to various peoples and states.

The land of chefs: how does the tradition live on today?

The Governorate writes that Mengen's "greatest distinction is producing very famous chefs". Today the tradition shows up in three places:

Training. Mengen Vocational School, part of Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University, runs programmes in Culinary Arts and in Pastry and Bread-Making.
The festival. The International Mengen Chefs and Tourism Festival is the district's best-known event. According to a Bolu Olay report of 20 June 2026, Mengen Municipality cancelled the 38th festival in 2026, citing rising budget pressures. For 2027, keep an eye on the municipality's announcements.
The table. The region's breakfast spread and local dishes; we cover what to eat in detail in our Mengen cuisine guide.

Mengen's nature: highland pastures and ponds

According to the Governorate, Mengen is a forested area with high pastures (yayla). The main ones are Soğucak, Akçakoca, Bürnük, Sırıklı, Çukur Yayla, Çorakkadirler, Göl Yaylası, Aktepe, Ağalar, Küçükkuz, Civcivler, Mamatlar, Elemen and Afşar. The Ödek, Kemal Savaş, Şirinyazı and Hızarderesi ponds are named as important picnic spots.

In summer this has a practical side: according to the 2026 decision reported by Habertürk, when entry to forested areas in Bolu was banned from 15 July to 30 September, Şirinyazı in Mengen was on the list of forest parks where picnics were still allowed. If you visit during a similar period, plan your picnic around such lists.

For walking and ATV routes around the district, see our Mengen hiking and ATV guide.

What practical services are there in Mengen?

The services you are most likely to need on a short holiday, and how to find them:

Need	Situation in Mengen	How to reach it
Emergency healthcare	The district has Mengen Dr. Mustafa Körpeoğlu District State Hospital	In an emergency call 112
Pharmacy	Pharmacies in the town centre; the duty pharmacy rotates	e-Devlet duty pharmacy search (province: Bolu, district: Mengen)
Municipality	Mengen Municipality	(0374) 356 14 00
District Governorate	Türkbeyli Mahallesi, Hükümet Sokak No:2	(0374) 356 10 01
Yedigöller information	Bolu branch of the National Parks directorate	0374 215 52 81
Road conditions	General Directorate of Highways	e-Devlet "Karayolları Trafiğe Kapalı Yol Sorgulama" (closed roads search)

The hospital's name appears in a report on Haberler.com; the phone numbers come from the official websites of Mengen Municipality and the District Governorate.

Three practical notes:

Fuel: do not expect a petrol station on the forest road to Yedigöller; fill up before you reach Mengen or before you leave town.
Cash: carry some cash for small purchases on village roads and in the park where cards may not be accepted; sort this out in town or before you set off.
Mobile signal: coverage can drop on the forest road and in the valleys. Save directions and your booking details for offline use.

How is accommodation spread across Mengen?

Most of Bolu's Ministry-certified accommodation is in the provincial centre. According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's 2025 statistics, 27 of Bolu's 39 properties with a tourism operation certificate are registered in the Merkez (central) district, and the province also has 102 properties with a simple accommodation certificate. For districts such as Mengen, this means fewer options, but quieter ones.

You can roughly divide accommodation in Mengen into three types:

Type	Where?	Who is it for?
Accommodation in the town centre	In town; limited choice	Guests who want to walk to restaurants and the pharmacy, short business or stopover stays
Nature resorts and bungalows in the villages	In villages near the forest	Families, couples and groups after quiet, nature and space
Standalone rental houses	In villages and near the highland pastures	Large groups who want to set their own routine

For permit checks on rental houses and licence checks on businesses, see our guide to bungalows in Bolu. Because options in the district are limited, ask early for autumn and public holiday dates.

Should you stay in the town centre or in a village?

It depends on what you want from the holiday:

Priority	Town centre	Village nature resort
Walking out to dinner	An advantage	You need a car
Being close to pharmacies and shops	An advantage	A short drive
Quiet, dark nights	Some town noise	An advantage
Open space for children	Limited	An advantage
Breakfast	Depends on the property	Often included at nature resorts
Early start for Yedigöller	Similar distance	Similar distance

For a short business visit or a one-night stopover, the town centre is practical. For families and groups staying two nights or more who want to visit Yedigöller and spend quiet evenings, a village nature resort is the better fit; the services you need remain a short drive away in town.

How do you get to Mengen and around it?

By car

From Istanbul and Ankara, leave the Anatolian Motorway at the Yeniçağa junction and head north on the D-750 to Mengen. To Nesilce Tatil Köyü it takes about 3 hours from Istanbul (260 km), about 2.5 hours from Ankara (230 km) and about 50 minutes from Bolu city centre (55 km). Route details are in our bungalows near Istanbul guide.

By public transport

According to the Governorate, buses departing from Zonguldak and Bartın connect Mengen with many parts of Türkiye at all hours of the day, and there are regular minibus (dolmuş) services between Bolu and Mengen. So it is possible to reach the town by bus. However, we could not find information on scheduled public transport to the village properties or to Yedigöller; for that last stretch you need a car or an arrangement made in advance with your accommodation.

From Mengen to Yedigöller

According to Kültür Portalı, Yedigöller is reached by a 45 km road branching off at km 10 of the Mengen-Devrek road. When the Bolu-Yedigöller road is closed by snow in winter, access is via Yeniçağa-Mengen-Yazıcık or Devrek-Yazıcık, which puts Mengen on Yedigöller's winter access route. The park is 48 km from Nesilce Tatil Köyü. For winter conditions, see our getting to Yedigöller in winter guide.

How do you plan one or two days in Mengen?

Day 1, afternoon: settle in (check-in at Nesilce is 14:00), local food in the evening.
Day 2: after breakfast, head to Yedigöller; on the way back, a short stop in town.
Day 3, morning: a long breakfast, a short walk to a nearby pond or along a highland road, check-out at 12:00.

Nesilce Tatil Köyü: where is it in Mengen?

Nesilce Tatil Köyü is a bungalow and hotel property in the forest at Beşler, Aşağı Mevkii Küme Evleri No:18, Hacıahmetler/Mengen/Bolu. There are 10 standard bungalows (2-3 people), 8 two-storey bungalows (4-6 people) and 7 standard hotel rooms (2 people). A Turkish village breakfast is included for every guest; parking and Wi-Fi are free, and pets are welcome with advance notice. There is no pool and no jacuzzi. For groups of more than 60 people, see our groups and events page.

Sources

Republic of Türkiye Mengen District Governorate – History
Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Kültür Portalı – Yedigöller National Park
Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism – Accommodation statistics, 2025 annual bulletin
Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University – Mengen Vocational School
Bolu Olay, 20 June 2026 – 38th International Mengen Chefs Festival cancelled
Habertürk, 15 July 2026 – Entry to forests banned in Bolu
e-Devlet – Duty pharmacy search
Wikipedia – Mengen District

If you are thinking of staying in Mengen, send your dates to +90 507 922 11 18 or use the WhatsApp button on our contact page, and we will share directions too. To book online, our official listings are on Airbnb and Hotels.com.

Mengen Hotels and Stays: A District Guide for Visitors