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Things To Do In North Cyprus > Turtle Watching

Northern Cyprus is arguably one of the best places in the world to watch sea turtles. People come from far and near just to catch a glimpse of these spectacular reptiles nesting and hatching on the beaches on Cyprus.

From later May to early August, you can join the Marine Turtle Conservation Project (MTCP) volunteers at the Alagadi Beach at nights to watch the female green & loggerhead turtles come ashore to lay their eggs. There's nothing like sitting next to a metre long sea turtle as she lays her eggs, covers her next and slowly moves back into the sea. It really is once in a life time experience not to be missed.

From the end of July to early September, you can head to the Alagadi or Karayaka beach to see baby turtles hatch from their nests and head into the sea (with a little help from MTCP volunteers). Watching the baby turtles scramble from their nest and down to the sea is a sight not to be missed if you're on Holidays in North Cyprus.

North Cyprus offers a remarkable turtle watching experience and we are recommended as a must do ecotourism activity when visiting Cyprus over the summer. We often support the MTCP volunteers through charity events and have family friends who volunteer on the project who are always happy for our guests to join them in volunteering activities (though be prepared for an early start). We can't say enough how amazing turtle watching is here, so please come see for yourselves!

 

The awesome sight of watching sea turtles as they hatch on shores of Northern Cyprus beaches has brought people from far and near, especially those looking for Ecotourism. Sea turtles come ashore at night to lay their eggs. The female turtles come around May and dig deep pits about 40 cm into the ground into which they lay their eggs and then they carefully cover them with tonnes of sand. They Then  swim away and leave the eggs safe and cool in their 'sandy' nest. The concept of the sand is to trap some air around the eggs and this is important for their development. Female green turtles sometimes make several nests in one season with each containing a batch of eggs laid biweekly.

10 Turtle Watching Tips

1. Minimize the use of lights, such as torches, flash lights, etc. If you must use lights, try putting cellophane over it or some coloured cloth
2. Don't light open fires such as campfires, at the beach
3. Lights shouldn't be any more than a 3-volt, 2-cell, hand-held torch light
4. Don't point lights directly at the turtles when they're leaving the water, approaching the beach, building nests or laying eggs
5. Don't get too close to the turtles as they leave the water and head towards the beach
6. PLEASE keep all dogs far away!
7. Don't touch the turtles, the hatchlings or their eggs
8. Avoid loud noises and sudden movements around the turtles while they lay their eggs
9. Report sick, injured, stranded or dead turtles appropriately
10. Try to learn the habits and needs of turtles in order to increase your appreciation of them

 

Turtles Facts: Things You Didn't Know About Turtles

• There are 7 species of sea turtles left in the world:
  1. Flatback Turtle or Natator Depressus
  2. Green Turtle or Chelonia Mydas (nests in Cyprus)
  3. Hawksbill Turtle or Eretmochelys Imbricata
  4. Kemp's Ridley Turtle or Lepidochelys Kempii
  5. Leatherback Turtle or Dermochelys Coriacea
  6. Loggerhead Sea Turtle or Caretta Caretta (nests in Cyprus)
  7. Olive Ridley Turtle or Lepidochelys olivacea
• The leatherback sea turtle (found in the Mediterranean waters) can grow up to 6½ feet long and weight up to 1,500lb
• The green sea turtle can dive underwater for over 5 hours without coming to the surface for air
• Green turtles are so called as they eat grass which makes their body fat go green
• Once a male sea turtle hatches and goes into the sea, it will probably never come to land again (In 2009 summer, a male turtle came on land and unto the back of a female turtle in Alagadi)
• A turtle's sex is determined by the temperature of the next; at less that 29°C, they become male, but over 29°C, they become female (as the volunteers say 'hot babes' & 'cool dudes')
• Only 1 in 1000 baby turtles make it to adulthood :(
• Green turtles can lay nests over 1m deep, but Loggerhead turtles (also know as 'Lazy Loggers') can sometimes lay very shallow nests of just 15cm deep
• Once a female had laid and covered her eggs, she will not return to look after them; they will fend for themselves as soon as they hatch.

 

Sea Turtle Photos

Click on photo for larger view

 

 

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