Uçmakdere is roughly a two-hour drive from İstanbul, in the Şarköy district of Tekirdağ, İstanbul's western neighbour.
The lush of the Ganos (Işıklar) Mountain meets the blue of the Marmara Sea in Uçmakdere Village. In the village, the first settlement was established by Greeks in the first century AD. The culture that began on that day can still be felt amid the historical textures that remain now. Uçmakdere is a village with fertile lands established in a valley between vineyards.
Ganos means "holy light". This region is one of the sunniest regions around the Marmara Sea. The mountain, which stands at roughly 1000 meters in height, is home to a diverse range of plants. The month of December is particularly rainy in and around the mountain, though this lessens in summer.
It takes two hours to drive from İstanbul to Uçmakdere for a couple hours of walking there. On Ganos Mountain, whose skirts reach Uçmakdere, there are numerous trekking routes. You can select the most appropriate one for you based on the length. Camping on the mountain slopes is another way to extend your time in nature.