Photo: Acar54 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source Kastamonu is the historic city that was the capital of the Candaroğulları Principality and gave its name to the Komnenos fortress. Its highlights are the Kasabaköy Mahmut Bey Mosque, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2023 for its nail-free wooden roof and painted decoration, the Nasrullah Mosque, its mansions, the İstiklal Yolu (Independence Road) of the War of Independence and the memory of Şerife Bacı, the 800-metre-deep Valla Canyon and Küre Mountains National Park, Ilgaz, and Gideros Bay at Cide. Siyez bulgur, Taşköprü garlic and Tosya rice are registered geographical indications.
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10 places worth seeing in Kastamonu, from historic monuments to natural wonders, grouped by type. Open any of them on the map with a single click.
Photo: Acar54 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source Standing on a rock about 860 metres high south-west of the city centre, the castle is believed to have been built in the 10th century by the Byzantine Komnenos family and was repaired in the Candaroğulları period. The finest view of the city and the Clock Tower is from here.
View on mapThe 344-km İstiklal Yolu (Independence Road) begins at İnebolu, the port where ammunition was unloaded during the War of Independence, and runs to Ankara via Kastamonu and Çankırı; it was declared a historic national park in 2018. Visitors see İnebolu's mansions and the monument to Şerife Bacı.
View on mapOn Zımbıllı Tepe opposite Taşköprü, this Paphlagonian city was founded by the Roman general Pompey; excavations have uncovered Roman-period villa mosaics and building remains.
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Photo: Dosseman (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source Built in 1366 in the Candaroğulları period in the village of Kasaba, 18 km from Kastamonu, the mosque is known as the "Nail-less Mosque" because no metal nails were used in its wooden roof. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023 for its wooden columns and the painted decoration (kalem işi) on the ceiling.
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Photo: Nedim Ardoğa (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Source Built in 1506 by Kadı Nasrullah in the reign of Bayezid II, with its square, ablution fountain and bridge it has the character of a complex; it is the largest mosque in the city from the Ottoman period and its symbol.
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Photo: Dosseman (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source In the former Committee of Union and Progress club building, a work of the architect Mimar Kemaleddin Bey, the museum displays finds from the Hittite to the Ottoman period. During his visit to Kastamonu in 1925, Atatürk gave his famous speech on the hat reform in this building.
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Photo: KCCan00 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source At Pınarbaşı, the canyon cut through the Küre Mountains by the Devrekani Stream is about 12 km long and 800 metres deep, among the deepest canyons in Türkiye. The crossing is difficult and requires a guide.
View on mapA national park on the Kastamonu–Bartın border protecting the canyons, caves and old-growth forests of the Western Black Sea karst belt; the Horma Canyon walking trail and Ilgarini Cave are the best-known stops.
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Photo: Crebain (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Source At Cide, a narrow, sheltered natural harbour surrounded by forest; it is known for its sunset views and fish restaurants.
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Photo: İrem Akol (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A national park on the Kastamonu–Çankırı border, established in 1976; with its black pine and fir forests, highland pastures and ski resort, it can be visited in all four seasons.
View on mapKastamonu lies in the interior of the Western Black Sea region, in the valleys between the Küre Mountains and the Ilgaz Mountains; the province stretches from İnebolu, Cide and Abana on the Black Sea coast in the north to Tosya in the south. On land that was part of ancient Paphlagonia, Pompeiopolis (near today’s Taşköprü), founded by Pompey in the Roman period, was the centre of the region. The name of the city is believed to come from Kastra Komnenon (“the fortress of the Komnenoi”), built in the 10th century by the Byzantine commander Manuel Erotikos Komnenos.
Kastamonu, which was the centre first of the Çobanoğulları in the Seljuk period and then of the Candaroğulları (İsfendiyaroğulları) Principality, joined the Ottoman Empire in 1461. The Kasabaköy Mahmut Bey Mosque (1366), a survivor of the principality period, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023, within the “Wooden Hypostyle Mosques of Medieval Anatolia”, for its wooden roof built without metal nails and its painted decoration. The city’s Ottoman-period symbol is the Nasrullah Mosque, built in 1506.
In the War of Independence, ammunition arriving by ship at the port of İnebolu was carried to the front by ox cart along the 344-km İstiklal Yolu (Independence Road), which runs to Ankara via Kastamonu and Çankırı; Şerife Bacı, who froze to death on this road, became the symbol of the struggle of Turkish women. In the summer of 1925, Atatürk launched the Hat Reform with the speeches he gave in Kastamonu and İnebolu.
Kastamonu shows features of a transition between the Black Sea and a continental climate: winters are cold and snowy, and summers are mild. The coastal districts are milder and wetter. Averages for 1930–2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (provincial centre):
| Month | Avg. high | Avg. low | Rainfall | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.3 °C | −4.5 °C | 30 mm | 12 |
| February | 6.2 °C | −3.4 °C | 27 mm | 11 |
| March | 11.0 °C | −0.8 °C | 36 mm | 12 |
| April | 16.7 °C | 3.4 °C | 51 mm | 13 |
| May | 21.3 °C | 7.6 °C | 75 mm | 15 |
| June | 24.8 °C | 10.5 °C | 73 mm | 12 |
| July | 27.9 °C | 12.4 °C | 32 mm | 6 |
| August | 28.2 °C | 12.3 °C | 31 mm | 6 |
| September | 24.0 °C | 9.0 °C | 31 mm | 7 |
| October | 18.2 °C | 5.2 °C | 34 mm | 9 |
| November | 11.1 °C | 0.9 °C | 29 mm | 10 |
| December | 5.0 °C | −2.3 °C | 34 mm | 12 |
May to October is ideal for the city and the canyons, July–August for the sea and December–March for skiing. Nights in the city centre are cool even in summer. Demanding routes such as Valla Canyon should be attempted only in late summer, when the water level has dropped, and with a guide. The Taşköprü Garlic Festival is held in late August.
By air: Kastamonu Airport (KFS) is about 10 km south-east of the city centre; there are flights from Istanbul.
By road: It is about 240 km (3 hours) from Ankara via the Ilgaz Tunnel and about 100 km from Safranbolu. İnebolu is about 90 km away by the road over the Küre Mountains. There is no passenger train in the province.
Day 1 – The city centre: The view of the city from Kastamonu Castle and the Clock Tower; the Nasrullah Mosque, the Archaeology Museum and the mansion streets. Etli ekmek or tirit for lunch, çekme helva in the evening.
Day 2 – The Mahmut Bey Mosque and Taşköprü: In the morning, the painted decoration of the Mahmut Bey Mosque at Kasabaköy; in the afternoon, Pompeiopolis and kuyu kebabı in Taşköprü.
Day 3 – The Küre Mountains: The Horma Canyon walking trail and Ilgarini Cave at Pınarbaşı; the Valla Canyon viewpoint.
Day 4 – The coast: İnebolu’s mansions and the Şerife Bacı monument, then sunset at Gideros Bay in Cide.
Kastamonu cuisine keeps alive siyez, a primitive wheat that has been grown in these lands for thousands of years: Kastamonu siyez wheat, siyez bulgur and siyez flour all have registered geographical indications. Other registered delicacies are Kastamonu pastırması, Kastamonu çekme helvası (pulled halva), Kastamonu tiridi (bread and broth dish), Kastamonu simidi, Taşköprü kuyu kebabı (pit-cooked lamb kebab), Daday etli ekmeği (meat-topped flatbread), Devrekani hindi banduması (turkey bandırma) and cırık tatlısı, İhsangazi ekşili pilavı (sour pilaf), Pınarbaşı kara çorba (black soup), Araç kül çöreği (ash-baked pastry) and akdene göce çorbası, Cide tarhanası (Cide tarhana soup mix) and ceviz helvası (walnut halva), and Çatalzeytin fındık şekeri (hazelnut sugar). Products are Taşköprü sarımsağı (Taşköprü garlic), Tosya pirinci (Tosya rice), Kastamonu kestane balı (chestnut honey), Kastamonu and İnebolu kuzu kestanesi, Kastamonu üryani eriği (üryani plum) and Kastamonu eğşisi.
Kastamonu is rich in weaving: Kastamonu taş baskı dokuması (stone-print weaving), Kastamonu çarşaf bağı, Kastamonu örme fanilası (knitted vest), Tosya bıçkısı and Tosya kıl telası, the Evrenye bıçağı (Evrenye knife) and Azdavay local costumes have registered geographical indications.
Kastamonu province has 20 districts. Explore the places to visit, local dishes and transport in each one.
A lamb kebab cooked in an earthen pit, with a registered geographical indication.
A tirit made with simit and meat broth, with a registered geographical indication.
Etli ekmek with a registered geographical indication.
Tel helva (thread halva) with a registered geographical indication.
Pastırma (cured beef) with a registered geographical indication.
A soup with a registered geographical indication.
The main stops are Kastamonu Castle, the Nasrullah Mosque, the Kasabaköy Mahmut Bey Mosque, the Archaeology Museum, the Valla and Horma canyons, Küre Mountains National Park, Ilgarini Cave, Pompeiopolis, İnebolu, Gideros Bay and Ilgaz Mountain.
No metal nails were used in the wooden roof of the mosque, built in 1366; with its painted decoration it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023.
Siyez bulgur, Taşköprü garlic, Tosya rice, kuyu kebabı, etli ekmek, çekme helva and pastırma.
It is about 800 metres deep and 12 km long; because the crossing is difficult, a guide is essential.
It is the 344-km road along which the ammunition arriving at İnebolu during the War of Independence was carried to Ankara by ox cart; it was declared a historic national park in 2018.
May to October is the best period; July–August is preferred for the sea and December–March for skiing.
The information in this guide has been compiled from and checked against the sources below (last checked: 8 October 2026). If you spot an error, please let us know.