When you hear the words lavender fields, I can almost guarantee that you’ll be thinking of the beautiful purple-colored bushes that grow until they reach the horizon in France’s Provence region.

But what if I told you that you don’t have to book a ticket to France in order to have the same postcard perfect picture? In fact, you can see stunning lavender fields in Turkey! Are you surprised yet? 

That’s right: Although it’s still a hidden gem, there is an entire lavender village — complete with lavender fields, delicious lavender-flavored ice cream, and smiling locals — right in the heart of Turkey. If you’re traveling to Turkey during the summer, you definitely don’t want to miss this place. I’ll show you everything you need to know, how to get to Turkey’s lavender village, and what to expect. 

THE HISTORY OF TURKEY’S LAVENDER FIELDS

The lavender fields in Kuyucak actually began by accident. The story goes that a local rose farmer from Isparta travelled to Provence, France, and brought back a few dozen lavender seeds to give to his friends. Over time, the lavender fields grew bigger and bigger, and now this tiny village produces more than 90% of all lavender in Turkey! 

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BEST TIME TO VISIT THE LAVENDER FIELDS

Like most other lavender fields around the world, the best time to visit Kuyucak to see the lavender fields in bloom is from late June through late July. This guarantees that you’ll be able to see the lavender fields at their best. 

The harvest takes place in August, so make sure to visit before the lavender gets cut down for production! 

We visited in the first week of July and were lucky to see the lavender fields in full bloom: huge blushes of beautiful purple-colored lavender stalks. You’ll see what I mean in the photos below. 😍

TRAVEL TIP: If you’re in-between seasons and not sure if the lavender fields are in bloom, check out the recent photos on Kuyucak’s geotag location, or look at the Instagram stories to see if people have recently been there and/or what photos they took. That way you won’t have to guess whether or not the fields are in bloom.

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WHERE ARE THE LAVENDER FIELDS IN TURKEY?

Turkey’s lavender fields are located in a small village called Kuyucak Köyü (also often called ‘Lavanta Köyü’) in the Isparta province. Isparta is in the southwestern part of Turkey, in between Pamukkale and Antalya. 

Isparta is famous in its own way, as it’s often called “Turkey’s rose garden” — that’s because the region is responsible for about half of the world’s rose production! If you have time, you can also stop in Isparta for a night or two to check out the city. If you’re really lucky and visit during the rose harvesting season (May/June), you can even walk around the fields and see how the roses are picked. 

NOTE: If you type in ‘Kuyucak Köyü’ on Google Maps, you’ll get a bunch of different results all over Turkey. The one you’re looking for is right above Lake Burdur! To make it easier, check out the map above for the exact location. 

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HOW TO GET TO TURKEY’S LAVENDER FIELDS

The best way to travel to Turkey’s lavender fields is by car. This gives you maximum control over your itinerary because you can choose when to go, where to stop, and, best of all, you’ll save money (some lavender field tours can go up to 600 TLR / $100 USD!) 

If you’re traveling from Isparta to Kuyucak, it takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour to travel by car, depending on traffic. 

Here’s a quick reference guide if you’re driving from other cities: 

Antalya to Lavender fields: 2.5 hours by car

Izmir to Lavender fields: 4.5 hours by car

Istanbul to Lavender fields: 7 hours by car // I recommend flying into Denizli airport (near Cappadocia) and then taking the 2 hour drive to the fields. Otherwise, it’s a looong drive from Istanbul to Kuyucak!

Pamukkale to Lavender fields: 2 hours by car

Konya to Lavender fields: 3.5 hours by car 

If you have time, you can also see some amazing (and off the beaten path!) places in the region.

I heard that there are also busses and shuttles that operate from Isparta to Kuyucak during the high tourist season, but I wasn’t able to find much information. I recommend checking with your hotel beforehand.

                                                                                                         

If you’re planning to rent a car in Turkey, check my guide here!
I talk all about the rental process, everything you need to know, which companies to rent from, and more!
                                                                                                         

TURKEY LAVENDER FIELDS TRAVEL GUIDE

Now that we have the logistics out of the way, are you ready to travel to Turkey’s lavender fields and see just how amazing they are? Let’s go! 

We started our drive from Isparta to Kuyucak village in the early morning in order to beat the crowds (and traffic ). The drive was very smooth, since it was mostly on a highway and well-paved roads. Even the road leading through the village was better than most roads in my hometown! 

Since it was my first time traveling to a lavender field, I imagined that it would literally be just one huge lavender field and that was it. Oh, I was completely wrong! Since it’s called the lavender village, it’s actually a small village with different families who own plots of their own lavender fields. 

Once you arrive at the Kuyucak Lavender Village, there’s one long stretch of road with fields off to each side. You can choose where to stop, take photos, or buy souvenirs. 

But that didn’t stop me from stopping at the first field and thinking that was it.

Since it was still fairly early in the day, the employees were just getting started on their work. When we sheepishly walked inside the building to ask if we could take photos in their fields, the Turkish grandmas jumped at the chance to chat with us about everything and anything. 

Unfortunately I had very limited Turkish, but we managed to get a conversation going. They even gave me a flower crown made of lavender to take photos with, but I liked it so much that I asked if I could buy it (since they were selling some in their shop). It was a great photo prop for only 20 TLR / $3 USD! 

Speaking of which… a trip to the Kuyucak lavender village is a great way to support local business. Since all of the fields are family-owned and still in the beginning stages of tourism, all of the money that you spend here will go directly back into the land. Even the grandma that I bought the lavender wreath from mimicked this as she took my 20 TLR bill, dropped it to the ground, and motioned with her hands to the other fields. 

Although the first field was fairly small, there was a lot of love and attention to detail. There were a handful of photo props, like the cute purple bike and photo frames. While we were out in the field, one of the grandmas dragged over a chair and table, told my boyfriend to sit down, and motioned for me to take his photo. What a cheeky cute grandma!

                                                                                                         

FUN FACT: The Lavender fields in Kuyucak produce more than 500 tons of lavender per year — that’s about the weight of 70 elephants!
                                                                                                         

After our little photo session, we thanked the grandmas, took some photos together, and it was time to go. Since I still believed that that field was literally the only field, I thought to myself, hey, what if we drive a bit further? What’s over there?

And you know what? There were a ton of other fields up ahead!

We drove a few more minutes and stopped at a huge field that had other parked cars. This family even had their own little cafe that sold lavender-flavored goodies like lavender tea, lavender ice cream, and more. 

Likewise, the prices were really reasonable: the lavender ice cream was only 5 TLR ($1 USD), tea was 2 TLR (less than 50 cents), and magnets were around 5 TLR ($1 USD). 

After taking a small break and trying some of the local ice cream, it was time to explore. Since this field was bigger than the first, there was plenty of space for everyone to take photos without photobombing each other. There were a lot more photo props, including heart-shaped swings, romantic wooden doors, stand-alone windows with fluttering curtains, metal photo frames, and more.

If you’re visiting the lavender fields in Turkey, don’t forget to take a moment to just walk around, enjoy nature, and breathe in the relaxing smell of lavender while muttering Çok Güzel under your breath. 

The lavender fields make a perfect day trip from Isparta, or even Antalya if you don’t mind a longer drive. While we were walking around, there were a lot of couples (great idea for a surprise date, btw!) and families (even with small kids). 

Overall, the lavender fields in Turkey are definitely a must-see if you’re there in the summer months! 

WHERE TO STAY NEAR TURKEY’S LAVENDER FIELDS

Since the Kuyucak lavender fields are more of a day trip, there are limited options in terms of accommodations in the village. However, there are two great accommodations near the entrance and right in the village: 

Lavanta Villa

The Lavanta Villa is a family-owned hotel by a friendly man called Ismail and his wife. It’s located at the entrance of the village and is a quick 5-minute drive to the lavender fields. 

Some other great features:
💜 Free bike rentals available on-site
💜 Homemade breakfast using local ingredients
💜 Recently built with modern rooms and balconies 

💜 Book Lavanta Villa through Hotels.com 💜

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Aliya Garden

The Aliya Garden hotel is another great option. It’s located in the heart of the lavender fields and features rooms decorated in a rustic Turkish village style, a delicious breakfast, and owners who go out of their way to help their guests. 

💜 Book through Booking.com || Book through Hotels.com 💜

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For those who are short on time, you can also book a hotel in Isparta (like we did) and take a day trip to the lavender fields by car. We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Isparta and loved it — the employees were very friendly, the breakfast was delicious, and it had a prime location right near the freeway. 

 

TURKEY LAVENDER FIELDS — TRAVEL TIPS 

If you’re packing your straw hat and looking up tickets to Turkey already, here are a few final tips that I want you to know before your trip to the lavender fields: 

💜 The best times to visit the lavender fields are either during sunrise or sunset. If you go first thing in the morning you’ll beat the crowds, and if you go in the afternoon, you’ll get amazing photos during golden hour.  

💜 If you really want to stand out in your photos, I recommend wearing either something white or yellow. Yellow because it’s directly the opposite purple on the color wheel, and white because it’s bright and pops against the darker-colored lavender fields. 

💜 Don’t forget to buy souvenirs! Not only will you be supporting local businesses, you’ll also have a cute memory back home. Some of my favorite souvenirs are lavender wreaths, lavender soap, and lavender-flavored rahat lokum (jelly candies). Also, don’t forget to try the lavender soda and lavender ice cream. 😋 

💜 Watch out for bees! I feel like none of the influencers who have photos of themselves frolicking in a lavender field talk about this, but bees are a serious thing to look out for when you visit a lavender field. They’re flying all over the place doing their jobs and are very territorial, so be careful and don’t disturb them — otherwise you’ll have a few (free, red, and painful) souvenirs. 😅

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Would you like to visit Turkey’s lavender fields? Let me know in the comments! 

 

PHOTO CREDITS: Lavender house photo — Yonca Evren