A Different Eskişehir in Autumn: The Colorful Valleys of Sarıcakaya

When autumn begins in Eskişehir, the city slowly changes its color.

The trees along the Porsuk turn yellow, dry leaves fall on the parks, and the evenings start to cool early. When the familiar Eskişehir frost begins to show itself in the mornings, the city signals that it is walking toward winter.

But at the same moment, just a few dozen kilometers outside the city, there is a completely different Eskişehir.

As you descend through the winding roads of the Sündiken Mountains into the Sarıcakaya Valley, the air changes. The landscape changes. The vegetation changes. After a while, you start thinking not that you left Eskişehir, but that you entered another geography.

This is where the real story of Sarıcakaya begins.

The district stretching along the valley carved by the Sakarya River shows one of the most different faces of Eskişehir with its mountains, forests, orchards, villages, and riverside life.

Especially in autumn...

Because in this season, the valleys of Sarıcakaya transform into a grand landscape where yellow, orange, red, and green blend together.

For those who want to escape the cold of Eskişehir for a few hours, Sarıcakaya is not a distant holiday route.

Another world right beside the city.

The Scenery Changes as You Cross the Mountains

One of the most beautiful aspects of the Sarıcakaya journey is that the trip begins before you even reach the district.

As you head from Eskişehir toward Sarıcakaya, the road first climbs into high, forested areas. As the curves multiply, the city falls behind. Then at a certain point, the view opens up and the Sakarya Valley begins to appear below.

That is the moment you start to understand why Sarıcakaya is different.

Seen from above, the green areas, agricultural lands, villages, and wooded zones within the valley blend into one another. When autumn arrives, the color of this entire landscape changes.

The reason Sarıcakaya is interesting for hiking is not only its scenery. The mountain and forest roads in the region create routes of varying difficulty. According to the records of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, various trekking routes lead to Dağküplü. The Hamamdere–Sivri Yolu Sırtı–Dağküplü route is 14.40 kilometers; the Bozdağ–Dağküplü route is 20.90 kilometers.

So Sarıcakaya is not just a scenic spot to drive to and return from.

It is a serious geography for those who want to explore the mountains on foot.

The Autumn of the Sakarya Valley

You cannot talk about Sarıcakaya without talking about the Sakarya River.

Because the river is one of the most important elements defining the character of the district.

The Sakarya, flowing through the mountains, extends like a natural spine connecting the agricultural lands, wooded areas, and settlements within the valley.

In autumn, the riverside becomes especially striking.

As the leaves of willows, poplars, and other trees approaching the water turn yellow and orange, the color of the river begins to reflect the sky and the surrounding hills.

That is why you do not necessarily need to climb to a high point to take photos in Sarıcakaya.

Sometimes standing by the river and looking at the opposite slope is enough.

Sometimes stopping the car at a suitable and safe point on the mountain road and watching the valley below...

The beauty of Sarıcakaya lies partly here.

The scenery is not confined to a single point.

The road itself is the scenery.

Dağküplü: More Than Scenery

When Sarıcakaya is mentioned, Dağküplü needs to be discussed separately.

Because Dağküplü is not just a beautiful mountain village.

It carries one of the important traces of Eskişehir's rural culture.

As the Eskişehir Governor's Office has highlighted, Dağküplü stands out with its lush forests and fruits such as mulberry, cherry, and plum.

In autumn, the surroundings of the village take on a completely different appearance.

The settlement among the mountains turns into a landscape painting amid the yellow and red tones of the trees.

But it would be unfair to limit Dağküplü's story to nature alone.

Because there is an important handicraft tradition here known as Dağküplü weaving.

According to records in the Culture Portal, these weavings were once produced by women in the village of Dağküplü on hand looms. Using cotton and silk threads, products such as napkins, covers, sheets, and other traditional items were created.

What is even more interesting is that this tradition is now largely forgotten.

The Culture Portal records state that weaving in the village has become an abandoned art, and that most of the products from the past have reached us through the trousseaus of old weavers.

That is why when going to Dağküplü, you should bring not only a camera but also some curiosity.

Because what you face is not just a village, but the traces of a gradually disappearing culture.

The Silent History Passing Through a Village

One of the interesting aspects of Dağküplü is that nature and culture are not separated from each other.

Village life among the mountains, forests, fruit trees, and old handicrafts are parts of the same story.

Today, what draws attention in such places is often not a grand tourist structure.

An old item in front of a house...

A fruit tree in a garden...

People sitting in front of the village coffeehouse...

A few houses leaning against the mountain slope...

And the forest rising behind all of these.

The rural beauty of Sarıcakaya is hidden partly in these seemingly ordinary details.

Mayıslar and the Cave Inside the Mountain

There are also different routes around Sarıcakaya that may attract nature enthusiasts.

One of them is Mayıslar Cave.

According to the records of the Eskişehir Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, the cave is located approximately 4.5 kilometers east of Mayıslar village, on the northern slope of Gacani Hill facing the Sakarya River.

The vertical cave has a total length of 356 meters and a depth of -102 meters. Reaching the cave requires a steep hike of about half an hour from a certain point.

So this is not a tourist spot where you park your car and explore in five minutes.

But that is exactly where the beauty of Sarıcakaya lies.

The region appeals more to those who love to explore than to ready-packaged tourist experiences.

The Underground World of Beyyayla

In the higher parts of Sarıcakaya, caves and different geological formations appear.

The cave system around Beyyayla is one of these.

The Düdensuyu/Düdenönü Cave is connected to the Düdensuyu Stream near Beyyayla. According to official records, the stream enters from one mouth of the cave and exits from the other, creating pools inside the cave. During periods of high water, boats may be needed in some sections.

Beyyayla Cave is also recorded as one of the important natural formations in the north of Sarıcakaya.

For this reason, seeing Sarıcakaya only as 'a valley that is beautiful in autumn' is incomplete.

If there are forests and valleys above ground, there is also a separate world below ground.

Autumn in Sarıcakaya Is Not Just for Watching

Another feature of Sarıcakaya is that agricultural production blends directly into the landscape.

Green areas, gardens, and agricultural lands in the valley floor complement the forest texture at the foot of the mountains.

That is why nature and production in Sarıcakaya do not seem like two separate worlds.

On the contrary, within the same landscape.

On one side, the Sakarya River...

On the other, orchards...

In the background, forested slopes...

And over all of these, the color of autumn.

The microclimate feature of the region also plays an important role in separating Sarıcakaya from other parts of Eskişehir. When autumn arrives, this difference is felt especially. In drone footage from autumn 2025, the yellow, brown, red, and green tones of the district could be seen coming together in the same landscape.

If You Are Going to Sarıcakaya, Do Not Rush

The biggest mistake of a Sarıcakaya trip is to plan it as 'going somewhere, taking a few photos, and returning.'

Because this route does not like haste.

Stopping a few times on the mountain road to look at the scenery...

Entering the village in Dağküplü...

Exploring the surroundings near Mayıslar...

Spending some time by the river...

And if possible, leaving the return road for sunset...

All of these are parts of the Sarıcakaya experience.

Especially in autumn, it is better to start the return before dark. Reduced visibility on mountain roads both makes driving more difficult and causes you to miss the scenery, which is one of the most beautiful aspects of this route.

More Than Enough for a Day Trip

One of the nice things about Sarıcakaya is that it does not require a long holiday plan.

You can leave Eskişehir in the morning, drive through the mountain road, take a break in Dağküplü, descend to the Sakarya Valley, explore around Mayıslar, and return to Eskişehir at the end of the day.

But if you wish, you can extend this route longer.

Hiking, villages, caves, the river valley, and rural life connect within the same region.

So the real richness of Sarıcakaya is not a single 'place to visit.'

It is made up of small discoveries connected to each other.

The Small Climate Change Inside Eskişehir

Perhaps this is the most accurate way to describe Sarıcakaya.

You leave Eskişehir.

You climb the mountains.

After a while, you look down.

And another Eskişehir appears before you.

Greener.

Warmer.

More rural.

Calmer.

A valley shaped around the Sakarya, villages left among the mountains, traces of an old weaving tradition, caves, forest roads, and all the colors of autumn...

That is why Sarıcakaya is not just 'a district to write on a list of places to visit.'

Another face that Eskişehir keeps to itself.

If this autumn you want to go out into nature without going too far from the city, travel a bit, and see the Eskişehir beyond the Eskişehir you know, it is enough to turn your route north.

Beyond the mountains, there is Sarıcakaya.

And in autumn, it is truly different.