Everything began with an accidental discovery in the eastern part of the Küre Mountains, an area of outstanding biological diversity. In the course of building a road to serve the proposed Erfelek Dam, a waterfall cascading from a height of 15 metres into the Karasu River was found. Surrounded by deciduous trees, this waterfall alone was a beautiful spectacle, but following the water course upstream past several small cascades a second waterfall was discovered. Exploration continued through increasingly difficult terrain along the narrow wooded valley, revealing more and more waterfalls in seemingly endless succession! There was no longer any question about it. This remarkable series of waterfalls had to be protected, and the dam road was immediately rerouted. The Tatlica Waterfalls are situated 15 kilometres southwest of Erfelek in the Black Sea province of Sinop. If you take the road parallel to the Karasu River which flows through Erfelek and is shaded for most of the way by tall Oriental plane trees (Platanus orientalis), and then follow the Erfelek dam road, you come to the waterfalls.

In winter and early spring the volume of water flowing downstream is at its highest, and it can be dangerous to explore the narrow valley, so it is advisable to visit the waterfalls from the beginning of May until mid-November. It is possible to camp at the mouth of the valley where the stream makes its final descent into the Karasu. The Tatlici Waterfalls are one of the best places to enjoy autumn scenery at its loveliest, when the foliage of the deciduous trees transforms the valley into a riot of colour, particularly in late October and early November. The stream cascades over nearly thirty waterfalls in two kilometres during its course through the narrow valley. They take their name from the village of Tatlica (also known as Sami) near the top of the valley. A narrow path leading from the large pool at the foot of the first waterfall takes you all the way to the village, passing an old mill on the way.

The magical beauty of the waterfalls hidden in this deep valley is certainly worth the effort involved. In autumn the yellow, red and brown leaves fall on to the fast flowing water and carpet the entire valley floor and its steep sides. Sometimes the falling water forms whirlpools in which the colourful leaves dance and spin. Some of the waterfalls pour over rocks clad in moss of every shade of green. As well as the waterfalls another interesting site in this area are the wooden houses on the high pastures of Hacibey, Kaçkar and Gübegüneyi. Built of logs and sawn timber, these houses are roofed with natural flat stones. The climate of the western Black Sea region is characterised by high rainfall and mild winters, in which the mixed deciduous forest flourishes on the mountains below an altitude of 1600 metres.