Göygöl National Park


Göygöl National Park — is a national park of Azerbaijan. It was established by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, in an area in Goygol Rayon administrative district on April 1, 2008 on the basis of the former "Goy Gol State Reserve" that was established in 1925 and which it superseded, on a surface area of. It was enlarged from of the former state reserve to its current surface area as a national park.
The national park includes one of the most beautiful and cleanest lakes in Azerbaijan, Lake Göygöl. The reserve is intended to protect the natural ecosystem of the subalpine zones of the northern slopes of the Lesser Caucasus. During the Soviet era, it had been deprived of its reserve status, but was restored later.

Flora and fauna

Flora

The area of Göygöl is almost entirely covered by forests and has a rich flora with over 420 plant species, including 20 which are endemic to the area. The major types of trees are chestnut-leaved oak, Caucasian oak, Caucasian ash, European ash, European hornbeam, Oriental hornbeam, Oriental beech, velvet maple, Cappadocian maple, Caucasian lime tree, etc.
Shrub species occurring in the area include the medlar, European barberry, European cornel, European spindle, blackberry, etc.

Fauna

There are several endemic subspecies of birds, of which the bearded vulture, Egyptian vulture, Eurasian eagle-owl, black woodpecker, golden oriole, mistle thrush, stock dove, Eurasian woodcock, woodlark, mute swan, common quail, Caspian titmouse subspecies of the titmouse; the Caucasus pheasant subspecies of the common pheasant are common.
The Caspian tiger once roamed these mountains, but is now extinct. Other large mammals here are the lynx, brown bear, wild boar, wolf, golden jackal, jungle cat, red fox, roe deer, badger, etc.
The Persian leopard subspecies of the leopard, lives in the southern regions in Azerbaijan, primarily in the Talysh Mountains, Nagorno-Karabakh and Nakhichevan. Despite occasional sightings, it was not clear whether leopards had been extinct in Azerbaijan by the late 1990s until a species was caught on camera in March, 2007 in the Hirkan National Park. However it is still not clear if leopards live in the Göygöl National Park.

Filmography

A documentary film titled “Göygöl Milli Parkı” was shot in 2015. The film was presented in the :az:Nizami Kino Mərkəzi|Nizami Cinema Center in Baku. Vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva participated at the presentation of the film.