Altınbeşik Cavern National Park, where eco-tourism is very important, is located in the Western Taurus Mountains between the İbradı and Akseki districts in the east and northeast of Antalya. World Wild Fund For Nature (WWF) has identified in 1999 the 100 forest areas, which are the most valuable in terms of biodiversity in Europe and which must urgently be protected, and it has been pointed out that one of these areas, which are identified as “The Hot Spots of European Forests†and nine of which are found in Turkey, is the natural areas around İbradı-Akseki. Within the area 9 different kinds of communities belonging to the forest, maquis, hygrophilic, rock and scree vegetations have been diagnosed, namely Crataegus monogyna-Pinus brutia, Tordylium ketenoglui-Juniperus excelsa, Pistacia terebinthus-Quercus coccifera, Phillyrea latifolia-Arbutus andrachne, Nerium oleander-Platanus orientalis, Onosma frutescens basis community, Arabis davisii-Alkanna oreodoxa, Bupleurum erubescens-Pelargonium endlicherianum, Geranium lucidum-Ricotia sinuata. Within the area, a clear dominance of Quercetea ilicis, Quercetalia ilicis and Quercion calliprini has been identified.
