Overlooking the town to the south, Uludag (2 543m) is Bursa's very own back garden. This delightful national park (13 000ha) boasts an incredible array of fauna and flora. The mountain side is covered in olive trees, lavender, juniper, green oak, hazelnut trees, lime blossom, Oriental beech and thorn bushes, in which animals such as deer, wild boar, bear and the rarer wolf keep well hidden, along with mouflons at higher altitudes. The best time to visit the park is in the spring, when the slopes are carpeted with flowers, and during the ski season from December to March.