Abstract
Tortum Waterfall is one of the most remarkable natural treasures of Turkey, and the third highest natural waterfall in the world. There is a recreation area around the waterfall for tourists visiting the site. An observation platform allows the visitors to have a close sight to the waterfall. A staircase leads to the underneath of the waterfall. Heavily used areas, such as viewing platforms, staircases, pedestrian walkways are under increasing pressure as visitor numbers increase year by year. High visitor numbers, more face to face encounters, not seeing the scene completely decrease visitors satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to determine the pedestrian capacities of the waterfall by using the method of Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) which has been published by The United State Federal Highway Administration (1998) [1] and adapted to pedestrian walkways and viewing platforms by Itami (2002) [2]. Uninterrupted and interrupted pedestrian flows on walkways were analyzed, and visitor number for optimum quality of recreation use was estimated. Visitor management plans were suggested for comfortable visitation at Tortum Waterfall.