Lycian Way

All participants in the hike are from different cities and countries. They fly to Turkey on their own on different flights, at different times. To Antalya, you can fly relatively inexpensively with Pegasus, Atlas Global, and Turkish Airlines. In most cases, these are flights with a transfer in Istanbul. If you arrive in Antalya a day earlier (to relax after the flight and see the city), then we can recommend you inexpensive hotel in the historical center of the city.

The group gathering and meeting with the instructor takes place at the Antalya bus station (Otogar in Turkish). From the airport or from the city center you can easily get there by tram AntRay.

Usually the meeting at the otogar starts at 11 am (the administrator will tell you the exact time). The instructor distributes public food (approximately 5 kg per person), checks equipment, talks about the route, and answers questions. In addition, at the bus station you can exchange currency for lira and have a snack. Closer to noon, we take a minibus and go to the resort village of Goynuk (a 2-hour drive), where our hike along the Lycian Way begins. However, upon arrival in Goynuk, we first go to the beach, where we will spend about an hour. Then we have lunch in a cafe and only after that we finally put on our backpacks. From the sea to our parking lot near the Harmony Canyon is 3 kilometers along the trail along the river. We put up tents and relax.

Today is a difficult day - we get up early and break camp, there is a lot to do and see. We enter the Harmony Canyon (aka Goynuk Canyon), leave our backpacks for storage in a local cafe and, lightly (with cameras, money, swimsuits and towels), set off to the most interesting part of the gorge. There you can not only admire the rocks and the purest mountain water, but also rent a wetsuit, life jacket and helmet (about $10) and swim deep into the canyon to the famous hanging stone and waterfalls. This is a real attraction - you swim a couple of meters, then walk, then climb a waterfall, jump into the bathtub and swim again. This is where a waterproof camera or other waterproof camera comes in handy.

After swimming in the canyon, we return to our backpacks, have lunch and begin one of the most difficult sections of the Lycian Way. We have to gain about 400 meters in height in order to cross the ridge to bypass the impassable section of Harmony Canyon. The climb seems to be small, but it’s very tedious and tiring (it’s hot here despite the forest and partial shade). Before starting, fill your bottles with plenty of water, because... the next source will only be for the night. At the pass we rest a little and begin the descent to the river. Today we will spend the night in the forest near the most beautiful baths (you can freshen up after a hot day).

We again walk along the familiar river (upstream). The canyon here is not too deep, but the huge boulders are damn picturesque. Let's jump from stone to stone, from shore to shore, until we reach inhabited areas - almond and pomegranate orchards begin. The Lycian Way goes out onto a plateau (“yayla” in Turkic).

The walk became much easier - a wide dirt road with almost no elevation gain. In the evening we descend to the village of Gedelme. Right above the village the huge Teke-Dag looms. It's beautiful... but we won't go there. We rush to restock our supplies at the local store and, if we're lucky, recharge phones and cameras.

We camp for the night in a clearing near the ruins of a Genoese fortress. There are also two more local attractions - a huge plane tree over 2.5 thousand years old and a small karst cave with sinter formations.

In the first half of the day we walk along a relatively easy road that gradually rises (300 meters) to the tiny mountain village of Yayla- Kuzdere. Immediately behind it begins a steep climb through the forest. To catch our breath a little, we’ll sit down for lunch in the shade of the plane trees shepherd's hut with an excellent source.

Then the ascent continues in a calmer manner - along a dirt serpentine road through the dark “northern” forest we will slowly but surely move up until we reach a fairy tale. I'm not kidding - this is a real fairy tale called Çukur-Yayla. Huge Lebanese cedars, bizarre rocks eaten away by karst sinkholes and the mighty Olympus (Tahtali) above our heads.

We set up tents and stock up on firewood for the evening gathering. Chukur-Yayla is located at an altitude of more than 1600 meters, at night the temperature can easily drop to 0 degrees, so it is better to prepare warm clothes in advance and dry wet things.

Today is the most difficult day of the hike. We get up before dawn (like real climbers), have a quick breakfast, pack up the camp and we climb 200 meters up to the saddle of Olympus. Here we hide our backpacks in a crevice and go to the ascent, taking with us raincoats and money. It takes two hours of continuous climbing up a bare rocky slope to the top. In the spring you can easily find leftover snow here, so it is advisable that your shoes do not look too much like beach slippers. However, wet sneakers will dry quickly under the Turkish sun, so you can just take a change of socks with you.

We start early in the morning to reach the summit before the afternoon clouds gather and envelop the mountain. From the top of the Turkish Olympus - Mount Tahtali (2365 m) you can see the entire coast from Antalya to Finike. And on the opposite side you can see the mighty Bey-Dag mountain range (3070 m) and in general everything is visible... if you catch it before the clouds.

Having admired the beauty of Turkey, we will begin our descent. If you have problems with your knees, then this is no less, and maybe even more of a test, than lifting (I recommend getting trekking poles and knee pads). We go down to the backpacks, where we have lunch and dry our shoes. Then the route goes through another enchanted forest with mighty cedars, sudden fogs and dizzying views. We arrive in the village of Beychik and take a minibus. Another hour's drive and we are at the sea, in the village of Chiraly. We set up camp in a campsite 50 meters from the beach and 10 meters from the store. There is a shower, toilet, socket, kitchen. During our stay in Cirali we have dinner at a restaurant, have breakfast at the campsite, and sleep in tents.

We continue the descent - today we have to reach the sea. In a couple of hours we come out onto the road and, if we feel like it, drop into the famous fish restaurants of Ulupinar (shady gazebos right in the middle of the river, where they serve mountain trout). Then we catch a minibus and twenty minutes later we are by the sea. We stop at one of the tent campsites in the village of Cirali. A campsite here means not just a hot shower and a toilet but a washing machine too - long live cleanliness and hygiene! Once we have tidied ourselves up, we head to the shop for ice cream (20 metres away) and to the beach for a lungful of sea air (100 metres).

In the evening, at dusk, we catch a minibus again and go to the main local attraction, the fires of the Chimera. According to Greek myth, the Chimera is a fire-breathing monster assembled from spare parts (a lion, a goat, a snake). The ancient hero Bellerophon, on the winged Pegasus, defeated the Chimera and her body fell into a gorge near the present-day village of Cirali. The legendary monster lies buried under a thickness of rock, and only tongues of flame have been breaking out to the surface for many thousands of years. And that is all the tourists need - many bring food with them and fry it in the flames of the legend.

For the whole of our stay in Cirali we have dinner at the restaurant, breakfast at the campsite, and sleep in tents.

Experience has shown that walking along the sea with a backpack in the heat is not much fun. So we leave our things at the campsite in Cirali and set off early in the morning on a big radial hike for the whole day. There are two route options to choose from:

1) Hike to the lighthouse on Cape Gelidonia. Distance 18 km, ascent 700 m.
A tough but very beautiful route. A taxi takes us to the village of Karaoz, from where we start the climb onto the Eren-Tepe ridge that crowns Cape Gelidonia. Cape Gelidonia is a true edge of the world, beyond which there are only a couple of islands and the boundless Mediterranean. We walk the perimeter of the cape along a path that winds among huge boulders and pines. We have lunch by the snow-white lighthouse and by evening descend to the sea near the village of Adrasan. A taxi brings us back to Cirali.

2) Hike to Maden Koyu Bay and Cape Karaburun. Distance 12 km, ascent 500 m.
On this route we do not climb high or look at the sea from a bird's-eye view, but instead we drop down several times to secluded blue coves. If you are after adventure, you can peek into the abandoned adit under Mount Damcotagi. And on the way back you can hire a boat and return to Cirali by sea.

We dedicate the morning entirely to the sea. You can just swim, or you can rent sea kayaks (1 and 2-seater boats) and paddle around the picturesque Musa Dag ridge in search of half-flooded caves and rocky corridors. Only after splashing about to our heart's content do we return to Cirali, only to set off at once on a short radial (1.5-2 hours) to the ruins of Olympos. Olympos is a huge complex of ancient ruins that will delight us with Lycian sarcophagi, a Greek theatre, Roman gates, and a Genoese fortress. And all this is in a real Turkish jungle. Water flows from everywhere, streams run into the river, the river into the sea, and the sea still calls and beckons. The main thing is not to forget that at about 15:00 a minibus is waiting to take us to Antalya. The hike along the Lycian Way is complete!

Around 17:00 we arrive in Antalya, at an already familiar hotel. Most of the group (along with the instructor) will head to the bus station this very evening to catch an overnight bus to Goreme. They have a continuation of the adventure ahead of them in the form of a 3-day trip through Cappadocia (a land of unreal landscapes and underground labyrinths). Join us!

If you cannot go on the Cappadocia tour, you can stay in Antalya. If you want to fly home today, look for the latest flight. Do not forget to allow time for the drive to the airport (40 minutes) and for check-in (2 hours).