The Lycian Way: from Fethiye to Kas

I cannot recall when I first heard of the Lycian Way, a long distance footpath in Turkey that follows the coast from near Fethiye for 540 km to near Antalya. But is justifiably renowned as one of the world’s great hiking routes. It was first established in 1999 by an Englishwoman, Kate Clow, and her efforts are praiseworthy, especially as Turkey at that time had no tradition of such footpaths. The full route takes a month at least and involves some overnight camping on the more mountainous southern stages. I decided on just doing the first major section of the path, from Fethiye to Kas, corresponding to 13 of the 29 stages in Kate Clow’s The Lycian Way and enjoying several rest days in Kalkan and Kas. No camping is necessary on this part of the route. I pre-booked some accommodation using the internet where I could but left the rest to chance and this worked out well.

Costs. Flight £109. Visa £14. Car parking £27. Ovacik/Ölüdeniz hotel (B&B) TL50 per night. Faralya hotel (DB&B)TL120. Alinca pension (DB&B) TL70. Pydnai pension (DB&B) TL95. Kumluova hotel (DB&B) TL110. Akbel lodge (DB&B) TL75. Patara pension (B&B) TL50. Kalkan hotel (B&B) TL128 per night. Saribelen pension (DB&B) TL95. Gökçeören pension (DB&B) TL80. Çukurbag pension (DB&B) TL70. Kas hotel (B&B) TL108 per night. Dalaman airport–Ovacik shared taxi transfer £6. Kas–Demre bus TL8. Kas–Fethiye bus TL18. Fethiye–Dalaman airport bus TL10. Entry fees to ancient sites TL5–TL20. Bottle of local beer TL10. Typical evening meal in Ovacik, Kalkan or Kas with drinks TL30–TL50. Total cost of trip £800.

Places I stayed and was happy with. Our Place, Ovacik/Ölüdeniz (Days 1 and 2, Read my review); Montenegro Motel, Faralya (Day 3, Read my review); Manzara Pension, Alinca (Day 4, Read my review); Kiliç Pension, Bel (Day 5, Read my review); Özlen Pension and Restaurant, Pydnai (Day 6, Read my review); Letoon Aparthotel, Kumluova (Day 7, Read my review); Hidden Garden, Akbel (Day 8, Read my review); Zeybec 1 Pension, Gelemis/Patara (Day 9, Read my review); Rhapsody Hotel & Spa, Kalkan (Days 10–12, Read my review); Pause Pension, Saribelen (Day 13, Read my review); Yesil Pension, Gökçeören (Day 14, Read my review); Café Dede Pension, Çukurbag (Day 15, Read my review); Hotel Sonne, Kas (Days 16–18, Read my review).

Books. The Lycian Way by Kate Clow (Upcountry Turkey, 4th edition); The Rough Guide to Turkey (Rough Guides, 9th revised edition).

Maps. I used the map in the back of The Lycian Way by Kate Clow and, occasionally, this free “app” on my iPad. Neither was great and I lost the path frequently. The paper map in the back of the guidebook is particularly inaccurate. However, it is mostly just a matter of keeping ones eyes open for the signposts and paint splodges.

See also. Patara and Kas; The Lycian Way 2; The Lycian Way 3.

Day 1: Travel to Ovacik. Left home at 4.50 am and drove to Edinburgh airport, arriving 5.50 am. My plane left on time at 7 am and arrived in Dalaman at 1.15 pm (local time). I was quickly through the airport and found my shared (and very inexpensive) taxi transfer easily. Left at 2 pm, along with a mother and daughter from Alloa. Arrived at my hotel (pre-booked) at 3 pm. Changed some money, did some shopping, went for a short walk, and then out for dinner.

Day 2: Circular walk to Kayaköy. Had breakfast and then walked down the hill into Oludeniz proper. Disappointingly, this was just a beach and a promenade where the paragliders land. Caught the bus back up hill. After short break at hotel, walked to Kayaköy along road and looked round deserted Greek Orthodox village. Walked back to my hotel along a new branch of the Lycian Way that I had not known existed (it was not mentioned in my guidebook). Went out for a meatball dinner.

Day 3: Walk to Faralya. Checked out of the hotel at 10 am and started walking south along the Lycian Way. There was a stiff climb up to an altitude of 808 m around Babadag mountain. I stuck to the dirt road between Kozagac and Kirme, failing to find the correct path (not for the last time on this trip!). Had cold drink in roadside bar outside Kirme. Reached Faralya hotel (pre-booked) at 3.15 pm (so 5 h 15 min walking). Had dinner in hotel.

Day 4: Walk to Alinca. After an enormous breakfast – I counted at least 15 plates – I left the hotel at 9.45 am and followed the Lycian Way to Kabak, arriving at 11.30 am (so 1 h 45 min walking). There, I met a fellow hiker from the previous day and stopped for a drink and a snack. I continued walking at 12.30 pm and, eventually, picked up the correct path again. It was a very steep but spectacular climb up to Alinca, where I arrived at 3.55 pm (so 5 h 10 min walking for the day and 3 h 25 min for the section). I found a pleasant but basic pension and had tea, a shower, beer, dinner, and more tea, which soon became almost a daily ritual.

Day 5: Walk to Bel. Left the pension at 9.05 am and descended the path down the very steep cliff – I gather that sticking to the road is a popular alternative here and can understand why. I had decided that I wanted to visit the ruins at Sidyma and so had opted for the inland route (Stage 4A in Kate Clow’s The Lycian Way). But here things got a bit strange as the book and its largely fictional map differ completely from the “app” as to the correct route to Sidyma – and neither description makes complete sense! I decided to ignore both and walk along the road to the village of Bogaziçi to avoid getting completely lost and was surprised to pick up the paint splodges marking the Lycian Way. Difficulties resolved (for now), I followed a beautiful ancient track up to Sidyma, which was fascinating. After a coke in the village, I continued to Bel, arriving at 4.15 pm (so 7 h 10 min walking). As I entered the village, an enthusiastic lady of mature years ran down the road to meet me – so I had found my pension for the night. I enjoyed some beer and a nice vegetarian dinner.

Day 6: Walk to Pydnai. Started walking at 9.10 am. Had tea and a coke served in the middle of the woods by a lady and her children – all a bit surreal. The steep descent down the cliff to Gavuragili was rather painful and I hurt my knee at one point. I reached Gavuragili at about 12.30 pm (so 3 h 20 min for the stage) and decided to carry on walking. Arrived at the ruins of Pydnai at 3.10 pm and walked a further 10 min to the Özlen pension/restaurant, reached by crossing a rickety footbridge over the lovely Özlen River (so 6 h 10 min for the day). Had dinner sitting outside by the river.

Day 7: Walk to Kumluova. Left the pension at 9 am, accompanied by a friendly stray black dog that had decided to adopt me. Walked back to Pydnai ruins and picked up Lycian Way again. Reached the Patara beach campsite and, to my relief, the dog ran off with a new canine friend. From there, I walked across the flat, sandy plain of the river delta for hours it seemed, having been put on the right way by a friendly dolmus driver. Although very different from the hills of the previous days, I enjoyed this stretch of walk: there were tortoises and dragonflies. But when I left the rural track I arrived among the vast expanse of greenhouses that covers the plain and had no idea where I was. Eventually, I found my way to the Letoon ruins and toured them as planned, chatting to a Belgian ancient sites enthusiast. Then I went in to the village centre, bought some water, and walked up the hill to the petrol station and the Kumluova hotel at 1 pm (so 4 h walking, most of it completely lost among the greenhouses). Oh, the luxury of a £20-a-night hotel! Pressurised hot water, bleached white sheets, and Wifi! Washed some clothes and had a kofte kebab dinner in the hotel.

Day 8: Walk to Akbel. Left hotel at 9 am and walked with two fellow hikers to Xanthos and went round the ruined town and its fascinating necropolis. Walked on alone to Çavdir and drank two cold cokes in a bar. Continued along the path towards Üzümlü, which gradually began to climb into the hills again, following the ancient aqueduct. I was interested to find the ancient Inpinar spring described in The Lycian Way but what I found was a terrible, sad disappointment. What has happened there? Either the spring has been destroyed or it is not where the guidebook describes it. Reached Üzümlü about 4.15 pm and had a cold drink and some fruit. But I could not find any accommodation in the village. So I left at 5 pm and continued down the road to Akbel and my lodge or chalet-style accommodation at 5.55 pm (so 8 h 55 min walking). It had been a long hot day with a good deal of road walking and I now had a large blister on my heel. But I had a good dinner and Wifi was available too.

Day 9: Walk and dolmus to Gelemis/Patara. Left at 10.30 am and walked up hill to the main junction in Akbel and bought water. Then I started west (and downhill) along a minor road but this was the wrong way. Blast my map and guidebook! On the spur of the moment, I got on a passing dolmus and got off at the Patara turn on the main Kalkan road. Walked 3 km along road to Patara and found my very nice pension (pre-booked) at about 12.15 pm. After a rest and washing some clothes, I walked round the impressive ruins of Patara, photographing the interesting dragonflies. Came back and went out for beer and dinner.

Day 10: Walk to Kalkan. Left pension at 9.30 am. As a result of the previous day’s navigational error and my sore heel, I decided to take the shorter path towards the Delikkemer viaduct (which I had not yet walked, of course) and not the longer loop around the Yeli Burun headland. I walked along a wide track to the siphonic Roman aqueduct, the first of this advanced type that I had seen and very impressive. Then I continued along a narrow path lined with scratchy bushes. I met a retired English couple out for a day walk who offered me a lift down the last 2 km of main road into Kalkan. I arrived at the main road at 2.25 pm (so 4 h 55 min walking) and was at my super-luxury hotel (pre-booked for three nights) about 2.45 pm. Went out and bought water and surgical tape for my feet.

Days 11-12: Rest in Kalkan. The next two days I did... absoluely nothing. And it was wonderful. I stayed in my lovely hotel, ate leisurely breakfasts, used the Wifi, sent some emails, drank some chilled wine on my balcony, and washed and dried pretty much all my clothes. In the evenings, I wandered the short distance into the town for dinner.

Day 13: Walk to Saribelen. Left hotel at 9.40 am. I climbed up to the Saribelen road and walked along it to meet the Lycian Way near an Ottoman cistern. A friendly small boy took me to his parents’ house to fill my water bottle. Next, it was a glorious climb up and over the hill to Bezirgan and then a dull walk across the flat plain. I had a cold drink and bought water in the village. I then climbed up to Saribelen road. But what had happened to the path? I tried the “app” route in preference to the guidebook route and it was horrible: stupid, hard to follow, and overgrown with thorny shrubs. So I switched to the road but then walked a long way into the wrong part of Saribelen before backtracking to find my pension (pre-booked) at 3.55 pm (so 6 h 15 min walking). I talked to my German hostess, Janine, over my nice vegetarian dinner.

Day 14: Walk to Gökçeören. Left my pension at 9.40 am. For once, the path was easy to follow and ran through some glorious countryside. Passed a Turkish couple on a stretch of dirt road that skirted round a hill. Descended to a large grazing area and met Adem with his goats for the first time. Then I arrived at his family’s "tea house" and was soon joined by the Turkish couple shortly after. This was convenient as they spoke good English. Adem arrived too. I stayed for 50 min and left to continue my walk at 1 pm. Arrived in Gökçeören at 2.40 pm (so 5 h walking) and was met by the village pension owner in his car! He said that Janine from the Saribelen pension had phoned him. Was given a lift to the pension and had a shower and then tea. The Turkish couple turned up. Vegetarian dinner again.

Day 15: Walk to Çukurbag. Breakfast indoors at 8 am; it had rained a lot overnight. Started walking at 8.45 am under leaden skies. Walked down long valley for more than an hour. Met the Turkish couple again at the point where the streams converge and the path leaves the road. Then there was a long climb up the hill and I got soaked to the skin from brushing against the wet bushes. We had lunch near the "cottages", which my new friends shared with me. Continued round the hill for hours, it seemed. Finally reached the interesting ruins of Phellos at 3.45 pm, after 7 h walking. Then descended to Çukurbag, arriving at my very simple pension at 5 pm (so 8 h 15 min walking). Had shower in the shared facilities. At 5.45 pm the Turkish couple appeared. They had tea and then accepted a lift down into Kas. Had a vegetarian dinner at 6.30 pm.

Day 16: Walk to Kas. Breakfast at 8 am and starting walking at 9 am. Enjoyed spectacular views from the top of the cliff behind Kas and also the steep descent down into the town. Reached my superb hotel (pre-booked for three nights) at 12.05 pm (so 3 h 5 min walking). Went out for a couple of farewell drinks with a fellow hiker who had started the Lycian Way the same day as me. Then went for kebab dinner on my own.

Days 17-18: Explore Kas and Demre/Myra. My hike completed, I spent a day looking around the lovely town of Kas and the interesting ruins of the ancient city (Antiphellos) and another day taking the bus to Demre and visiting the ruins of ancient Myra.

Day 19: Travel home. Checked out of hotel at 11 am. Went for a tea in the centre of Kas to kill some time. Caught 12 noon bus which went through Kalkan, Akbel, Yesilkoy, Kinik... it was like reliving my walk all over again, but in reverse. Reached utterly horrid Fethiye at 2.20 pm. The scheduled bus to the airport at 2.30 pm did not exist, only one at 4.15 pm. Had tea. Got 4.15 pm bus, arriving at the international terminal at 5.25 pm. Had ultra-expensive tea and rubbish muffin in the airport. Boarded plane and was home at 1 am.

Wildlife seen. Scheltopusik (Glass Lizard), Greek Tortoise, Caspian Turtle, Starred Agama, Green Lizard, Viperine water Snake, Eastern Festoon, Black-veined White, Nettle-tree Butterfly, Green Hairstreak, Swallowtail, Scarce Swallowtail, Orange Tip, Painted Lady, Southern White Admiral, African Ringlet, Southern Comma, Red Admiral, Scarce Chaser, Slender Skimmer, Emperor, Violet Dropwing, Broad Scarlet, Black-tailed Skimmer, Keeled Skimmer, Norfolk Hawker, Red-veined Darter, Macaronius Owlfly, Spoonwing Lacewing.

Other useful links. Official Lycian Way website

An alternative account of (nearly) the full walk

Taxi transfer from Dalaman

Buses to and from Kas

Reflections. This was probably the one of the most enjoyable walking trips I have ever undertaken. The weather was great, the countryside glorious, the rural Turkish people very friendly and hospitable, and the wildlife always interesting. But much more than that, it felt like a real adventure. Every day there were surprises, problems to solve, setbacks, difficulties, and moments when things worked out unexpectedly well – and I loved it all. It was quite a sociable trip too, with repeated chance meetings with fellow Lycian Way walkers every couple of days. There were very few other tourists in Turkey at the time I did the walk because of the Syrian situation, the diplomatic problems with Russia, and fears over terrorism. But, of course, this all worked to my advantage as it kept my costs down and meant that accommodation was always readily available even where I had not pre-booked it. Would I like to complete the rest of the walk? You bet I would! I just have to work out how best to tackle the remoter mountain stages without loading myself down with too heavy a backpack.

© 2016 The Untravelled World