Lycian Way Turkey

Arrival to Antalya, the guide will meet everyone at the airport, then we'll go downtown to wait for the rest of the group and have lunch. It is advisable not to take superfluous things, because all the stuff will be in you backpack all the time until the end of the trip. We don't stay in Antalya for a long time, because we've selected more interesting places for you than a standard vacation at sea, so our next point is train station and transfer to the village of Goynuk, where we check into a boarding house and rest.

Today we will get acquainted with the group, enjoy traditional Turkish cuisine, and start our game “Secret Friend”.

We leave early, greet the sunrise and ride to the beginning of the route to Goynuk Canyon. In the village, we'll drink fresh orange juice, energize ourselves, and set off to explore the canyon. Today is the first day of the hiking route and we should say that it will be difficult, because you need to acclimatize and get used to your backpack. However, along the way you will have a good motivation - beautiful scenery around you and a great anticipation of the adventure that is about to begin.

In the evening, we'll reach the first campsite, a private area with shower, toilet, electricity and a cafe. All nights on the hiking part of the route will be in tents, but the weather is very favorable and thus it is quite convenient to walk comfortable distances.

Today we are going to the ruins of the Genoese fortress and the Gedelme Cave. The cave is located next to the fortress that once defended the local valley. We will be able to go down to a depth of 50 meters in the Gedelme Cave. Near the ruins of the fortress and in the cave we will be able to take cool photos and take a break, then we will go to the foot of Mount Tahtali.

We will have a climb to the village of Yayla Kuzdere. It is a small mountain village located near Tahtali. But that's not all, the route will continue to the saddle of Cukur-Yayla. This place is called fairy-tale - we will be surrounded by huge Lebanese cedars, mighty rocks, Mediterranean plants, and a real Olympus - Mount Tahtali - will be above us. We will camp on our Turkish friend's private area, who will hospitably meet us and prepare dinner.

The mountain is not very high, but the climb is long and not so easy. In spring, there still may be snow, so we hope that the mountain will let us in, and we'll add winter gear to our list, just in case. However, we will be rewarded at the top, because the view from there is really stunning, this mountain is called the Turkish Olympus for this reason. From the top, we will see the coastline from Antalya to Finike as if in the palm of our hand. According to the legend, a terrible monster, the Chimera, lives here, and we will see its flame on our way a bit later. In the meantime, let's enjoy the mountain.

After the climb, we'll go down to our campsite in the village of Beycik for a delicious Turkish dinner.

We meet the dawn and walk through the forest with centuries-old trees to the village of Ulupinar, which is famous for its trout, and we will definitely try it. The taste of this fish is hard to describe, it may be a subjective opinion, but it is the most delicious trout we have ever eaten. Therefore, we have to try it in a local restaurant.

Let's continue our route to Mount Chimera, a mystical landmark in Turkey, also called the “Chimera Lights”. Here, all year round, you can observe a unique phenomenon - flames that break through the ground. Seeing this, you will never forget your emotions.

From Chimera, we walk to Chirali village down to the sea, where we chose a camp which is a few meters from the shoreline. Orange trees grow in the middle of the campsite, and we will set up our tents under their crowns.

We chose a top campsite, so the sunrise will be as impressive as the sunset. Behind us is Mount Tahtali, and in front of us is the Mediterranean Sea.

It's time to take a break, the water temperature in this season is at 19 degrees and the air is 23 degrees, and this is a comfortable temperature for swimming and hiking.

After swimming, we'll go to the city of Olympus, which is an ancient city that now consists of an ancient ruins. Here you can see Lycian sarcophagi, a Greek theater, a Roman gate and many more remnants of a powerful heritage. Yes, we are gradually moving to the part of the Lycian Way that is near the sea, and we are going to visit Adrasan and today we will do it!

We will meet the new day at a campsite by the sea, it is already a tradition to swim in the morning, and today is special because we have a free program to enjoy the views of Adrasan, visit wild beaches, book a boat trip, get a drink and just treat ourselves to cocktails and relax.

Our guide knows a lot of cool places in Adrasan, so there is something interesting for everyone.

It's time to get ready to hike again, as we are going to the village of Karaoz. On the way, we will visit several interesting places, one of them is the Gelidonya Lighthouse, which you will definitely recognize, because it is one of the famous landmarks of the route. This part of the Lycian Way runs entirely along the Mediterranean coast.

The big advantage is that there will be almost no tourists in the bays, so we can enjoy the deserted beaches to the fullest extent.

What else can we say, it will be exciting day, and we will stop for camping by the sea again to enjoy the sky and waves.

The penultimate day of our trip has come, but today we will still have something cool to show you, because we are going to the city of Finike. There will be no trekking today, we have only two crossings: Karaoz-Kumludzha and Kumludzha-Finike. We check into apartments on the slopes of the coast and go for a walk.

What awaits us today? Definitely, bays, there are a lot of them here, the next thing is diving - it will be open season here and you can try it. Of course, you can walk along the coast with the spectacular view, as well as the city itself deserves special attention. In short, there is a lot things to do and you can spend a whole week if you have that much time.

And our trip is coming to a smooth end, so let's go to a common dinner to recall the fun moments and drink a glass of wine.

We will meet this morning back in Lycia in Finike, and then have dinner already in Ukraine. Depending on the flight, we will still have some time to spend in Finike today, at least to have breakfast and go for a swim. And then transfer to the Antalya airport, our flight will be at 15:45, so we will have enough time to get to the airport in time.

This is GRA and it is your chance to join our adventure if you decide to register. We have to warn you right away that we need at least 5 participants to make this trip, so don't think twice and sign up!