Lycian way walking holiday
| country: | Turkey |
| location: | Lycian Coast |
| trip type: | Moderate walking holidays |
| departures: | This trip can be tailor made at a time to suit you between March - June and September - November |
| price: | From £335 (5 days) excluding flights |
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the amazing things you'll be doing
In this trip we explore the western end of the Lycian Way, Turkeys first long distance footpath. This part of south-west Turkey has much to offer visitors prepared to explore on foot, such as spectacular mountain and coastal scenery, many historical remains from the Lycian and Roman periods, and the warm hospitality of the local people. Baba Mountain, and the area around it, is noted for its unique flora and fauna.
We follow old paths used by villagers between settlements, earth tracks and trails, passing through pine forests, olive groves, farmland and tiny villages, where we can still see elements of the traditional rural way of life.
On the first day of walking we have the opportunity to explore the atmospheric ruins of Kayaköy village; abandoned in 1923 and never resettled. Most of the houses are just shells but its two churches are still impressive.
The tour ends in the fascinating ancient site of Sidyma. The site has never been excavated because a village has grown up directly on top of it look out for the mosque with ancient Greek carvings in its walls, a tomb used as a barn and a church serving as a chicken pen!
Accommodation is in a combination of small hotels (rooms with en suite facilities) and pensions with shared facilities. We transport your luggage between accommodations, so you only need to carry a day pack while walking. The route includes some ups and downs, particularly on days 3 and 4 when we climb to approximately 700 metres.
We follow old paths used by villagers between settlements, earth tracks and trails, passing through pine forests, olive groves, farmland and tiny villages, where we can still see elements of the traditional rural way of life.
On the first day of walking we have the opportunity to explore the atmospheric ruins of Kayaköy village; abandoned in 1923 and never resettled. Most of the houses are just shells but its two churches are still impressive.
The tour ends in the fascinating ancient site of Sidyma. The site has never been excavated because a village has grown up directly on top of it look out for the mosque with ancient Greek carvings in its walls, a tomb used as a barn and a church serving as a chicken pen!
Accommodation is in a combination of small hotels (rooms with en suite facilities) and pensions with shared facilities. We transport your luggage between accommodations, so you only need to carry a day pack while walking. The route includes some ups and downs, particularly on days 3 and 4 when we climb to approximately 700 metres.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Meet at accommodation in Kayaköy, near Fethiye. Welcome meeting and briefing with guide. Free time. |
| Day 2: | Day walk to explore Kayaköy village and Olüdeniz lagoon. Time to relax on the beach in the afternoon. Transfer back to hotel in Kayaköy. |
| Day 3: | Hiking from Ovacik to Faralya village, with spectacular views over Öludeniz lagoon and passing beneath the towering cliffs of Baba Mountain. Glimpse into rural Turkish life as we pass through Kirme village. |
| Day 4: | Hiking from Faralya, following the zig-zagging forest path up to Alinca village, perched breathtakingly high above the sea cliffs and bays below. |
| Day 5: | Hiking from Alinca to the farming village of Bogazici, and then on to fascinating ancient site of Sidyma. Transfer back to Fethiye. We can arrange airport transfers at the start and/or end of the trip if required. |
travellers' tales
Superb....The finale - arriving at the ruins of SIDYMA was the most memorable part (more)
travelling with a local operator
This holiday is operated by a company based in the holiday destination and they will be able to provide expert local knowledge. They will be able to tailor make your holiday to suit your requirements not only concerning the dates of travel but also typically the standard of accommodation, and thus price. It is rare for local operators to be able to help with the booking of your flights.how this holiday makes a difference
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We are a locally-based tour operator, fully committed to running our tours in a way that reduces the impact on our environment and contributes as much as possible to the local community.
All the accommodation that we use for this trip is locally owned and run. The small hotels we use for the classic version of this trip are actively committed to environmentally-sound practices such as conservation of energy and water, and use of organic foods. For the budget version of this trip we use small pensions and village houses, where facilities are shared and use of water and energy is minimal. All the services that we use, such as transport and restaurants, are locally owned and operated. Our staff is made up mainly of local Turkish people and we are committed to training local people as guides to a high standard. We accept a maximum number of 8 people on this trip, because we believe that small groups minimise the impact of tourism on the environment. In addition, a small group size enables local people and visitors to interact in a more meaningful way, benefiting both sides; and for the same reason we ensure that the group is accompanied by a guide who speaks both English and Turkish. Our use of small accommodations in rural villages provides an important source of income directly to local people, and provides you with a wonderful opportunity to experience and the rural way of life at first hand. One way that we minimise the impact on the environment is by using vehicles as little as possible and by using group transport. Of course hiking itself is a very environmentally friendly, non-polluting way of exploring the beautiful outdoors in this part of the world. In addition to minimising any negative impact, we aim to create a positive impact on the environment by introducing visitors to the great variety of flora and fauna found here, much of it rare and endangered. To this end we provide participants on this tour with illustrated notes about the natural heritage of the area, including information about Turkish environmental organisations. If you would like to offer your support to any of these organisations, we provide contact details. Our aim is to raise the consciousness of both visitors and local people about local conservation issues. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've lead the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |