The Lycian Way (Likya Yolu) is Turkey’s first long-distance hiking trail, a 500-kilometer (311-mile) footpathfrom Fethiye to Antalya (map), the impressive achievement of Kate Clow, a Briton resident in Turkey, and her crew of dedicated trailblazers.
The way-marked trail wanders up and down through ancient Lycia, Mediterranean Turkey‘s mountainous Tekke Peninsula (the southward “bulge” of land between Antalya and Fethiye).
The trek is rated as moderately strenuous to difficult, with the easier portion being nearest to Fethiye and Ölüdeniz.
Among the most popular portions is the westernmost, from Fethiye via Ölüdeniz, Butterfly Valley and southeastward toward Patara.
There are few lodging and dining services along the route. For most of it you must carry your own shelter, food and other supplies, which makes it ideal for those who like to rough it.
For more info, visit the Culture Routes in Turkeywebsite, and buy Kate’s guidebook to the trail on the Trekking in Turkey website. Her other great project, by the way, is the St Paul Trail, which has its own guidebook as well.
Culture Routes in Turkey also describes the many other way-marked hiking trails originated by its dedicated staff and volunteers. More…
—by Tom Brosnahan
Culture Routes in Turkey |