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Butterfly Valley from above: turquoise water, a strip of sand and sheer cliffs near Fethiye

Sample journey · 9–11 days

The Lycian Way: on foot along Turkey's turquoise coast

Kayaköy, Ölüdeniz, Faralya, Kabak, Alınca, Patara & Kalkan

Photo: Adem Percem / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

The Lycian Way is a walking route of more than five hundred kilometres, stitched together from old mule tracks, shepherds' paths and the streets of ancient cities between Fethiye and Antalya. Few walk all of it, but the western stretch between Ölüdeniz and Kalkan is perhaps the most varied: the path climbs through pine forest above sheer drops, comes down to coves where you can swim before dinner, and passes villages where the first sounds of the morning are cockerels and goat bells.

This sample route is for people who enjoy walking for whole days at a time. Daily stages run from three to seven hours, luggage travels ahead by car to the next night's stay, and nights are spent in small family guesthouses and pensions. It could be walked as a couple, with friends or as a small group with a guide; the sections, pace and rest days would be chosen around your experience and the season.

The route

The journey

  1. Dalaman
  2. Fethiye & Kayaköy
  3. Ölüdeniz
  4. Faralya
  5. Kabak
  6. Alınca
  7. Patara
  8. Kalkan
  9. Dalaman
  1. Hundreds of roofless stone houses on a hillside among pines, Kayaköy

    01Days 1–2 · Kayaköy & Ölüdeniz

    First steps through an abandoned village

    From Dalaman airport to the Fethiye area is about an hour by road. Two nights in a stone house in the Kayaköy valley, beside a hillside covered in hundreds of empty houses: the village emptied after the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey and has stood roofless ever since. Day two is a warm-up walk of two or three hours over the hill, through the ruins and pine woods and down to the lagoon at Ölüdeniz, with a swim and a taxi back. It's a good chance to test boots and pace before the longer days.

  2. Limestone rocks and scrub on the Lycian Way, with blue sea and two rocky islets below

    02Days 3–4 · Ölüdeniz to Faralya

    Up the flanks of Babadağ

    On day three the official trail begins. From Ölüdeniz the path climbs the flanks of Babadağ, with the lagoon and its drifting paragliders shrinking below. It is one of the longer days, roughly 15 km and five to seven hours with a good deal of ascent, but the sea stays in view almost all the way. The evening is spent in Faralya, a village on the edge of the cliffs above Butterfly Valley. On the fourth morning it's worth walking to the rocks to look down into the bay; the steep path into the valley itself isn't advisable, so if you'd like to go down, a boat is the better way. In the afternoon, a short walk of about two hours on to Kabak.

  3. Kabak cove: a sandy beach, turquoise water and a pine-covered mountain above

    03Days 5–6 · Kabak & Alınca

    A cove below, a village in the clouds

    Kabak is a pine-filled valley that ends in a sandy cove. Day five is for rest: swimming, a book in the shade, perhaps yoga on a wooden platform above the sea. Day six brings the hardest section, a long, steep climb to Alınca, a mountain village at roughly a thousand metres. It's several hours on a stony path, but the whole coast opens up at the top, and on a clear day the Greek islands sit on the horizon. The night is in a simple village pension, dinner comes from the family's garden and the sun sets straight over the sea.

  4. The stone tiers of an ancient theatre under a deep blue sky, with pines above, on the Lycian coast

    04Days 7–8 · Patara

    A city of the Lycian League in the sand

    On the seventh morning the path drops from Alınca to the village of Gey, and from there it's about an hour and a half by car into the valley of the Xanthos river. Two nights near Patara, one of the great Lycian cities, whose council house, colonnaded street and theatre have been partly dug out of the sand. Saint Nicholas was born here, and by the old harbour stands one of the oldest known lighthouses. Day eight could take in Xanthos and the Letoon, both UNESCO-listed, or simply an afternoon on the vast beach. Sea turtles nest here, so in season the beach closes at dusk.

  5. The small silhouette of a seated figure on the crest of a Patara dune in evening light, with mountains beyond

    05Days 9–11 · Patara's dunes & Kalkan

    The last stage, past a Roman aqueduct

    Day nine is the final walking stage, about five or six hours: from Patara over the hills past Delikkemer, the remains of a Roman aqueduct that once carried water to the city, and on to Kalkan. Two nights in this town of white houses with timber terraces above the bay. The last full day has no plan at all: a swim off the rocks, a slow lunch, perhaps an evening on the dunes at Patara as the sand turns gold. Dalaman airport is about an hour and a half to two hours by road.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    Looking down into Butterfly Valley

    Morning light on the cliffs at Faralya and the bay far below, one of the finest views in western Lycia.

  2. 02

    A night in Alınca

    A mountain village after the hardest climb: a simple dinner, cooler air and a sunset over the whole coast.

  3. 03

    Patara and its beach

    The Lycian council house, an ancient lighthouse and kilometres of dunes where sea turtles nest.

  4. 04

    Without a heavy pack

    Luggage travels to the next night's stay, so you carry only water, snacks and a swimsuit.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • Gentler

    The climb to Alınca could be swapped for another rest day in Kabak, and the longer stages shortened by car, keeping daily walking to three or four hours.

  • Further east

    With a few more days, you could walk on from Kalkan towards Kaş and finish with a few nights aboard a gulet in the bays of Kekova.

  • With a guide and a group

    Travelling with friends or a small group, a local guide helps find the path where the waymarking is faint and tells the story of the Lycian tombs and villages along the way.

  • Starting in Istanbul

    Spend two or three days in Istanbul before the walk and fly on to Dalaman on a domestic flight.

Practical considerations

  • The best seasons are usually spring (April to May) and autumn (late September to November). In summer the coast is very hot and many sections have little shade, so we don't recommend walking in July and August.
  • This is a physically demanding journey: some days last six or seven hours, with big ascents and descents on stony, uneven ground. Good fitness, sturdy walking boots and experience of mountain walking are needed.
  • The trail is waymarked in red and white, but in places the marks are faded, and roads and building work sometimes shift the route. We check waymarking and luggage transfers before each journey.
  • Village pensions are simple and welcoming but few in number, so they're worth reserving early in season.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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