Guide
İztuzu is a sand spit some 5,400 m long that winds out between the reed beds and the sea, and it is famous around the world for the loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) that come ashore here to lay their eggs. A small natural channel linking the lake to the sea crosses the sand, so you can swim in the sea on one side and rinse off in the lake's fresh water on the other.
There are beach facilities at each end: İztuzu at one, the Dalyanağzı day beach at the other. Both have changing cabins and kiosks for cold drinks, and umbrellas can be hired, with precautions taken so that they do not harm the nests.
In the Dalyan channels you can see turtles up to a metre long in almost every season. These are Nile turtles, not loggerheads: a different species with clawed feet that lives on fish.
Getting there
A paved road from Dalyan follows the delta and the shore of Sülüngür, passing through villages before it comes down to İztuzu; as it climbs near the beach there are clearings for photographs over the whole delta and beach. For the Dalyanağzı end, take one of the shared boats from Dalyan, which run along the channel throughout the day.
When to go
- Climate
- Across Muğla as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from 10.8 °C in January to 27.6 °C in August; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in April, May, June, September, October and November; rainfall is heaviest in December (207 mm) and lightest in August (4 mm). Long-term means for 2001-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
