Guide
The Lycian Way is a waymarked footpath of 760 km, about 35 days on foot, following the coast of Lycia in southern Türkiye from Fethiye to Antalya. Kate Clow, a British-Turkish amateur historian, researched, planned and marked it in 1999. It was Türkiye's first long-distance walking route, made to record and protect some of the country's old roads, and it also takes in the St Nicholas Ways, a network of paths linking ruined Byzantine monasteries in the hills above Demre.
Lycia is the old name of the Tekke Peninsula, which pushes out into the Mediterranean. The Lycians were an independent, warlike and democratic people with an art of their own and a high standard of living, and their position favoured sea trade and, at times, piracy. After Persian rule they welcomed Alexander the Great and took on Greek culture; under Rome, Lycia became a province whose cities and ports were joined by paved roads and given theatres, baths, forums, temples and ceremonial gates. Christianity took hold from the 4th century, and as Roman power broke down many Byzantine monasteries were founded in the hills. The peninsula is full of Lycian tombs and ruins, and the route passes some 25 remote historic sites.
Mountains climb sharply from a rocky shore, so the path is often steep and the views wide. It runs mostly on Roman roads, old footpaths and mule tracks, frequently hard and stony, and is not suitable for mountain bikes. Pine mixed with strawberry tree and carob covers the slopes, giving way to juniper and cedar higher up. Walk it in spring or autumn, February to May or September to November; summer is too hot for long days, and the route's organisers especially recommend February, often warmer and sunnier than March. Except on three high sections, every night's stop has village houses, pensions or small hotels, independent walkers find many wild camping spots close to water, and swimming, canoeing and paragliding are all possible on the way.
Three groups of local routes, marked in red and yellow, meet the trail: the Fethiye network, which is no longer maintained; the Kemer Trails, kept up by Kemer Municipality; and the Konyaaltı Trails, kept up by Konyaaltı Municipality. All the linked trails are mapped on OpenStreetMap.
Getting there
The walk starts at Ölüdeniz, two hours from Dalaman airport, and ends at Geyikbayırı, which has daily buses to Antalya. Public transport is good along the whole length of the trail.
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).
