Lycian Way Trail — Attraction in Fethiye

Some tips after hiking the first part of the Lycian way from Ölüdeniz to Faralya:

The first part of the trail from the famous sign near the Montana pine resort and the mountain village in karaağaç is around 6km uphill. Not dangerous, but demanding. Plan more time because you will need to take breaks. Don’t make too many pictures of Ölüdeniz beach in the beginning, because you will face better panorama views on the way.

The second part from karaağaç to Faralya/ Butterfly Valley mostly leads downhill. It has some great Mountain views but is far less spectacular than the first one. If you already feel exhausted you might call a taxi and just drive downwards. The trail anyway mostly is on the road down to Faralya.

Way signs are sometimes barely visible, watch out for red and white stripes (see picture) and sometimes arrows painted on the stones. Some crossings are unclear, have a downloaded map on your phone with you to check your direction if required.

You don’t really want to do the first part in hot and sunny weather, ideally choose a cloudy day and don’t rely on weather forecasts, they are very inprecise here in Fethiye.

My endurance level is a bit above average and I needed 2 litres of water for the entire trail. Be aware there are no facilities before karaağaç, so I recommend to take 1,5 litres water per person with you. The total trail took me 6 hours with many small breaks uphill and half an hour lunch break in Halil’s Cafe in karaağaç (very pure and recommendable family-run place, Gözleme only 60TL, you can buy fresh water and juice here)

I encountered goats, lizards and a turtle on the way, but no stray or Shepard dogs. Also didn’t see any other humans on the way up, I recommend to have a phone and power bank with you to be able to connect in case of emergency. The mobile network is mostly working with some outages on the way.

There are Dolmus taxi buses running all the time from Faralya back to Ölüdeniz during the day, just catch one on the street when you finished the trail (28TL...

This is the beginning point of 640 km Lycian Way (Turkish: Likya Yolu). The path follows the ancient trade road of the Lycian cities. It is considered to be one of the top 10 walking path in the world. The walking path is mostly accepted to be ending in rural Geyikbayiri town, Antalya and it can take around 30 days to cover it in a comfortable way. The places you will be passing by along the Lycian way are as follows: Ovacik - Fethiye (Beginning), Kirme, Faralya, Kabak koyu (bungalows and camping), Alinca, Inceburun, Gey (Yediburunlar), Bel, Belcegiz, Gavuragligi, Pyndai (antique city), Letoon (antique city), Xsantos (antique city), Kinik, Çandır, Akbel, Patara, Eren Tepe, Delik Kemer, Kalkan, Bezirgan, Yumru Tepe, Kaş, Limanaagzi, Ufakdere, Bogazcik, Kilincli, Aperlae (antique city), Uçağız, Kalekoy, Gökkaya, Demre, Muskar, Alakilise, Belos, Finike, Karaöz, Gelidonya Feneri (lighthouse), Adrasan, Musa Dagı Mountain, Olympos (antique city), Cirali (tree houses), Yanartaş (Chimaera), Ulupinar, Beycik Village, Tahtali Mountain (cable Car), Cukuryayla, Gedelme (Gedelme Cave), Ovacik, Göynuk highland, Göynük Canyon, Hisarcandir, Citdibi, Caglarca,...

The official starting point for the Lycian Way is not Fethiye, but many will start from here because you'll be passing through Kayakoy, which is famous for it’s Ghost Town village. The official start is Oludeniz, and about 30 minutes to one hour into the walk is where most people take the spectacular photos you see at sunset. I have done the whole Lycian Trail, and this portion, although not the easiest of starts, is certainly one of the nicer portions of the trail.

You can enter the ghost town and with a bit of tactical waiting on its outskirts you'll be able to even camp in it perhaps, as I did in 2021. The night view of the abandoned town is spectacular, and the sunrise even more as fog accumulates...