The Lycian Way is a long-distance hiking trail in southwestern Türkiye, stretching approximately 540 kilometers (336 miles) from Fethiye to Antalya, following the coast of the ancient region of Lycia. The course offers breathtaking views of the Mediterranean Sea, rugged mountains, pine forests, and historical ruins from the Lycian civilization.
You should resist the temptation to keep stopping to take a picture. Because on the Lycian Way, every view surpasses the previous one. “Better wait until you’re at the top,” says Çiğdem Gündoğan.
For years she has been exploring the former trade route of antiquity bit by bit, delving deeper and deeper into the history and myths surrounding it.
The Lycian Way was inaugurated in 1999 as Türkiye’s first long-distance hiking trail and is now considered one of the most beautiful in the world. With over 500 kilometers, it has 26 stages that lead along the Teke Peninsula from Fethiye to Antalya.
Almost every section of the route has been highlighted. These include the high rock tombs of Myra, the well-preserved ruined city of Patara, and the ancient Lycian capital of Xanthos, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. “You breathe in history at every turn,” says Çiğdem.
The path is named after Lycia, the historical name for this region in ancient times. Some ruins date back to around 800 B.C. when the Lycians lived here. Then came the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans, and in between, pirates who dropped anchor in the hidden bays repeatedly.
Alexander the Great was here.
Olive, lemon, fig trees, broom shrubs, pine and cedar are ubiquitous on the trail Brit Kate Clow, who lives in Antalya, made world famous in 1999 with her hiking guide.
If you want to go along the whole route, you’ll need time – a month at least. However, you can also walk the path in individual stages.
Lycia means Land of Light, although it is unclear whether the name derives from the Latin word “Lux” or whether the region is so called because Apollo, the god of light in Greek mythology, is said to have been born here.
“The people here are proud of their history,” says Çidğem. Homer mentioned the brave people of the Lycians in his Iliad. They were allies of Troy in the fight against the Greeks.
According to the chronicles, Alexander the Great spent a winter in the port city of Phaselis on the Lycian Way, an important stop on the trade route between Egypt and Rome.
The theater in Phaselis, which dates from the Hellenistic period, has a magnificent view of the almost 2,400-meter-high Tahtalı Mountain, known as Lycian Olympus. An imposing backdrop was always important to the Greeks in their theatres.
The Lycian Mount Olympus, whose summit is often covered with snow until April, is also easily visible from the three-kilometer-long sandy beach of Çıralı. It is a popular destination for hikers to relax. The seaside resort, rich in ruins, was once the site of the ancient city of Olympos, described by the Roman historian Cicero as a city of wealth and art.
Today, Çıralı is the poster child of Turkish ecotourism. Large hotels cannot be built, and the lights are dimmed at night. From May to July, loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) come ashore at night and lay their eggs in the sand. They hatch from July to September, with the beach protected during summer.
At the beach’s eastern end, a path leads up the mountain to the flame fields of Chimaira, a spectacle that attracts visitors every evening. Flames erupt from the rocky ground, a natural phenomenon that has existed since ancient times.
As soon as you move away from the coast, you’ll find yourself alone. Rarely do you find other hikers. Instead, you will find a Türkiye that is natural and unspoiled, for example, in the mountain village of Bezirgan.
Just outside the village stand several rows of cedar and pine wood granaries, up to 400 years old. Lycian sarcophagi inspire their shape and are part of the region’s cultural heritage.
"The grain is better off up here and safe from pests,” says Davut Karadeniz. He runs the quaint Dervish Café in the village. He invites his guests to a backgammon game under a 900-year-old maple tree. The fireplace in the guest room is burning, while family photos greet you from the walls. Above the television hangs a massive portrait of Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic.
In the hinterland, you repeatedly stumble upon fields of ruins that have never been excavated, as in the ancient city of Sidyma, now called Dodurga Asarı. Besides monumental archways, ruins from Roman times can be found lying in a meadow.
