The Lycian Shore from Fethiye to Ölüdeniz
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This route starts at Lycian tombs, passes through a village emptied by the population exchange and descends to a lagoon and a canyon, so history, recent past and nature all fall in one day. The rock tombs sit above Fethiye, Kayaköy is fifteen kilometres inland, Ölüdeniz on the coast and Saklıkent forty kilometres east. About eighty kilometres in all, and it wants a full day. Keep the order; the cold water of Saklıkent feels like a reward at the end.
Route Stops
Amyntas Rock Tombs.
Begin the day on the cliff above town. The columned facade of the tomb of Amyntas is worked like a temple and dates from the 4th century BC. The whole gulf is visible from up here; map out your day from this point.
Kayaköy.
Head inland to the abandoned village spread across a hillside. A Greek speaking community lived here until 1923; after the exchange it was never resettled. Walking among the roofless houses takes about an hour.
Ölüdeniz.
Descend to the coast. The lagoon is a nature park, so motorboats cannot enter and the water stays still. Paragliders launch from Babadağ above; even if you do not jump, watching the sky is part of the day.
Saklıkent Canyon.
Forty kilometres east. You enter the cleft, whose walls reach four hundred metres in places, on a wooden walkway and then wade through ice cold water. It stays cool even in summer, which makes it the right place to end.
