From the Archives

Hiking the Lycian Trail – Day 23

Yatıkardıç – Kırkmerdiven – Alakilise

  • 12.8KM on rocky mountain trails
  • 446m elevation gain ↗, 1044m elevation loss ↘
  • altitudes between 885 and 1790 meters above sea level

Our Day on the Trail

Day 23 of our Lycian Trail adventure wouldn't have been possible without the help of our taxi driver, Salih. He picked us up from our hotel bright and early this morning and took us to the start of the track on a very rough mountain road, and collected us at the end of the track (on an equally rough mountain road) and returned us to our hotel at the end of an extremely long day.

The trail started from the tiny settlement of Yatıkardıç about 1500 meters above sea level. It was cold and frosty, but proved to be perfect weather for hiking. Not too hot, not too cold, although we did dress more warmly than we have to this point in the adventure. As we hiked over the mountain pass (1790 meters), clouds started rolling in and we were literally walking through clouds. The descent was rocky (and therefore slow), but we completed the trek before the sun set.

We chose to do today's walk a bit out of order from the guidebook. "Why?", you may be asking yourself. Intense rain / snow are forecast in the region for the next 10 days, which may render this particular section of trail impassable until spring. So we tackled it today, and couldn't be happier.

Because of the forecast for heavy rain, we've decided to head home for a few days and wait for the sun to return to the Lycian Coast. Assuming the forecasts are accurate, we hope to be back on January 20th, ready to tackle the next stage of the Trail.

Today's trek was pretty amazing - the perfect way to wrap up the first phase of our Lycian Trail adventure. Unfortunately, a rain delay is now in effect, but we'll be back at it as soon as possible.

Photos of Today's Hike

Highlights Video