Last year, just before the cruise season started, Oktay and I decided the time had come for us to hike the Lycian Trail. We'd been talking about it for years, but never got serious about it. Getting older (we're in our mid-50s), and facing some health issues that might prevent us from extreme physical adventures in the future, we decided that the time had come for us to pursue our dream.
We're not particularly fit or athletic. (Oktay is a heart attack survivor and has lung issues due to years of smoking, and I have significant visual impairment due to detached retinas and glaucoma.) But we love an adventure. And we were determined. And we made it happen.
Over the summer, we researched and purchased ultra-light camping and hiking gear. We planned our route and accommodations for the journey. We consulted our respective doctors and specialists and were given the green light to proceed.
We headed out on December 15, 2022 and celebrated Christmas, New Year's, and my birthday on the Trail. We took a short break due to bad weather in January, but returned to the Trail when the rains stopped and continued on our way. In the end, made it from Ovacik near Fethiye all the way to Çıralı before high mountain passes, snow, and frigid winter temperatures halted our progress.
Two ordinary people with a shared dream. More than three hundred kilometres in 28 days. Memories to last a lifetime!
Here's the story of our adventure. (Each day's link will take you to a more detailed page which includes a photo album and summary video.)
Day 1 on the Lycian Trail
Ovacik – Kozagaç – Kirme – Faralya
- 14KM, mostly mountain trails and a bit of dirt road
- 337m elevation gain ↗, 659m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes between 309 and 806 meters above sea level
Day 2 on the Lycian Trail
Faralya – Kabak
- 7KM, mostly mountain trails, a bit of dirt road, and a couple of stretches along the asphalt
- 198m elevation gain ↗, 283m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes between 243 and 472 meters above sea level
Day 3 on the Lycian Trail
Kabak – Alinca
- 9KM, mostly mountain trails and a bit of dirt road
- 903m elevation gain ↗, 386m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes between 220 and 748 meters above sea level
Day 4 on the Lycian Trail
Alinca – Gey
- 9KM, mostly mountain trails and a stretch along asphalt
- 404m elevation gain ↗, 508m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes between 409 and 733 meters above sea level
Day 5 on the Lycian Trail
Gey – Bel
- 7KM, mostly rocky trails and a short stretch along dirt roads
- 314m elevation gain ↗, 277m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes between 435 and 661 meters above sea level
Day 6 on the Lycian Trail
Bel – Gavurağılı
- 10KM, a mix of rocky trails and dirt and asphalt roads
- 155m elevation gain ↗, 722m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes between 0 and 712 meters above sea level
Day 7 on the Lycian Trail
Gavurağılı – Pydnai (Özlen) – Letoon (Kumluova) – Xanthos (Kınık) – Çavdır
- 20.3KM, almost all asphalt roads
- 137m elevation gain ↗, 67m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes between 105 and 0 meters above sea level
Day 8 on the Lycian Trail
Çavdır – Çayköy – Üzümlü
- 10.5KM, mostly overgrown forest trails with short stretches on dirt and asphalt roads
- 340m elevation gain ↗, 137m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes between 105 and 369 meters above sea level
Day 9 on the Lycian Trail
Üzümlü – Islamlar – Akbel – Kalkan
- 10.3KM on a mix of forest trail and asphalt roads
- 277m elevation gain ↗, 634m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes from 0 to 460 meters above sea level
Day 10 on the Lycian Trail
Delikkemer – Kalkan
- 9.8KM, mostly on rocky and forest trails, 2KM to 3KM stretch on asphalt road as we returned to Kalkan
- 251m elevation gain ↗, 413m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes ranging from 0 to 247m above sea level
Day 11 on the Lycian Trail
Kalkan – Sarnıçbaşı – Bezırgan – Sarıbelen
- 10KM, mostly on steep rocky trails, with a few stretches on asphalt and dirt roads
- 970m of elevation gain ↗, 217m of elevation loss ↘
- altitudes between 0 and 910 meters above sea level
Day 12 on the Lycian Trail
Sarıbelen – Gökçeören
- 13KM on mountain and forest paths
- 436m of elevation gain ↗, 367m of elevation loss ↘
- altitudes between 773 and 986 meters above sea level
Day 13 on the Lycian Trail
Gökçeören – Hacıoğlan – Phellos – Çukurbağ
- 17KM, on forest paths and rocky mountain trails
- 542m elevation gain ↗, 776m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes between 491 and 1037 meters above sea level
Day 14 on the Lycian Trail
Çukurbağ – Kaş (Antephellos)
- 6KM, the first half on flat grass path, the second half on a rocky mountain path
- 100m elevation gain ↗, 536m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes between 0 and 487 meters above sea level
Day 15 on the Lycian Trail
Kaş – Limanağzı – Çoban Plajı – Ufakdere – Sısla
- 12.4KM, mostly rocky coastal trail, a with short stretches of dirt and asphalt roads
- 369m elevation gain ↗, 339m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes between 25 and 192 meters above sea level
Day 16 on the Lycian Trail
Sısla – İnönü Bay – Sısla
- 7.4KM, mix of rocky coastal path and asphalt road
- 223m elevation gain ↗, 223m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes between 0 and 170 meters above sea level
Day 17 on the Lycian Trail
Sısla – Boğazcık
- 9.8KM, mix of forest path, mountain trail, and dirt and asphalt roads
Day 18 on the Lycian Trail
Apollonia – Aperlai – Üçağız
- 15.3KM, mostly forest path and coastal trail
- 170m elevation gain ↗, 518m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes between 0 and 454 meters above sea level
Day 19 on the Lycian Trail
Üçağız – Kaleköy (Simena Castle) – Üçağız
- 6.6KM, asphalt road
- 141m elevation gain ↗, 141m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes from 0 to 86 meters above sea level
Day 20 on the Lycian Trail
Kaleköy – Kapaklı – Çayağzi (Andriake / Demre)
- 12.4KM on coastal and forested trails
- 196m elevation gain ↗, 191m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes between 0 and 84 meters above sea level
Day 21 on the Lycian Trail
Trysa – Çakalbayat – Gürses
- 8.3KM, mostly rock-covered forested path, and a short stretch of mountain climbing
- 206m elevation gain ↗, 378m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes between 420 and 810 meters above sea level
Day 22 on the Lycian Trail
Exploring the St. Nicholas Church & Myra
- 8.5KM, all on asphalt roads
Day 23 on the Lycian Trail
Yatıkardıç – Kırkmerdiven – Alakilise
- 12.8KM on rocky mountain trails
- 446m elevation gain ↗, 1044m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes between 885 and 1790 meters above sea level
Day 24 on the Lycian Trail
Alakılıse – Zeytin – Belören – Demre
- 9.2KM, mainly on rocky mountain trail, short stretch on asphalt road
- 210m elevation gain ↗, 893m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes from 271 to 958 meters above sea level
Day 25 on the Lycian Trail
Belos – Finike – Kumluca – Mavikent – Karaöz
- 8.4KM, mostly rock-covered mountain trail, a few kilometres along asphalt road (We also travelled about 90KM by bus, taxi, and private car to travel between Finike and Karaöz. People ask why we chose to skip this section of the Lycian Trail. It is all asphalt road and does not feature any points of interest.)
- 129m elevation gain ↗, 416m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes between 564 and 929 meters above sea level
Day 26 on the Lycian Trail
Karaöz – Gelidonya – Adrasan
- 16.5KM, a mix of forest and mountain trails
- 800m elevation gain ↗, 847m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes from 0 to 412 meters above sea level
Day 27 on the Lycian Trail
Adrasan – Olympos
- 14KM, forest and mountain trails
- 748m elevation gain ↗, 763m elevation loss ↘
- altitudes between 0 and 706 meters above sea level
Day 28 on the Lycian Trail
Olympos – Çıralı – Olympos
- 15.3KM, sandy beach, asphalt roads, and a short stretch of rocky trail to the Firestone in the national park
- 232m elevation gain ↗, 232 elevation loss ↘
- altitudes from 0 to 160 meters above sea level