Notes on the Lycian Way

The Lycian Way is a continuous hiking trail along 500km of Turkey's southern coastline, starting from Ölüdeniz and ending in Geyikbayırı (near Antalya). It is named after the ancient Lycian people who inhabited the coast from 1200-1500 BC until the 7th to 9th centuries AD, when the culture and population declined due to earthquakes, war, conquests, the introduction of Christianity, and the plague. Remnants of the ancient culture can be found along the trail in the form of city ruins and sarcophagi. In 1999, the trail was researched and marked by Kate Clow, and has since attracted hikers from around the world.

View of Ölüdeniz from above

This post outlines some tips and lessons learned from personal experiences. You may find them useful if you are interested in hiking the Western section from Fethiye to Alınca, and I highly recommend that you do!

Context

Route: Fethiye to Kabak trail and then a Kabak - Alınca - Kabak loop
Time of year: April
Weather: no rain, sunny, cool breezes, crisp evenings; high temps 24-27 degrees Celsius, low temps 10-12 degrees Celsius
Hiking experience: little to nil 
Gear: 8-10kg each in good backpacks, no walking poles, light hiking shoes

Research

Trekopedia.com website and associated free app TrailSmart are useful and practical resources but be wary that descriptors are subjective, and accommodation costs may be out of date. You must pay to use the map on the app.

Maps With Me (maps.me) is a terrific alternative to paying for the Trekopedia map. It is a free offline map and the Lycian Way is plotted. You will need to be online to download regions for detailed maps.

Google! There is a lot of information out there.

Fethiye as a Base

Fethiye is a great base for this section of the trail. It is easy to spend time there and the dolmuş only services the towns between Fethiye and Kabak. This means that to go beyond Kabak (e.g. Kalkan, Kaş, Antalya) you must either:

1. continue hiking until you come across a town with a dolmuş service that goes East, or
2. catch a dolmuş from Kabak back to the Fethiye otogar, from where you can catch a bus.

If you decide to do option 2 above, consider leaving most of your luggage at your Fethiye accommodation for the duration of the hike and pick it up when you return to Fethiye.

What to Pack

You don't need to pack much! Apart from the essentials like soap, cash, etc., you will get by with:

• 1 set of hiking clothes (shorts are okay for this section)
• 1 set of warm evening clothes
• 1 set of sleeping clothes

If you use good quality wicking, quick-dry clothing, they will cope well with sweat and can be wearable over consecutive days after airing out. Good quality socks, well fitting hiking shoes and a backpack are essential to keep you safe and pain-free (relatively).

I recommend a collared shirt, hat and sunscreen for the exposed areas of the trail.

Water

1-1.5L bottle(s) for water is enough per person. There are generally adequate numbers of sources on this part of the trail  but be aware that some water sources on trail maps are springs that can be dry.  

Accommodation

Turkish holidays and the weekends can be busy times and the limited accommodation can book out (as we discovered). Contact businesses ahead of time. Many will not be on standard booking sites and prefer email, telephone, or Facebook messages. Prepare to pay more for a room in the small towns compared to the bigger towns. 

The Trail

The trail is generally well-marked with red and white paint on rocks, mostly located below knee height, but occasionally more prominently. Parts of the trail may be overgrown on the off and shoulder season, so it is easy to lose the path in these areas. Use your GPS map to find it again, and also look out for stacked rocks which serve as a kind of marker.

Kabak - Alinca - Kabak Loop

This  is a full day hike loop that is exciting for those with little experience as it requires some rock scrambling. It is considered "difficult" and the counter-clockwise direction is highly recommended due to the steep coastal cliffs between the Kalamantia Junction  and Alınca.