The Lycian Way is one of the world's great hiking trails, a 509 km footpath around the coast of Lycia in southern Turkey. We’ll hike only small part of this trail (about 60km). Our itinerary follows a route through rocky coastline, amazing beaches of the Mediterranean Sea, pine forests, mountains and ancient ruins.
Day 1 Antalya - Demre
Today you will meet your guide and the rest of the group in Antalya (meeting point - an international airport, exit gate no 1). After, we have a transfer to Demre – a city in the Antalya Province, located on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. We start our trip by visiting the ancient city of Myra, founded in 5th century B.C. The city is well known for its amphitheater and the plethora of rock-cut tombs, carved in the cliff. The Church of St. Nicholas is the main attraction of the city. It was built in the IV century. Inside the church is the sarcophagus of St. Nicholas (although his remains were taken to Italy in 1087). After an interesting excursion, we pitch our camp near the seaside.
Day 2 Sunken city of Simena
The first part of the day, we spend on seacoast enjoying our rest. After lunch, we pack up our camp and hike toward Kekova area – an amazing place to visit for its great beauty and charm. Here we’ll find the sunken city of Simena. The history of the ancient city of Simena goes back to the 4th century B.C. In the 2nd century, Simena was hit by a series of earthquakes and sank beneath the waves. Today it’s still possible to see the city ruins, clearly visible in the waters of the sea.
We continue to our campsite, which is located next to Uchagis village.
Day 3 Historic city of Aperlai
In the morning, we will pack up camp, have delicious breakfast and continue our trip toward ancient city of Aperlai. It was the head of the Lycian Confederacy. The city of Aperlai has several sarcophagus, most of which are from the Roman period. The most interesting ruins of Aperlai are the massive city walls. Also, it is full of beautiful places with gorgeous landscapes. The surrounding seacoast area has many bays, which are some of the best places to camp. Of course, we’ll stop here for the night.
Day 4 Apollonia
Today we’re going to visit ruins of Apollonia – an ancient city in Lycia. The ruins are on a hill some 90 m above the village Kiliçli and has a walled acropolis at its highest elevation. Also, you’ll find around the acropolis few Lycian pillar tombs and one Lycian rock tomb with a Greek inscription. From the highest point of the hill, we’ll get a chance to enjoy breathtaking panoramic view at the seacoast, mountains and forest covered slopes. Our trail leads down to the beach, where we’ll set up camp. This evening we enjoy delicious dinner and fantastic sea sunset.
Day 5 Limanagzi Beaches
Another exciting day on the Lycian trail. We have breakfast early in the morning, then we start to walk along the labyrinth of shrubs and weirdly shaped volcanic rocks. Our stop for today is Limanagzi – one of the best beaches on the Lycian path. Limanağzı bay is home to many sea turtles and other sea animals, therefore you could expect to see some of them while sitting on the shore or swimming. In Limanagzi cove, we’ll spend the last night.
Day 6 City of Kas – Antalya
With some nostalgia, we pack up after breakfast and prepare for our last day hike along the Lycian trail. The last destination of our trip will be city of Kas – a very cute little town. It offers beautiful beaches, great food, shopping, souvenirs and a lot more. We say Buy to this fantastic land and have a transfer to Antalya. Here we’ll wait for our flight back home.
