Planning

Spring Flowers

I plan to walk this trail in Spring specifically to catch the flowers. This was on the advice of a friend who walked it in December a few years ago. I plan to start in mid March and finish in mid April. 

I am hopeful this will work well as far as the weather is concerned. The temperatures should be up to 18-23º in the daytime and down to 8-12º at night. This would be ideal. 

In summer it would be much too hot. Additionally you would need more water just at the time when there are fewer sources. Autumn also sounds like a good time, but in Spring there is a higher chance that water sources actually have water in them.

The walk is meant to take about 27-30 days. I am looking forward to an unhurried time.  It would be an understatement to say “there is plenty to see along the way”. 

It seems like a good idea to have some knowledge of what one is looking at , so I am reading Freya Stark’s “The Lycian Shore” as part of my preparation.

Profile of the Lycian Way from Fethiye (L) to Gayikbayiri (R)

Just a quick glance at the profile tells me that it is better to walk West to East. The first half is flatter than the second. Also I would rather have the afternoon sun behind me, though the importance of this rises with higher temperatures and longer days. A final reason is that the Guide Book describes it that way. Probably not a coincidence.

Update: see My Top Tips for some comments on Timing and Direction. I started on the 12th March and finished in the 12th April.