The Lycian Way is a 430km* walk in southern Turkey from Fethiye to Geyikbayiri (near Antalya) or the reverse. It follows an approximately semi-circular curve along the Mediterranean coastline. It is well documented online (please see the Useful Links section). The definitive guidebook is the one by Kate Clow# who devised the walk about 17 years ago.
The trail is quite varied, rising from sea level to over 1800m on paths ranging from broad streets to narrow rocky mountain tracks. There is also a delightful mix of Ancient Greek Ruins and modern day Turkish rural living and hospitality. It is a good place if you like goats or tortoises. And of course everyone rightly raves about the food. It is worth going deliberately slowly for that reason alone.
The trail is well way marked (with some variations in quality) and there are signposts at key points. It supports a wide variety of styles of hiking and accommodation, though camping is necessary in the mountain sections. I wild camped using only two hostels and one campsite (Kalkan, Kaş and Çırali). But weather and circumstances will dictate how this works out for each individual. I had the luxury of no overall timetable and no daily schedule.
This blog is primarily intended to be a concise resource for people who are thinking about doing it as a single hike. For those who may need a little inspiration, I have added a few photos.
Some parts of this blog were initially written while preparing for the hike. I have since updated it with the benefit of experience.
* As measured by the track I followed from Fethiye to Geyikbayırı. This followed the mountain sections from Demre to Finike and from Çirali to Hisarçandir. But it doesn’t include the extra loop around Patara from Delikkemer.
# I had the considerable pleasure to meet Kate in Antalya after the walk. She is full of knowledge and enthusiasm.
