Trekking In Turkey: Long Distance Paths

The Lycian Way From Fethiye to Kaya Koy


As most members are probably aware, the Lycian Way now has a start point in Fethiye at the Amphitheatre near the Harbour.

The Lycian Way is well signposted from there to the crest of the hill by the derelict cistern and small cemetery and then
on to the Kaya Valley. Many of you however will not be aware of the alternative route through the forest which offers some
stunning views along the way.

Approximately 300 metres after the cemetery there is a forest road to the right. Take this road and after 500 metres or so you reach a bend that offers some stunning panoramic views of Fethiye Bay all the way across to Gocek in the distance.

Continue down the forest road and you'll eventually reach a T-junction. To the right, the forest road takes you back to Fethiye via the boatyards at Karagozler.

Take the left turn to continue down to the Kaya Valley. After 400 metres or so you reach a bend where, ahead of you are
the ruins of one of the many crusader forts in the area, and to your right, another panoramic view of Fethiye Bay.

Further on you'll see a track leading off to the right, we'll give further details of what's to be found along there another day.

A further 300 metres or so and you'll come to a cistern at the top of Belen Hill and one of the best locations to take in the view of the Kaya Valley.





Immediately below you is the hamlet of Belen, to your right Kinali and to your left Keciler. The "Ghost
Village" of Levissi or Karmylassos is ahead of you on the opposite side of the valley. Behind that is Coldwater Bay and the
Mediterranean Sea.

Continuing down the track into the valley, you'll see a small graveyard clinging to the hillside amongst the ruined houses on the right. This is in fact totally fake and was built as part of the set for a popular soap opera filmed in the area in the summer of 2007.

Carry on for 500 metres or so past Belen Well and the Quad Bike Track and you'll eventually reach a fork in the road by a large Plane Tree and Dolmus stop. The right fork will take you out to the Gemiler Road by the Villa Rhapsody Hotel. Turning left at the Villa Rhapsody will take you into the village centre.

The left fork will take you along a slightly shorter route into the village centre where you'll find the Tea Garden, several small
shops and a variety of restaurants.

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Formerly posting as Kaya Koyu Old Boy

We walked from Fethiye to Kaya last week and found it rather poorly marked compared to the Lycian Way proper (which we'd hiked the prevous four days). We lost about 30 minutes trying to figure out whether to leave the paved road again or stay on it past the cemetery. More waymarks are needed! Also, some of the metal "street furniture" signs may have been taken down (we saw two lying on the ground by someone's house) and/or have inaccurate distances posted. Once we emerged from the woods and got to the cistern pictured above, we had no problem finding Kaya and there were some interesting Lycian tombs along the way.

After our time on the Lycian way from Ovacik to Bogazici, this was frankly a bit of a letdown due to the large amounts of trash everywhere, its proximity to traffic, and the fact that it took longer than we expected. We also got a hot day for this walk and didn't get an early morning start - if we had, we wouldn't have been quite as overheated by the time we got to to Kaya.