One of our favourite activities is hiking, and it is pure bliss when this can be combined with spectacular scenery and views, as well as a beautiful destination at the end of each day. We were so excited to hike the Lycian Way, as it is considered one of the top ten hikes in the world. The Lycian Way is a total of 509km along the southwest coast of Turkey between Fethiye and Antalya, and we decided to hike the portion between Fethiye and Kabak over three days, allowing a few days to enjoy the beaches along the way.
We started bright and early from our guesthouse in Fethiye, with our final destination being Oludeniz to enjoy the beautiful beach in the afternoon. We inadvertently picked up a furry friend right at the beginning of the walk, and we called the dog Datca (after another dog we met in the city of the same name) – he stuck with us for the entire hike to Oludeniz!
The first portion was incredibly enjoyable, as we went through a beautiful forest, into a valley with a cute little village, and then up a hill through the ruins of the ghost town of Kayakoy. This was a town where a Greek community used to live before they were forced to relocate to Greece after WWII. None of the new Turkish settlers wished to occupy the now vacant village due to a mix of respect and superstition, instead choosing to build in the valley below. The buildings are now part of an open air museum.
The trail then led us up onto a mountain ridge, where we started getting some incredible views. Unfortunately it was shortly thereafter that we lost the trail and ended up having to bushwhack through the countryside, climbing down and then up the mountain again over rocks and pointy bushes, with poor Datca almost having a heart attack from overheating with all the climbing. We felt that if we didn’t encounter the trail at the top of the mountain at least we would get a bearing on our destination and be able choose the best path forward. Indeed our final destination became apparent, seemingly quite far away and a bit treacherous to reach. After gathering our strength and allowing our unwitting canine pal a nice break to calm his heart rate, we set off down the mountainside. It was with GREAT happiness that we stumbled upon the trail again once we neared civilization (phew!) – at which point Datcha promptly left us for a family with greater means, having lost faith in our ability to properly take care of him.
I’m sure he’ll remember us getting him through that rough patch on the mountain fondly one day…when he stops panting. We made our way to the beach with a few hours left in the afternoon to enjoy. Given our crazy ordeal we decided to splurge on a beach umbrella, and lounged around in the shade, going for dips in the water to cool off. At the end of the day we took a Dolmus up the hill to Ovacik, where we found a great place to spend the night called CC’s Hotel. We enjoyed a dinner in the town, and then hit the sack early, exhausted from all the climbing we did that day.
The next morning started early with the typical Turkish breakfast – sliced bread, tomatoes, cucumber, feta cheese and black olives with honey, ham and an egg. We then set off on the next portion of our hike, with a goal of reaching the Butterfly Valley by early noon. For the rest of our journey the Lycian Way was very well marked, and thankfully we did not get lost again!!!
There were parts that were just stunning, as the trail mostly hugged the coast, but unfortunately some portions had been disrupted with new road construction. However it was still a wonderful walk and we reached the village of Faralya, perched on the cliffs above Butterfly Valley, in the early afternoon.
We found AMAZING accommodations at a place called Montenegro Motel; we stayed in a private bungalow, there was a pool and a dining terrace with a view of the valley below and the sea. We spent the afternoon cooling off in the pool, resting after our long hike. Breakfast and dinner were included, and as we were the only guests staying there, they rolled out the red carpet. For dinner, they sat us at the table with the best view, dimmed the lights and put on some classical music in the background. We were served yogurt soup, three mezes (tapas), an entrée and desert. We drank local home made red wine which was quite good and enjoyed the sunset over the sea which painted everything in red and gold colours. It doesn’t get more romantic than that!
Just to give an idea, half board food and accommodations for the day was 50 Turkish Lira per person (around 30 CAD) – a very affordable price for what to us felt like a luxury experience.
The next day we set off for Kabak, which was a two hour hike over the (steep) mountain and into the next valley. Kabak is not very well known to both tourists and nationals alike, and we had heard that it was a bit of a hippie community that had built some rustic lodgings composed mostly of bungalows next to one of the more beautiful beaches in the region. It sounded incredible, and we were not disappointed. Although there were a few hotels that had demolished a few trees too many, most places harmoniously blended into the vegetation, and the community was still small enough that the experience was one of escaping the hustle and bustle of civilization.
The hike to Kabak was one of the most beautiful we had done so far, with views of the ocean and high mountain glades filled with tiny blue butterflies, for which the region was named.
As we started walking down the other side, our excitement grew as we saw the beach of Kabak at the bottom of the valley with its beautiful coloured water. As we had finished the hike early, when we reached the bottom of the valley we had time to visit almost all of the accommodations and were able to choose our favourite one, after bartering down the price a bit. We stayed at Gemile, and the owners did a fantastic job of building a relaxing rustic retreat in the shade of the forest. They had built a large terrace with wooden tables, a hang out area with pillows and a kitchen and bar, all of which that had an amazing view of the beach below - a mere five minute walk from our bungalow.
Half board was included, and we later found out that the Gimele chef, Osman, is considered one of the best in the region, with people staying at the camp just to enjoy his cooking. We really lucked out! Every night we had Turkish food made with local organic produce, many vegetarian and one meat dish, with a soup, salad and desert.
Our bungalow was a type of “tree house”, with a cozy bed and veranda where we spent the post-beach afternoons reading and napping, with stretching/yoga sessions in the morning to get us fit for the next day.
The first afternoon we headed down to the beach and marvelled at how beautiful and relatively isolated it was – there were very few people compared to all of the other places we had been. We immediately met a group of people that were staying in Kabak as well, and every night we would go to a different hostel to sit by a fire or in the lounging areas and chat away. It was a very international crowd, with “representatives” from Jordan, Turkey, Bahrain, Cyrpus, Spain, France, and of course, Canada. Everyone had in common an adventurous spirit and a desire to discover a laid back place that was relatively untouched by development – which we all found in magical Kabak.
We initially planned on staying for two days, but after the first afternoon we changed our plans and extended our stay to three days. The second day we hiked over to the next beach, appropriately named Paradise Beach, which was a surprisingly arduous one and a half hours away. The trail took us over a few mountains along the coast, so it was a wonderful treat when we rounded the last corner and caught a glimpse of the white sandy beach and blue, blue waters.
When at last our feet touched the sand, we saw that there was no one else around, just the two of us to while away the hours under the sun, taking dips in the water and swimming around the white limestone rocks. Paradise Found!
On June 2nd, our third day there, it was an extra special day as we were celebrating our 6th year wedding anniversary (!) so we decided to take it easy and treat ourselves to a real sleep in, followed by breakfast on the terrace and a lazy day at the beach with no hiking. We definitely couldn’t have dreamed of a better place to celebrate. As usual during lunch a group of us left the beach and headed into the valley to one of the two sandwich caravans for a filling meal of kofte (meatball sandwiches) under the shade of the trees. After alternating between sun, shade and sea, in the late afternoon we headed back to our bungalow for a shower and a nap before dinner. Life is hard, eh? ;)
The next day we got up early to enjoy our last morning in Kabak with a swim after breakfast, before making the final hike up the hill to catch the Dolmus back to Fethiye. From there we caught our bus to Capadoccia at four o’clock in the afternoon, and dreamed about Kabak during the twelve hour ride (we had come perilously close to missing Capadoccia entirely and staying in Kabak for the rest of our trip, but it would have been a shame to come so far and not see the crazy rock formations of that region). One thing is for sure, when we return to Turkey, we will be heading straight for Kabak and Paradise Beach!
We started bright and early from our guesthouse in Fethiye, with our final destination being Oludeniz to enjoy the beautiful beach in the afternoon. We inadvertently picked up a furry friend right at the beginning of the walk, and we called the dog Datca (after another dog we met in the city of the same name) – he stuck with us for the entire hike to Oludeniz! The first portion was incredibly enjoyable, as we went through a beautiful forest, into a valley with a cute little village, and then up a hill through the ruins of the ghost town of Kayakoy. This was a town where a Greek community used to live before they were forced to relocate to Greece after WWII. None of the new Turkish settlers wished to occupy the now vacant village due to a mix of respect and superstition, instead choosing to build in the valley below. The buildings are now part of an open air museum.
The trail then led us up onto a mountain ridge, where we started getting some incredible views. Unfortunately it was shortly thereafter that we lost the trail and ended up having to bushwhack through the countryside, climbing down and then up the mountain again over rocks and pointy bushes, with poor Datca almost having a heart attack from overheating with all the climbing. We felt that if we didn’t encounter the trail at the top of the mountain at least we would get a bearing on our destination and be able choose the best path forward. Indeed our final destination became apparent, seemingly quite far away and a bit treacherous to reach. After gathering our strength and allowing our unwitting canine pal a nice break to calm his heart rate, we set off down the mountainside. It was with GREAT happiness that we stumbled upon the trail again once we neared civilization (phew!) – at which point Datcha promptly left us for a family with greater means, having lost faith in our ability to properly take care of him.
I’m sure he’ll remember us getting him through that rough patch on the mountain fondly one day…when he stops panting. We made our way to the beach with a few hours left in the afternoon to enjoy. Given our crazy ordeal we decided to splurge on a beach umbrella, and lounged around in the shade, going for dips in the water to cool off. At the end of the day we took a Dolmus up the hill to Ovacik, where we found a great place to spend the night called CC’s Hotel. We enjoyed a dinner in the town, and then hit the sack early, exhausted from all the climbing we did that day.
The next morning started early with the typical Turkish breakfast – sliced bread, tomatoes, cucumber, feta cheese and black olives with honey, ham and an egg. We then set off on the next portion of our hike, with a goal of reaching the Butterfly Valley by early noon. For the rest of our journey the Lycian Way was very well marked, and thankfully we did not get lost again!!!
There were parts that were just stunning, as the trail mostly hugged the coast, but unfortunately some portions had been disrupted with new road construction. However it was still a wonderful walk and we reached the village of Faralya, perched on the cliffs above Butterfly Valley, in the early afternoon. 
We found AMAZING accommodations at a place called Montenegro Motel; we stayed in a private bungalow, there was a pool and a dining terrace with a view of the valley below and the sea. We spent the afternoon cooling off in the pool, resting after our long hike. Breakfast and dinner were included, and as we were the only guests staying there, they rolled out the red carpet. For dinner, they sat us at the table with the best view, dimmed the lights and put on some classical music in the background. We were served yogurt soup, three mezes (tapas), an entrée and desert. We drank local home made red wine which was quite good and enjoyed the sunset over the sea which painted everything in red and gold colours. It doesn’t get more romantic than that!
Just to give an idea, half board food and accommodations for the day was 50 Turkish Lira per person (around 30 CAD) – a very affordable price for what to us felt like a luxury experience.
The next day we set off for Kabak, which was a two hour hike over the (steep) mountain and into the next valley. Kabak is not very well known to both tourists and nationals alike, and we had heard that it was a bit of a hippie community that had built some rustic lodgings composed mostly of bungalows next to one of the more beautiful beaches in the region. It sounded incredible, and we were not disappointed. Although there were a few hotels that had demolished a few trees too many, most places harmoniously blended into the vegetation, and the community was still small enough that the experience was one of escaping the hustle and bustle of civilization.
The hike to Kabak was one of the most beautiful we had done so far, with views of the ocean and high mountain glades filled with tiny blue butterflies, for which the region was named.
As we started walking down the other side, our excitement grew as we saw the beach of Kabak at the bottom of the valley with its beautiful coloured water. As we had finished the hike early, when we reached the bottom of the valley we had time to visit almost all of the accommodations and were able to choose our favourite one, after bartering down the price a bit. We stayed at Gemile, and the owners did a fantastic job of building a relaxing rustic retreat in the shade of the forest. They had built a large terrace with wooden tables, a hang out area with pillows and a kitchen and bar, all of which that had an amazing view of the beach below - a mere five minute walk from our bungalow. 
Half board was included, and we later found out that the Gimele chef, Osman, is considered one of the best in the region, with people staying at the camp just to enjoy his cooking. We really lucked out! Every night we had Turkish food made with local organic produce, many vegetarian and one meat dish, with a soup, salad and desert.
Our bungalow was a type of “tree house”, with a cozy bed and veranda where we spent the post-beach afternoons reading and napping, with stretching/yoga sessions in the morning to get us fit for the next day.
The first afternoon we headed down to the beach and marvelled at how beautiful and relatively isolated it was – there were very few people compared to all of the other places we had been. We immediately met a group of people that were staying in Kabak as well, and every night we would go to a different hostel to sit by a fire or in the lounging areas and chat away. It was a very international crowd, with “representatives” from Jordan, Turkey, Bahrain, Cyrpus, Spain, France, and of course, Canada. Everyone had in common an adventurous spirit and a desire to discover a laid back place that was relatively untouched by development – which we all found in magical Kabak.
We initially planned on staying for two days, but after the first afternoon we changed our plans and extended our stay to three days. The second day we hiked over to the next beach, appropriately named Paradise Beach, which was a surprisingly arduous one and a half hours away. The trail took us over a few mountains along the coast, so it was a wonderful treat when we rounded the last corner and caught a glimpse of the white sandy beach and blue, blue waters.
When at last our feet touched the sand, we saw that there was no one else around, just the two of us to while away the hours under the sun, taking dips in the water and swimming around the white limestone rocks. Paradise Found!
On June 2nd, our third day there, it was an extra special day as we were celebrating our 6th year wedding anniversary (!) so we decided to take it easy and treat ourselves to a real sleep in, followed by breakfast on the terrace and a lazy day at the beach with no hiking. We definitely couldn’t have dreamed of a better place to celebrate. As usual during lunch a group of us left the beach and headed into the valley to one of the two sandwich caravans for a filling meal of kofte (meatball sandwiches) under the shade of the trees. After alternating between sun, shade and sea, in the late afternoon we headed back to our bungalow for a shower and a nap before dinner. Life is hard, eh? ;)
The next day we got up early to enjoy our last morning in Kabak with a swim after breakfast, before making the final hike up the hill to catch the Dolmus back to Fethiye. From there we caught our bus to Capadoccia at four o’clock in the afternoon, and dreamed about Kabak during the twelve hour ride (we had come perilously close to missing Capadoccia entirely and staying in Kabak for the rest of our trip, but it would have been a shame to come so far and not see the crazy rock formations of that region). One thing is for sure, when we return to Turkey, we will be heading straight for Kabak and Paradise Beach!
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