RATING OF TRAIL SECTIONS
Beautiful and interesting places
For those whose hiking time is limited and are thinking about how to shorten the route, I will try to help with a rating of trail sections. Starting from the beginning in Geikbayyry to the end of the eastern part in Karaoz. For clarity of the terrain, I attach clickable buttons-links to panoramas of the area in Google Earth. You can also look at beautiful photos on my Instagram.
5 out of 5 points. In Geikbayyry — climbing base
2 out of 5 points. Section Geikbayyry — Gaynyuk
5 out of 5 points. Gaynyuk Canyon
5 out of 5 points. Gaynyuk — Takhtaly Pass
5 out of 5 points. Takhtaly Dag Pass
3 out of 5 points. Takhtaly Pass — Ulyupinar
5 out of 5 points. From Ulyupinar to Cirali
5 out of 5 points. Swing bay north of Cirali
3 out of 5 points. Cirali — Adrasan
4 out of 5 points. Adrasan — Karaoz
5 out of 5 points. From Tekirova north to Alakasu beach
5 out of 5 points. In Geikbayyry — climbing base with equipment rental. Climbing type — difficulty, season — from September to April. A huge number of routes, more than 1300. Many camps, a couple of them: The Land, Climber’s Garden, Rido Camping. You can get there by bus in an hour, from the bus station (otogar) in Antalya. The place is popular, there is a lot of information about it.
2 out of 5 points. Section Geikbayyry — Gaynyuk can be skipped by taking transport. 2 days of travel, ordinary views, you will also find similar ones further on.
5 out of 5 points. Gaynyuk Canyon is a must-visit. You can get there for free on the left side of the river from the city of Gaynyuk. There is a wetsuit rental, about 600 rubles. You will be able to walk along the water and swim to the beginning of the canyon through beautiful gorges, it will take about 4–5 hours. I didn’t have enough time, which I really regret. Keep in mind that the water temperature is +6 °C. If the air temperature is below +20 °C and cloudy, it will be cool.
5 out of 5 points. Gaynyuk — Takhtaly Pass. The most beautiful and interesting way to the Takhtaly Pass, that’s why it’s worth going to the eastern part. It’s a long climb with daily changing landscapes. Panoramic views, a lot of greenery. Photos from this section:
5 out of 5 points. Takhtaly Dag. I didn’t climb to the top itself, I don’t see the point in the top itself: there are fences, green plastic mats, a restaurant, beach tourists with selfie sticks who went up by cable car. I think that even a beautiful, natural place completely loses its atmosphere in such situations. I was interested in the impressions of others who climbed Takhtaly, many responded in much the same way. The rating is 7 points precisely because of this, if you think the same, it’s worth climbing without reaching the top, already there you will have stunning views.
The climb from the pass to the mountain takes 2 hours: 3 km in length and a height gain of 550 m. Completely rocky area with a zigzag trail, you should start in the morning, be prepared for the wind. You can hide your backpack on the pass to lighten the climb. Then you will have a long descent with a loss of altitude of 1500 m.
3 out of 5 points. Takhtaly Pass — Ulyupinar. An ordinary section compared to what has already been passed. Due to the long continuous descent, you have to look under your feet all the way and miss most of the views. There is an option to go down to Beychik and take a shuttle bus to Ulyupinar or climb the mountain and take the cable car down. Photos from the section:
5 out of 5 points. From Ulyupinar to Cirali through the Chimera lights, incredibly beautiful places. Photos from the section:
5 out of 5 points. Swing bay north of Cirali. We allocated a whole day of rest for it. A rocky but green trail leads to it with a view of the azure sea. We were alone in the bay, relaxed in a hammock, swam. Drinking water is available 20 minutes walk towards Tekirova. The forest area of the bay is dirty, but you can find a normal place on the beach.
3 out of 5 points. Cirali — Adrasan through Mount Olympos. This is a direct road for lovers of antiquity and ruins. Elevation difference 700 m, the ascent and descent do not represent much beauty due to the dense forest, all the beautiful places are at the top. There are many fallen trees on the ascent that you will have to crawl under/over. Panoramic view only of the village with greenhouses. If you don’t have enough time, it’s better to skip it and follow the trail to the lighthouse. Photos from the section:
4 out of 5 points. Adrasan — Karaoz. A long trail with ups and downs to the lighthouse. The most beautiful views open from the lighthouse to Karaoz, so if you don’t have much time, you can go not from Adrasan, but from Karaoz and return back. There are gorgeous panoramas of the sea. At the bottom of the road there is a hard-to-reach shore with a stony beach, I wanted to collect water and go down to it for a couple of days, but it didn’t work out. The lighthouse itself was very dirty but beautiful. In this regard, it makes sense to pitch a tent elsewhere. On weekends there are a lot of locals, it’s better to plan a route to the lighthouse on weekdays. From Karaoz there is a shuttle bus, departure at 13.00 to the bus station in Mavikent, where you can transfer to a bus to Antalya. Photos from the section:
5 out of 5 points. From Tekirova north to Alakasu beach, it’s next to the road under the Robinson club Camyuva hotel. The trail runs along the coastline with gorgeous landscapes. Photos from the section:
In total: It makes sense to cut, skip, take the bus only if there are strict time constraints. The whole trail has its own charm and special places in each section, where it is possible to meet animals or collect a bucket of oranges, at different times of the year, most likely, some sections would be rated differently. Therefore, I think it’s better to go from beginning to end, enjoying the process.
On the other side of Antalya, the trail of Saint Paul begins. It is less popular and wild. I found official information that by 2020 it is planned to connect the Lycian Trail and the St. Paul Trail, which will be very cool. The entire route will be about 1100 km.
600 km northwest, it’s about 9 hours by bus, is Cappadocia. The place is cosmic, I recommend visiting.
PAID SECTIONS
National parks are free, a general permit for the entire trail is not required, but there are paid sections at attractions. At the sections: Gaynyuk Canyon, Chimera lights, Mount Olympos, beach and ruins of Phaselis north of Tekirova, you will have to pay or bypass:
When starting from Gaynyuk, you can only pass for free on the left bank of the river from the village, moving from the sea to the mountain and get to the Lycian Trail. To the right of the river, the passage is only through the ticket offices. When starting from Geikbayyry, Gaynyuk Canyon is passed for free, the ticket offices will remain on the left. Ticket 8 lira — this is 88 rubles. Orange marks the bypass of the paid ticket office.
Himeras flammer. Gratis kan du komme til flammen fra Bejik og Ulupinar, men ved utgangen fra Cirali er det et kiosk med vakt, og politiet er i nærheten. Du kan gå rundt på stien som går mot høyre, hvis du ser mot havet, mellom de øverste og nedre flammen. På kartet er det merket med en blå punkt, etter 1,5 km vil hoteller «Zumrun Cirali Butik Hotel», «Yoruk Park Pension» og «Ruya Pansiyaon» være merket med grønn mærke, på veien vil du komme til Cirali. Til informasjon: ved de øverste flammen i Himer kan du sette opp leir, det er en god plass for 5–6 telt med flott utsikt over Tahtali. Lilla mærke på stranden, et solitært sted for camping for 3–4 telt. Kort 7 lira — det er 77 rubel. Gjennomgang av kiosk er merket med oransje.
Til Olympos går du langs kysten, kiosken blir til høyre ved klippen, og du støter på elvemunningen. Gå over den og etter 20 meter, midt på den lille stranden, bak buskene, er det et hull i hegget. Deretter går du forbi bygningene på stien og beveger deg bort fra havet og snart vil du være på Lykisertrafikken. Kort 20 lira — det er 220 rubel. Gjennomgang av kiosk er merket med oransje.
Fortsettelse i neste deler:
