My Experience on the Lycian Way

My experience on the Lycian Way was….. EPIC!

As a lover of the outdoors and anything backpacking-I was shocked to discover Turkey has one of the best thru-hiking trails on the planet!

I lived in Turkey for two years before I ever heard of this illusive trail. A couple of climbers tipped me off when I was asking about cool places to hike, and thank god they did.

I love this trail so much I’ve hiked it three times, and I’m planning a fourth!

My love for the Lycian Way comes from experience though, definitely not what I found online…because I could hardly find anything! Most guides written in English barely give any information, so I thought it must be straightforward. haha, jokes on me.

I decided to start at the official starting point of the Lycian Way, Ovacik. My plan was to trek from Ovacik to Kabak and possibly further. What I didn’t think about was that I choose to hike this trail in July, but this is the worst time of the year! I was melting. The heat was bearing down on me, making it hard to go 5 minutes without needing a break in the shade.

What I had heard about the Lycian Way is that it’s full of beaches… Me, being an unofficial mermaid, I decided well then I should bring all of my swimming stuff! Including goggles, floatys, and a hammock…. If you could see me shaking my head right now.

There was only one beach, on the last day of the hike… I definitely did have fun with my floaty but I had to carry all of that extra weight for four days in the blistering sun! I’ll never do that again… I learn all my life lessons through failure. I was kind of hoping that would stop in my late 20s… and here we are.

Okay enough self deprecation! Let’s begin with my journey!

As I said, I started from Ovacik, and it being summer the trail was completely silent. I didn’t see one person on the trek, which was great because the amount of breaks I was taking to pant in the shade is humiliating.

Thank god for my hammock. This allowed me to take naps during the mid-day sun when the heat is at its most annoying.

After way too long, I finally made it to the top of the first mountain, Babadag. A hike that should normally take a few hours took me all day. I was ready to call it a nigh

I entered into the first village and the villagers were shocked to see a hiker at this time of year.

Their hospitality was impeccable. They gave me some cay and told me to set up my tent in the fenced in grounds of the mosque. I was safe and sound with running water and a toilet. Ahhh, luxury.

My next day, I was determined to get back on course. Typically hikers make it to Kabak on their second day, and I believed in myself that I could do it. So I got up early and went hard on the trail… until I found a cay cafe. The people here were so welcoming and the atmosphere so relaxing. I had to stay all day. I thought I’d beat out the mid-day sun in the cafe then power hike all the way to Kabak- a full proof plan!

At around 4, I got up to leave the cafe. The hosts seeing me put on my pack were in a freenzy begging me not to go-you wont make it. They offered to let me setup my tent in their cafe(so sweet), but I’m determined and naive, so of course, I declined.

Not only am I naive, but easily distracted.

Now I’m taking my time on the trek, smelling the flowers, chasing the birds-and what do I see, oh it’s Butterfly Valley! I love Butterfly Valley! It’s an absolute backpacking hippie paradise and if you don’t know about it you definitely should and can read more here.

I heard online that you can access Butterfly Valley from the Lycian Way, but this is a lie. A lie that took me two hours to understand! After following numerous goat paths I mistook for pathways, I didn’t find Butterfly Valley AND I lost myself from the Lycian Way trail.

Thankfully this area had cell service, but even with that I couldn’t understand where to go. That’s when I discovered TrailSmart– and it saved my life. DO NOT GO ON THE LYCIAN WAY WITHOUT TRAIL SMART!

Once I got myself back on the path, the sun was setting. I then had to walk a few kilometers in the dark, along cliff-sides. Great I had my head lamp. The sounds of the ocean waves were getting louder and louder as the trail bears deeper and deeper into a cliff.

It’s okay, I thought, the next exit of the trail leads onto a beach with camping sites, worse case scenario I’ll sleep on the beach!

Don’t always trust what you see on the map guys. Yes, TrailSmart shows the exit is onto a beach, but what it doesn’t show is that the beach is completely under construction and impossible to reach.

You can imagine my shock when I pop out of the exit of the trail, waiting to see my salvation, only to realize I’m in a lot more trouble than I thought.

I walked right off of the trail onto a vacation rental, in the middle of the dark, where a group of boys were enjoying their evening. Their faces were in complete shock. They certainly didn’t expect to see anyone on the trail at this time of year, at this time of night. Thankfully they spoke some English, and I asked them if they could give me a lift to the nearest camping place.

I thought they would know, and maybe they did, but as I said the entire beach is under construction covered in sand, bulldozers, and fallen trees. I hopped on for a night ride that completely disoriented me. I was lost from my path. I was dropped and told to walk down the street to find the nearest camping spot. I did as I was told and there was nothing.

The cherry on top was that there was no cell service. I had to hike back up a sandy hill to find reception, where I started frantically calling people in the area. I found a camping place, but the google maps direction was wrong.

After an hour and a half walking through dusty, construction filled dirt roads, I finally came to the most posh luxury beach rentals-not really the beach camping I had imagined. I was completely covered in sand, from head to toe.

By this time I was used to shocked faces, but when I tell you the horror of the rich fancy couples looking at a sweaty, dust-covered hiker showing up at 11pm begging for a place to sleep-the sight was completely comical.

I had zero energy, zero. After a day in the 105 degree sun, lost, dirty, exhausted, I was ready for a bed, a real bed. The luxury resort of course had nothing reasonably priced, but after haggling and them clearly seeing my struggle, they gave into my price. I slept sooooooo good.

The next day, my bad luck was over. I enjoyed the beautiful luxury resort, then headed back on the Lycian Way. Having slept a night in a cozy bed, I felt a bit like I was cheating, so I decided to wild camp a night on the trail. This made the day so relaxing. I finally got to take my time and enjoy the nature. I went off trail trying to find hidden coves and secret trails. I couldn’t find any, but the sense of freedom was thrilling.

I found the perfect place to camp. I set up my hammock and made my campsite feel like a luxury resort. I sang songs, watched the sun set, laid under the stars, and had a wonderful night.

The next day was on to Kabak. I had never been to Kabak before, but I had heard the stories of this mysterious “hippies paradise”. And ooh, hippies paradise it was.

The best way I can describe it is Kabak has a viiibbeee. The airbnbs, hotels, and camping places are mostly all made in an eco-friendly way, working with the natural elements around them. These places are well made, beautiful retreats into the nature around us.

Each place has it’s own energy. Some places are relaxing, others for parties, some for yoga, and others for couples. Just walking around and exploring each site is fun in itself. I choose an amazing camping spot that just melded into my backpacking hippie soul, Natural Life. I had amazing home-made, healthy food that’s all you can eat. I decided to chill in the restaurant area at night, and to my surprise in the night there were djs, dancers, and fire twirlers-what a place! I fell in love with Kabak and decided to spend two more nights. Oh, and I finally got to use my floaty… I was living my summer dream.

After my relaxing couple of days I felt a little guilty. A trek that normally takes hikers two days, took me four. I felt a little shameful and decided I needed to get back out on the trail. Not knowing if there would be a public transportation to take in the next town on the Lycian Way, Alinca, I decided to go back to Oludeniz and take the optional starting point of Kayakoy-but I wanted to do it backwards.

I caught a minibus from Kabak to Oludeniz through the lush forest greenery. The energy in Oludeniz was buzzzzzing, tourists running through the streets, paragliders landing all over the beach. I got caught up in the excitement. The smell of cheeseburgers was calling to me, and I caved. So I decided I should carb up and have a great meal before my trek. I’ll have tons of energy, right??? Wrong. I was completely sluggish, struggling in the mid-day heat. And where was the entrance to the trail? I had no idea…

The information says Oludeniz, but where in Oludeniz?

There I was, again, cluelessly wandering around with my backpack, shocking people with my questions. I asked where was the entrance to the Lycian Way and my only guidance was a man pointing telling me to walk down this road.

How far down this road? Where is the entrance?

These are questions no one knew how to answer, so I walked. I walked and walked and walked some more, until about 30 minutes later I was in a panic. That’s when I remembered my handy-dandy, TrailSmart. From then on TrailSmart became my best friend. Even with the app it was a bit hard to find the entrance. You literally have to walk straight into the trees in the most unsuspecting place to find it-and find it I did, but not without a lot of sweat and worry.

Needless to say, I was tired-again. What is supposed to be a one day hike from Oludeniz to Kayakoy is now taking me two. I’m not the badass backpacker I wish I was, but this trip taught me the fun is in the spontaneity. If you had fun and felt fulfilled, who cares what some hiker who’s in a pissing contest for most aggressive trek thinks. I realized this because my sleepy-ness forced me to spend a night wild camping on top of this mountain, which was epically beautiful. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss that for anything.

I watched the sunset on top of a mountain lying in my hammock, the wind pushing me back and forth. I had a delightful night, and a great sleep. The next morning, however, my alarm clock was the one person I had ever seen on the trail-walking past while I was changing in my tent! Imagine my shock. In 5 days of traveling the Lycian Way, I hadn’t seen one soul. I had grown pretty comfortable to being alone, and doing whatever, whenever I needed to. This morning was no different. I woke up, changing in my tent-with just a mesh top I might add, no reason to put on the rain fly in this weather. Then, an old man comes walking by see’s me and screams! Then I scream! And he kept walking, that’s it. Completely hilarious.

After this showdown, I decided to hike the rest of my hike and see what the day had in store. It was an easy hour-long hike down the mountain and into the ghost city of Kayakoy. I knew there were ruins, but I wasn’t expecting a whole deserted city. I was completely alone, no tourists had came yet, and I felt like I had the entire city to myself. I went around exploring every nook and cranny. I honestly hadn’t realized it’s a tourist destination until I walked to the entrance of the facility and saw the tourist infrastructure. I felt giddy walking out knowing I didn’t pay a thing.

Outside the entrance were cay shops and restaurants. I sat at one for nearly 6 hours, waiting until my flight time to go to the airport. The people here were so friendly. I had ayran and breakfast. I chatted with my broken Turkish to the owners-an old man and his wife. Before I left they gave me a gift, a cute bracelet that I still keep to this day.

A few weeks later I brought my friends to the same location and we all bought a bunch of items from the gift shop, in a way to repay them but also just to say hi. I’m sure they see hikers all the time, but they remembered me and were so kind. The people you meet on the Lycian Way will stay in your heart.

After this adventure I was hooked. Now I’m going on my fourth hike on the Lycian Way, and yes, I’ve learned from my mistakes. I’m sure there’s more to make, but what I’ve learned is to hike my own hike. Everyone has a different style of hiking. If you want to go balls-to-the-wall , counting the kilometers and powering through then good on you! But for me, I’ll take my time and enjoy every second. The Lycian Way has so much to offer.

Now you might be ready for your own Lycian Way adventure! You can start here

To follow this exact itinerary, click here!