Trekking the coast of Turkey

Let me tell you more about our 3 days hiking through the Lycian Way:
We started right in the official starting point, in Oludeniz Beach, and we walked/hitchhiked/rode boats during the 3 days trip. We stopped in the first night to sleep in Butterfly Valley (Faralya Village) and in the second night we went camping in Cennet Beach (a true hidden gem that even some Turkish people never heard of).

1st day - Oludeniz to Faralya Village: We walked around 17 km that day. The first part was mostly climbing up, and we could enjoy the views of Oludeniz Beach, which is one of the most famous for its beauty, from the top. We were lucky the weather was cloudy at that point, because it was September so it was still very hot weather, and very dry. We found fruit trees along the way, small villages, honey production, and beautiful views of nature. We were constantly collecting figs and blackberries. We stopped at a simple restaurant on the way to have some Gozleme (Turkish pancakes) and continued to the last part, now going slightly down. We reached Faralya Village in time for finding a good guesthouse to sleep and then get a ride to watch the sunset from the hill. It is on top of the Butterfly Valley, so we had the view of the Beach down there and the sun setting in the Sea. That was such a rewarding moment, one of the most beautiful sunsets of my entire life.

2nd day – Faralya to Kabak to Cennet Beach: The second day was though, the path should be easier but it was so sunny and hot, we couldn’t handle the heat. We went around the other side of Butterfly Valley to continue the trail, but we got a bit lost, and since we were very tired we decided to hitchhike, we found the closest road and waited until some nice soul that would take us directly to Kabak Beach. We found one quite fast, in Turkey they can be very friendly with people hitchhiking. So, now you know: you don’t need to get to Faralya Village or to Kabak Beach by walking, you do have roads that go there and bus option. This is only for someone that want to experience the trekking and the amazing views and beautiful nature on the way.

We had lunch at Kabak Beach and we chilled a bit there, and then we called the guys from Cennet Beach’s camping to pick us up with the boat. We paid around 5 euros each for the ride. Cennet Beach is remote, you can only get there by boat or hiking, and the hike is not easy. We decided to do only the way back, to appreciate the view, since we had to come back the next day to get a bus to Fethiye. There is only one camping at the beach, and you have to climb all the way up the mountain to get there. They have the tents, toilets with shower, and everything you need, they also offer food options. We watcher the sunset by the beach before heading up, and then enjoyed a nice dinner and the night in the camping, in peace, far from everyone, watching the stars.

3rd Day – Cennet Beach to Kabak and back to Fethiye: We enjoyed a bit the morning at the beach, it was sunny and the sea was so blue (the afternoon before when we got there, it was almost sunset so we couldn’t see it properly, but it was a hypnotizing blue). At around 1 pm we started our hike back to Kabak Beach. We had to go up and down many rocky hills, it was hot but thankfully a bit cloudy as well. The views, wow… They were incredible! Far away, that blue waters, the white sand, the hills, the rocks, and no one at all. It took us about 2 and a half hours to finish this trekking, it was also nice to see Kabak Beach from up, it is very touristic and busier than the rest of the way. But it didn’t finish there. Kabak Beach is in the bottom of a hill too, and to get the bus back, we had to climb all the way up for about 40 minutes. I was exhausted, but it was worth every second of the trekking.