The Lycian Way (Likya Yolu): Part 1

Before my memory fades I really want to write a few posts on my experiences hiking the Lycian Way, or in Turkish, the Likya Yolu. This post may even be useful for those seeking to embark on the spectacular trek. The Likya Yolu is Turkey's first long distance trek which opened in 1999. It follows the breathtaking Lycian coast in southwestern Turkey beginning in Fethiye and ending in Antalya. The real start and finish are in Ovacik and Hisarçandır respectively. It is said to be 509 km although the GPS waypoints I followed supposed the trail to be 450 km. The trail is a collection of single track paths, mountain goat trails, roads, and sometimes nothing at all connected by periodic waymarks designated by a red stripe underneath a white one. I walked about 350 km of trail in 14 days. If you include detours and getting lost, the total is probably around 375 km. I did not have enough time to walk the entire route so I skipped two sections that seemed boring. Everyday was a new adventure and I hope my trek report inspires some people take on the Lycian Way or at the very least, visit the wonderful country of Turkey (after the ongoing political crisis ends though).

Note: for navigation I used the Gaia GPS app for iPhone and iPad. I saved topological maps (OpenCyleMap) beforehand in addition waypoints provided by Kate Clow and a couple who had hiked the route in 2011. I kept the iPhone on airplane phone which was a terrible mistake. This turns off the GPS functionality. It's much better to just remove the SIM card to save battery and GPS functionality will be retained. I discovered this seven days into the trek. Before that I just used the map and compass to navigate which is a tried and true method but not remotely as easy as GPS.

Pre-Trek

When I left for Istanbul, I had never heard of the Likya Yolu. I didn't even know there were long distance treks in Turkey. What I did know was that there was an adventure waiting to be had in Turkey and I would find myself caught up in it eventually, one way or another.

I arrived in Istanbul on Friday and on Sunday I met Rebecca who told me about how she had hiked part of the Likya Yolu over spring break. Seeing how I happened to have a backpacking backpack, a tent, a thermorest, and a thin sleeping bag, this piqued my interest and I inquired more about the hike to discover there is exactly one guide book by the creator of the trail, Kate Clow. Much to my dismay it was impossible to find this book in Istanbul however I was able to borrow the book long enough to get the entire thing photocopied for a mere 5 lira (~$2.50).

Day 1

With the copied book in hand and after some brief research (read: no clue what I was doing), I set off before dawn on Wednesday morning to the airport. I flew to Dalaman and was able to nab a bus directly to Fethiye (a 1.5 hour trip) for 5 or 10 lira which was pleasant surprise. From Fethiye I hopped on a Dolmuş to get to Ovacik and walked 2 km or so to get to the start of the trail. By this time is was already 1pm.

The start!

 I was eager to start the trek and hoped to get 10-15 km in for the day. Almost immediately after beginning I witnessed some gorgeous views.

Looking down at Ölüdeniz just after starting the trail

 Unfortunately I was a little too conservative on water, developed a splitting headache, got lost, fell onto a thorn bush, and mistakenly walked over a patch of ground swarming with bees (no stings thankfully). By the time I arrived in Kirme ( ~10 km from the start), I pitched my tent, popped some ibuprofen, and passed out well before sundown. Not exactly a good first day.

Evidence of land and rock slides was abundant along the entire trek

The thing is about the trail is: you get lost a lot. Very lost. Every damn day. Twice a day. Maybe three times a day. Okay. Generally, just once a day. That was the general consensus from the people I met on the trail. Many conversations would go something like this:
"How are you?"
"Well, but I got lost today."
"Yeah, me too."
To make matters worse, the guidebook is useless. Reading it is a surefire way to get lost or more lost. The distances are wrong, the descriptions are inaccurate, and it's poorly written. I guess if you needed some kindling for a fire it might be useful. Furthermore, the map included with the book is cartoonish, not-to-scale, and leaves out lots of details. More kindling. Okay, maybe the GPS waypoints are good? Nope. Wrong. The waypoints are many meters off and not very frequent. So how did I manage to do this trek? Besides some luck and frustration, I used the GPS waypoints of the couple who did it in 2011.