Hiking 500km on Lycian Way in Turkey
Spring 2021
The Lycian Way is a long-distance hiking trail that was first waymarked in 1999 by British ex-pat Kate Clow. She has also written a whole book about the trail. I managed to see this book in some guesthouses along the way and it seemed to have a lot of extra information in it. Reading it will probably make you understand the region and the history a lot more. You can get yourself a copy from example Amazon.
The route follows the Meditteranean coast from Fethiye to Antalya (or the other way around). The Lycian Way was used by ancient Lycians as a footpath and a mule trail and covers more than 500 kilometres in distance.
Table of contents
- Why Lycian Way?Why Lycian Way?
- Drinking water, equipment and foodDrinking water, equipment and food
- General resourcesGeneral resources
Why Lycian Way?
Lycian Way is a perfect balance of everything. You can hike it as you wish.
If limited on time and only want to do a part of it, then it is very possible. Most people only hike smaller sections of the trail. It is very well connected and there are roads with public transportation going to many towns and villages on the way.
Want to camp or want to stay in guesthouses? You can easily do both. It is possible to hike the while Lycian Way by only staying in guesthouses. It requires good planning though and you might need to arrange transportation to nearby accommodation. There are also loads of campsites available and you can basically put up your tent wherever you want.
As the route goes through villages and towns you do not need to worry about the food. You can stock up in small shops with essentials or eat in restaurants.
Even though the Lycian Way is well connected you can still have some solitude. There are sections that go through forests and hills.
Many long-distance walks simply follow paved roads and do not require much effort in terms of up-and downhill climbing. Lycian Way takes you from the coast to the mountains with the highest point of the trail being at 2300 metres above sea level.
Last but not least, the Lycian Way has a story. You will be walking through history and literally stepping on the ancient stones and roads. I was amazed to see the ruins that are thousands of years old almost every single day. Sometimes they are buried in the thick forest or stowed away on the hilltops where not many people go.
Drinking water, equipment and food
How to survive the Lycian Way?
The number one thing that a person needs to survive is definitely drinking water. You will be going through it especially a lot while hiking. Luckily the situation with water is pretty good along the Lycian Way. There are many freshwater taps on the route. It is possible to get your water along the way each day. But many water sources are wells or water tanks with standing water. This means that there will be smaller and bigger particles inside. Sometimes even trash. I totally recommend bringing a water filter with you! Personally, I did not bring one and I was regretting it a lot. I could have stocked up on drinking water a lot more often. So please, bring a water filter like a Life Straw or similar! In the first half of the hike, I was carrying about 2,5 litres of water with me but on the Antalya side, I had about 3,5-4 litres with me. This turned out to be quite useful since the water was more scarce.
Also, the availability of water depends a lot on the season. During the winter months, there is plenty available, but during the summer months, many wells tend to run dry.
As I mentioned earlier, there are many options for food on the way. Many guesthouses also include dinner and breakfast. But you will definitely want to have something with you during the day. Also, if you will be camping you want to have your cooking stove and dry foods. Stocking up on special hiking dry foods on the way is going to be complicated if not impossible. You can grab some noodles and easy foods from the small shops, but no special hiking foods. Fortunately, in Turkey, you can find some pre-prepared packaged meals in some supermarkets. These pasta and rice dishes were definitely a life-saver.
The gear you need totally depends on the style you are hiking. Personally, I was camping out 2-3 nights in a row and then spending one night in a guesthouse to have a shower and charge my phone and camera equipment. That means that I was carrying full camping equipment with me. I purchased most of my gear in a Decathlon store in Istanbul just before starting the hike. I was positively surprised about the affordable prices and at the same time the good quality of the gear.
General resources
How to get information about the trail itself and not get lost?
Probably one of the best resources for trail descriptions is the book by Kate Clow I mentioned in the beginning. I did not have it though and was relying on phone applications. One of the best apps I have on my phone is called MAPS.ME. Just download the country and the region you need beforehand and you have access to many smaller trails that you do not see on Google Maps for example. I use it all the time on my travels.
To get specific information about Lycian Way though, I recommend using a specific app. Personally, I used an app called TrekRight: Lycian Way. It was the first time I have ever paid for an app and I used this one absolutely every day on the trail. Besides the marked trail, you will find information and markers about water sources and camping spots which I found really useful.
In the video, I will be going through reasons why someone should or not hike the Lycian Way. Along the 24 days on the trail, I discovered some things about myself and the reasons why we as people do certain things in our lives. Maybe some of those topics resonate with you as well?
