Likya Way walking: Ölüdeniz to Patara

where we visit the ancient cities of Kalabantia, Pydnai, Letoon, Xanthos and Patara.

A multi-day trek on the Likya Yolu, finally! We walked over the busy Ramadan holiday when Gülizar — the motivation behind this adventure — had time off work. People come from all the world to walk this trail, and even with the crowds I was impressed on the first day — beautiful Mediterranean and mountain views.

We got our first small taste of the historic sites with a Roman door (?) and Likyan tomb near Hisar.

You could certainly backpack the Likya Yolu — there are plenty of places to pitch a tent — but I was surprised how little water we passed, even in April. We choose to stay every night in pansiyons where we also were served dinner and breakfast. Over the holiday we figured advance reservations were important, but it wasn’t obvious that that was really the case. We had to change some reservations at the last minute because the walking was slower than we expected (and I screwed up the planning).

We stayed in Kabak, Bel, Guverağılı, and Gelemiş. In many sections of the Likya Way there are multiple routes to choose from. For example, when we left Kabak, we walked along the coast to the ruined Likyan city of Kalabantia. This is a slow up and down coastal route with beautiful views. Most people choose the higher alternative.

According to wikipedia Kalabantia is Likyan, but I couldn’t find anything that looked so old there.

It was an easy walk up the hill to flatter terrain

and even one of Muğla’s famous cisterns.

We had good enough cell service here to reach Ramazan abi in Bel. It was a couple more kms on a trail, and then Ramazan abi picked us up in his car for the last 8km to his pansiyon.

The next day was short which was probably nice between two longer days. Maybe we were tired?

The day started on a road through terraces which I understand used to have olive trees. Now it’s wheat.

Before long we were on a trail, mostly down, to Guverağılı.

We arrived early enough to go for a swim.

The following day the old ruins started for real.

First was Pydnai which was mostly just walls.

From Pydnai the greenhouses start, and we started a mix of walking, hitchhiking, and buses from Pydnai to Gelemiş with stops in Letoon and Xanthos.

UNESCO-listed Letoon has a theater, the foundation of a Byzantine church, and three temples.

Xanthos (also UNESCO) is known for its theater and nearby tower tombs, maybe because that’s the part you can see without a ticket.

Passed the entrance booth you find this paved Roman road,

but what I really liked were all the Likyan tombs in the necropolis on the hill above the main site.

The next day we left most of our gear at the pansiyon in Gelemiş and did a day hike to the ancient city of Patara and the nearby beach and sand dunes.

The Likyans again:

but this gate must be Roman. It looks a lot like Hadrian’s Gate in Antalya.

Patara was deserted when the harbor silted up. Don’t they say the same thing about Priene, Miletus, Perge, and Aspendos?

The Likyans are famous for Patara’s odeon,

but the Romans must have built the theater. There’s a continuum going on here. It’s not as binary as I make it sound.

I remember loving the sand dunes on my first trip to Patara ten years ago. We didn’t find them so exciting this time.

I was certainly impressed. The Likya Yolu lives up to its hype and high expectations. Onto Kaş for the second half of our walk.