While almost all trekkers who visit Patara walk the Lycian way to Delikkemer via the aqueduct, few people take the long way round, via Vali point. In some ways this is not the best of treks due to the prevalence of trekking on the forest roads, the views that you are awarded as you trek are a treat. From Delikkemer you descend past the striking turquoise of Firnaz bay, to the rocky coastline hiding many coves perfect for a dip. As you climb up the hill above Patara the vie

Sidyma is one of our favorite ancient cities, of the innumerable numbers of ancient remains in Turkey. The city itself is nestled among st the picturesque hamlet of Hisar, a sub village of Dodurga, Western Lycia. The situation of Sidyma is a very defensive spot nestled above steep cliffs, not visible from below or from the sea. Many of the very old settlements of Lycia are in places like this, but were frequently abandoned during the Roman period, when defense was much less

While the magnificent remains of Patara, Xanthos, Tlos, Patara, Myra, Phaselis etc. are well know and documented, the mysterious remains of the first settlers in Lycia are to be found in the hidden fastness of the inhospitable looking mountains of central Lycia, between modern Kaş and Kalkan. The dissolute and overgrown archaic period buildings around Islamlar, Bezirgan, Sarıbelen and Gökçeoren are in few archeological texts and the names of the settlement are generally unrec

The telephone alarm wakes me at 07:00, pitch darkness, driving rain battering our terracotta roof tiles. The close rumble of thunder. Lets get out of bed and go trekking! If just to prove that trekking in Lycia is a year round activity, up I get, ready the water proof trousers and gaiters. We had planned to go to the highlands but the forecast showed 2 degrees and drizzle. Safest recourse was the old stormy day fallback, the Patara Aqueduct trek. For some reason, whene

Lycia, known by the Hittites as the Land of Light (Lukka - Lux in Latin)ends it's long hot summer with a spectacular storm, bringing much needed water to the parched soil. The first storm usually comes in October always accompanied by spectacular fork lightening and this year by a few destructive tornadoes! After the rains the seeds germinate and the plants that have braved the summer, dormant under the soil sprout, the red soil becoming a green carpet in a matter of days.

We were blessed with the bright clear weather which can frequently make winter walking in Lycia a pleasure. Our trek started from the pass of Kuruova at 1560meters high. We descended on forest tracks lined with Cedar and Juniper, the fresh smells like a soap powder advert. Passing some massively wide oak trees we find the track snake-ing it's way into the Kibris canyon, a nature reserve compelete with Caracal and Ibex. we crossed a slightly exciting wooden bridge over the