The Lycian Way is featured on Time Out's list of the world's best hikes for 2025.
It's 12.28 on a Thursday afternoon, and I'm sitting in the bow of a wide, ancient plane tree. Paddle-like leaves send dappled sunlight on a slow, delicate dance over a nearby herd of wild horses gathered around a well. I'm eating a spinach and feta pancake that was made fresh that morning and wrapped in colorful paper – lunch for the road from a fire-powered kitchen. It's salty and doughy and filling and perfect – the kind of thing you crave on a hangover, and even more when you've spent the past four hours hiking through the mountains in 25-degree heat. Below us, the Taurus mountains spill out for an eternity – forest-studded hills sloping into the sky. Slow-moving clouds throw shadows across the bowl of the valley, and dusty limestone paths wind amber threads through the strawberry trees.
This was day five of our walking trip, and we'd found a meditative rhythm in the step-after-step flow of the days – hours that fell away as we wound our way up narrow mountain tracks, and down gentle sloping hillsides dotted with grazing goats. We were hiking a six-day stretch of the Lycian Way: a 540-kilometre hike that's widely known as the most scenic long-distance hike in Türkiye. In its entirety, the Lycian Way takes over a month to complete, tracking along the Turquoise Coast in the southwest corner of the country, through ancient Lycian sites and up towering, dramatic cliffs. With only a week to spare, we opted for a condensed version: a six-day hike taking in the most popular coastal stretch and some of the most magnificent ancient ruins.
Our walk began in the hills above the harbor town of Fethiye: a charming, colorful place busy with friendly, well-fed stray dogs and ornate boats waiting on the water. The morning hike took us up a slowly sloping cliff above the horseshoe bay of Ölüdeniz: the most famous beach in Türkiye. Sailing boats cut deep white lines through the turquoise ocean, and paragliders twirled through the air like sycamore seeds.
We stopped mid-morning at a mountain stall selling fresh pomegranate juice, then carried on to a home-style tea house serving gozleme cooked in an open fire. We tied under a canopy of vine leaves – herb-loaded cheese pancakes drizzled with honey – as wandering chickens picked their way between the bushes. We were one day in, and I was already on another planet.
The hike on that first afternoon led us through fragrant pine forest to the gorgeous family-run Montenegro Motel, perched on the limestone cliff face of Butterfly Valley. We arrived in time for a beer by the pool before dinner, then ate overlooking the canyon as the sun dropped behind the ocean and coated the cliffs in buttery gold.
On average, we hiked for around seven hours every day, stopping three or four times for fresh juice, strong coffees and picnic lunches loaded with dried figs and locally-made baklava. At around 5pm each day, we'd arrive at our accommodation for the night – humble homestays and sweet family-run hotels – perfectly exhausted, and would collapse by the pool or on a cushion-filled verandah.
If you're a seasoned long-distance hiker, it's entirely possible to walk the Lycian Way unguided. The route is marked with red symbols and rock towers and you're never dangerously far from a road or town if you're feeling lost. But if you'd rather spend your days taking in the beauty and learning about the history of the sites, opting for a group tour with a local guide is an excellent option. Our tour was led by a local guide from Explore Worldwide, and her bank of knowledge – from the best spots for coffee in each tiny town to the historical significance of each crumbling sarcophagus – gave the walk so much more meaning.
On our final day, we walked for just four hours, finishing in the ancient port of Aperlae. From there, we hopped onto an old wooden boat and pushed through the sparkling water past the sunken city of Kekova, whose ancient ruins pushed proudly up through the waves. We ate barbecued chicken and colorful salads jeweled with pomegranate, and jumped off the boat into the warm, crystal-clear Mediterranean water. Towards the end of the day, the boat took us to the castle-topped coastal village of Simena. Walking barefoot through the cobbled streets, we picked our way through the castle ruins then found our way back to the boat, homemade walnut ice creams in hand.
Founded in 1999 by British-Turkish author and trail developer Kate Clow (whose house we passed on our journey, an unassuming residence in the bowl of a valley), the Lycian Way is a fast-track tour of some of the most beautiful corners of Türkiye. You'll discover ancient aqueducts and stunning forts, and by taking it on foot you'll feel so much more connected to the civilization that once thrived in this magical, sun-soaked pocket of paradise.
Read the full Time Out list of the world's best hikes in 2025.
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