Plan your walk
Go in spring or in autumn.
The Lycian Way is a walk for the shoulder seasons. Summer on the coast is too hot for long days with a pack; winter brings rain below and snow on the high crossing. In between, it is one of the finest walks in the Mediterranean.
01 Climate
Three climates in one day’s walk.
Monthly averages for 2015–2024 at the beach in Çıralı, in Beycik and on the col above it. Switch between altitudes to see how much the mountain changes the picture.
| Coast · 5 m | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9.8° | 14.5° | 210 mm |
| Feb | 10.3° | 15.7° | 100 mm |
| Mar | 11.3° | 17.1° | 87 mm |
| Apr | 14.5° | 20.7° | 33 mm |
| May | 18.5° | 24.7° | 32 mm |
| Jun | 22.8° | 28.8° | 13 mm |
| Jul | 26.4° | 32.9° | 3 mm |
| Aug | 26.6° | 32.4° | 2 mm |
| Sep | 24.2° | 30.1° | 18 mm |
| Oct | 20.3° | 26° | 39 mm |
| Nov | 15.7° | 21.1° | 102 mm |
| Dec | 12.1° | 16.7° | 180 mm |
| Beycik · 950 m | |||
| Jan | -0.8° | 8.4° | 217 mm |
| Feb | 0.4° | 10.3° | 112 mm |
| Mar | 1.9° | 12.5° | 121 mm |
| Apr | 6.3° | 17.2° | 65 mm |
| May | 10.4° | 21.4° | 79 mm |
| Jun | 14.4° | 25.6° | 57 mm |
| Jul | 17.9° | 30.5° | 11 mm |
| Aug | 18.7° | 30.3° | 8 mm |
| Sep | 15° | 26.7° | 26 mm |
| Oct | 10.3° | 21.5° | 39 mm |
| Nov | 5.3° | 15.6° | 90 mm |
| Dec | 1.9° | 10.7° | 224 mm |
| Tahtalı col · 1,800 m | |||
| Jan | -5.5° | 2.7° | 184 mm |
| Feb | -4° | 4.6° | 103 mm |
| Mar | -2.5° | 6.9° | 107 mm |
| Apr | 1.7° | 11.6° | 65 mm |
| May | 5.8° | 15.6° | 90 mm |
| Jun | 9.6° | 19.7° | 77 mm |
| Jul | 13.2° | 24.5° | 15 mm |
| Aug | 13.7° | 24.3° | 16 mm |
| Sep | 10.5° | 20.9° | 36 mm |
| Oct | 5.8° | 15.7° | 40 mm |
| Nov | 1° | 10° | 75 mm |
| Dec | -2.7° | 5.2° | 171 mm |
Source: ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, elevation-adjusted. Monthly means 2015–2024.
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February to May
The classic season. Green hills, spring flowers and long daylight by April. Nights in Beycik are cool; the col can hold snow into March.
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June to August
Hot on the coast, over 30 °C most afternoons. Walk only at dawn, or come up to Beycik for cooler nights and short walks.
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September to November
Warm sea, settled weather and softer light. The best time for the high crossing before the winter rains.
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December and January
The wettest months. Lower sections are walkable on dry days; the col is often in cloud or snow.
02 Packing list
Light pack, full bottles.
Tick things off as you pack; the list stays saved on this device. Print it if you prefer paper.
03 On the ground
Water, waymarks, and when to turn back.
- Water
- Springs and old cisterns exist along the route, but some dry up in late summer and others are not safe to drink untreated. Carry more than you think you need and treat water from cisterns.
- Accommodation
- Village guesthouses and small hotels cover almost every night of the route; only a few high sections need camping. Book ahead in spring and autumn.
- Heat
- Most problems on this trail are caused by heat, not distance. Start at dawn, rest in the shade at midday, and never ration water on a hot climb.
- Weather on the col
- Tahtalı makes its own weather. Cloud can close in quickly on the high limestone, and snow is possible from December to March. If visibility goes, follow the marks or turn back.
- Walking alone
- Leave your plan with your accommodation: tell us your route and when you expect to arrive. Mobile coverage is patchy in the mountains.
- Respect the land
- Much of the eastern route runs through a national park. Take your rubbish with you and never light fires in the forest.
04Useful tools
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Guidebooks
Kate Clow’s The Lycian Way, written by the woman who first waymarked the route, describes it stage by stage in English, and there is a Turkish edition too. From a Turkish author, Altuğ Şenel’s Adım Adım Likya Yolu (in Turkish) covers every stage with notes on history and nature, a large fold-out map and QR codes that lead to each stage’s GPS track.
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Maps
The official Lycian Way maps, prepared by the Antalya Governorship, come as two large sheets: the western half from Fethiye to Demre at 1:100,000, and the eastern half from Demre to Antalya, Beycik included, at 1:120,000. They show the waymarked route and its variants, roads, villages and ancient sites, with a legend in Turkish, English, Russian and German. They were drawn in 2014, so where map and paint disagree, trust the marks on the ground. On your phone: the trail is on OpenStreetMap, so OsmAnd, Organic Maps and similar apps show it offline, and walkers share detailed GPS tracks of every stage on Wikiloc.
- Map, eastern half PDF, 3 MB
- Map, western half PDF, 141 MB · large file, best on Wi-Fi
- Wikiloc
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The official walking guide
Lycian Way Maps and Walking Guide, from the Antalya Governorship’s Directorate of Culture and Tourism: 120 pages in Turkish that cover the whole route on detailed 1:25,000 map sheets, with notes on each section, the sites along it and the emergency numbers.
- The walking guide PDF, 74 MB · large file, best on Wi-Fi
Free downloads from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s Lycian Way site.