Best 7-Day Lycian Way for Beginners — Faralya to Kaş
The full Lycian Way is 540 km and takes 25–30 days. If you've never done a multi-day hike, that's the wrong place to start. The right one-week introduction is the coastal stretch between Faralya (above Butterfly Valley) and Kaş — easier underfoot, hugely scenic, well-supported by pensions, and finishing in one of Turkey's loveliest small towns.
Why this section
- Gentler gradients than the eastern mountains, and no stage above about 1,000 m. The three opening days are the demanding ones; after Gavurağılı you are back near sea level.
- Continuous pensions · you can do this with no camping kit at all.
- Reliable water · villages every 6–12 km.
- Beach swims daily · reward for the harder mornings.
- Easy bail-out · dolmuş minibuses run the parallel coast road; sprain an ankle, you're on a bus in 30 minutes.
Quick overview
| Day | From → To | km | Hours | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Faralya → Alınca (via Kabak) | 11.9 | 4.5 | Hard (steep) |
| 2 | Alınca → Bel (via Gey) | 13.6 | 6 | Hard |
| 3 | Bel → Gavurağılı | 7.4 | 3 | Hard (800 m of descent) |
| 4 | Gavurağılı → Letoon → Xanthos, then dolmuş to Patara | 17.4 | 5.5 | Easy |
| 5 | Patara → Kalkan | 18.5 | 6 | Moderate |
| 6 | Kalkan → Üçağız (dolmuş), Aperlae walk | 10.5 | 3 | Moderate |
| 7 | Üçağız → Kaş (via boat/transfer) | — | — | Rest |
Day 1 · Faralya → Alınca (11.9 km)
Start above Butterfly Valley with the long view down to the Mediterranean. The path descends to Kabak — a hippie-ish beach village with cabin pensions on the cliff, and the obvious place for a swim and a long lunch. Then the steep zigzag up out of the valley, the hardest hour of the week: 1,000 m of climbing to the tiny mountain village of Alınca. The terrace dinners at sunset are the trip highlight for most hikers. Sleep: Bayram's, Cengiz's or Doğa Camping; €35–60.
Day 2 · Alınca → Bel (13.6 km)
Long day on a high ridge route with limited water. Carry 2.5 L and start by 7 am in summer. The path drops through forest into Gey, a sleepy village where pensions cost €25–40 and dinner is whatever the family cooked that night, then climbs again to Bel for the night.
Day 3 · Bel → Gavurağılı (7.4 km)
The shortest day of the week and almost all of it downhill — about 800 m of descent off the ridge onto the Eşen plain. Poles help. You are down by early afternoon, which leaves time for a slow lunch in the village.
Day 4 · Gavurağılı → Letoon → Xanthos (17.4 km), then dolmuş to Patara
Easy walking across the plain, and the richest archaeology day of the trip: the sanctuary at Letoon and the Lycian capital at Xanthos, both UNESCO-listed, in a single stage. The waymarked line on to Patara is a further 34.4 km by way of Çavdır, Üzümlü and Akbel — two days — so beginners take the dolmuş down the direct road instead. You finish on Patara beach: 18 km of sand, one of the longest in the Mediterranean, backed by the ruins of ancient Patara (Lycian capital, St Nicholas's birthplace). Stay in Gelemiş village just behind the beach; €30–50 in family pensions, all walkable from the beach gate.
Day 5 · Patara → Kalkan (18.5 km)
The longest walking day of the week: up past the Delikkemer aqueduct (huge Roman siphon bridge over a gorge) to Akbel, then coastal cliffs, easy underfoot, and a steep final drop into Kalkan — a town of whitewashed houses tumbling down to the harbour. Start early and arrive for a harbourside dinner, swimming off the stone steps, hotels €60–120.
Day 6 · Kalkan → Üçağız by dolmuş, then the Aperlae walk (10.5 km)
The waymarked trail from Kalkan runs 54.1 km inland to Kaş and then another 38 km round the Limanağzı–Aperlae peninsula — five or six days, not one — so beginners ride this bit: dolmuş via Kaş to Üçağız (about 2 hours). Then walk stage 12, Aperlae → Üçağız: 10.5 km of coastal rock past the sunken Lycian city half-underwater in a turquoise bay, with a boat drop at Aperlae arranged through your pension or an out-and-back from Üçağız. Stay in a guesthouse with terrace over the bay; €30–60.
Day 7 · Üçağız → Kaş
Most hikers take a morning boat across the bay to see the sunken city of Simena and Kekova Island, then dolmuş or taxi the 35 km to Kaş for the final night. Walking it instead means retracing the trail through Aperlae and Limanağzı — 38 km over two or three days — which is a different holiday. Finish: Kaş harbour, dinner in a roof-terrace restaurant, ferry next morning to Meis if you want a Greek-island day-trip add-on.
What you don't need (because there are pensions every night)
- Tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat (a liner is fine)
- Stove or cooking gear
- More than 3 L water capacity
- A guidebook for the whole 540 km — just the Faralya–Kaş chapter
What you absolutely do need
- Real hiking boots, broken in. The "I'll do it in trail runners" crowd lose toenails on the Alınca descent.
- 2.5 L water capacity and electrolyte tabs.
- Sun protection (hat, long sleeves, SPF 50). The coastal sun is brutal April–October.
- Offline maps loaded onto your phone — see our planning guide.
When to go
Best: mid-April to late May, mid-September to late October. Avoid: July and August (35 °C+ on the ridges, dehydration is the #1 problem). OK with caveats: June and early September.
Getting there and away
Start: fly into Dalaman (DLM). 1 h taxi or bus to Fethiye, 1 h dolmuş to Faralya/Ölüdeniz. Finish: dolmuş from Kaş to Antalya (3 h), fly home from Antalya (AYT). Many hikers do the route in reverse (Kaş → Faralya) to fly in/out of the same airport.
Costs for this 7-day trip
- Self-guided budget: €350–500 plus flights
- Supported with luggage transfer: €700–950
- Fully guided private: €1100–1500
Detailed pricing in our 2026 cost breakdown.
Booking
Send dates and group size via our trip-enquiry form — multiple local operators will quote on this exact 7-day section. Or browse accommodation and book each night yourself. Either way, this is the gentlest true introduction to the Lycian Way — nine times out of ten, hikers who try this stretch come back the following year for the whole thing.