Winter Walking #1 Patara Aqueduct Loop

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Most people interested in hiking and trekking have heard of the Lycian Way: the 500 km long-distance walking route between Fethiye and Antalya on the Mediterranean Coast has been described as one of the world's top 10 walks. Here in Kaş we're roughly at the half-way point. As much of the route is coastal the best time to tackle the route (or bits of it!) is in Spring or Autumn. It's simply too hot in the Summer.

November is almost always one of the best months to go walking here. Weather-wise it's comparable to a (good!) Northern European summer but the days are a bit shorter. The sea is still warm and you can sit out in the evenings. But the crowds have gone home and you can mostly have the trails to yourself. The spectacular ancient sites are all but deserted.

This year the weather stayed fine until the middle of December and we took the opportunity to go on some day hikes on or near the Lycian Way.

One of the December walks we undertook recently was a 19 km loop which combined a bit of The Lycain Way with some side trails with brilliant views over the Mediterranean and the ancient city of Patara. You're going to be hearing about Patara a lot next year as it is undergoing major renovation to host a meeting of World Leaders. It was the ancient Capital of Lycia, the world's oldest federal state; Lycia's constitution is referenced twice in the early papers of the American Founding Fathers and is often cited as a model for modern parliaments. The photos show us on a route along part of the ancient aqueduct that delivered water to the port city from many miles away. Just off route the locals were getting in the olive harvest. They place sheets under the trees then shake them to make the ripe fruit drop. The olive groves and the terraces upon which they stand are thousands of years of old and the labour-intensive method of getting in the crop has changed little. The hike then climbs into the hills where we met tractors bringing firewood down to the villages salvaged from a forest fire. From the tops there are brilliant views over the ancient city, through which a navigable river to the Mediterranean once ran and over the longest beach in the Mediterranean. At 18km long the Patara beach is very little developed due partly to the efforts of conservationists to protect the egg-laying grounds of the loggerhead sea-turtle common in the area. Our walk continued up and over two valleys before descending to a remote rugged section of coastline before we turned inland and up hill to get back to our cars.  A moderately diificult walk that took about 4 1/2 hours and a great day out that merited a beer on the way home!