Turkey - Antalya

Turkey
City
Nature
Beach
Author

Oliver Eaton

Published

April 4, 2023

We arrived at Antalya airport and were on the tram to our hostel by six in the morning. Amazingly, a tram runs from the airport to the city at, seemingly, all hours of the day. After weaving our way through the old-town cobblestone streets on foot, we found an employee sleeping on the couch at the hostel. He awoke, and mumbled sleepily that check-in wasn’t until one in the afternoon, “We got nowhere to go, bro!”, was our response. He invited us into the worker’s quarters, and all three of us slept on the couch together. We booked three nights in Antalya and hadn’t necessarily planned to do any activities, although we ended up visiting two different waterfalls and swimming in the ocean. The main bulk of time here was spent planning our upcoming five-day hike in the Lucian Way and socialising with others at the hostel bar.


New Hiking Equipment

It was clear my day bag was too small, it was large enough for a drink bottle, scarf and camera. Barley had enough room to pick up supplies when we were out and about. So a new day bag for me made it to the list of things to purchase. Also on the list were: hiking socks, stove gas, a camping mattress, and a tent that Trav will buy.

We found a hiking store about thirty minutes walk from the hostel and managed to source all items there for a reasonable price (20% discount). Trav bought a two-man MSR tent weighing less than one kilogram for around $1000NZD, which is expensive, but a lifetime purchase and will be amazing on the hike. I also found a thirty-litre day pack, boasting many pockets, nooks & crannies and extreme comfort. It was an awesome purchase and made day trips much more manageable.

Duden Waterfall & Beach

After purchasing supplies from the hiking store, we caught a bus to Duden Waterfall. The public transport system in Antalya has been great so far, we’ve managed to use either tram or bus to get to most places, and a single trip costs ₺10TL ($0.8NZD). Duden Waterfall is a fast-flowing stream that gushes into the Mediterranean Ocean. It’s situated relatively inner-city and is a bit of a hangout point for young families.

After snapping a few photos, we walked forty minutes or so to the swimming beach. Even though the weather was cold and windy, Trav was eager to take his first dip in the Mediterranean, so we took a satisfying cold plunge and caught the bus home for a few drinks with others at the hostel.


Kurşunlu Waterfall

The following day we took a bus to Kurşunlu Waterfall Reserve. This area had an entrance fee, but it was a reasonable price, I can’t remember how much exactly. Inside the reserve is a short circuit walk consisting of a few picturesque waterfalls and a lovely cafe at the end where we drank cay (Turkish tea). These weren’t the waterfalls we actually intended to be at. People at the hostel described some free waterfalls (named Uçansu Falls) that required a small hike to arrive at, somehow we ended up at Kurşunlu Waterfall but it was still a nice day.

We attempted to climb a fence and do some of our own hiking along the riverside, but many restaurant employees were working in the fields and we felt awkward jumping the fence to their compound. Instead, we ventured outside in the suburban streets for a short period.

That evening, we found a Palestinian guy (Bara) who was keen to join us on the Lycian way. So we have a hiking companion!



Wrap Up

For our next destination, we lined up a small side trip to Pamukkale to visit the travertine flats (travertine is calcium like substance) followed by two nights in Göreme (Capadocia) to witness the hot air balloons and do some hiking. This trip was in the complete opposite direction to our initial plan, so we packed enough clothes, necessary electronics and hygiene items into our day packs (my new 30-litre bag!!!), and stored our large backpacks at the hostel in Antalya for four nights. After this short stint, we’ll come back to Antalya, pick up our bags and make our way to Kaş to meet Bara and begin hiking the Lucian way.