Aperlai Lycian Way

The Lycian Way passes the ruins of Aperlai on its way around the Sicak peninsula, and the stretch between Ucagiz and Bogazcik is one of the few places on the whole 760 km trail where you walk into an ancient harbour town that has no road to it at all. The only ways in are on foot, by boat or by sea kayak, and walkers usually arrive to find a gulet or two lying at anchor off the ruins.

The Trail

The Lycian Way was mapped and waymarked in 1999 by Kate Clow and runs roughly 760 km from Hisaronu near Fethiye to Geyikbayiri outside Antalya. It follows the French GR convention: red-and-white painted stripes on rock and tree trunk, a red cross where you have gone wrong, and yellow signposts at junctions. The Kekova section is well marked throughout - the difficulty here is ground and heat, not navigation.

The Ucagiz to Bogazcik Stage

The full stage is about 17 km and takes most of a day - around nine hours with stops. It splits naturally at Aperlai, which sits almost exactly halfway:

• Ucagiz to Aperlai, roughly 9 km. The first three to four kilometres out of Ucagiz are the awkward part: a narrow path over sharp limestone and through thorny scrub, tracking the shoreline of Ucagiz bay. After that the going improves, with an easy climb to Degirmenlik and a descent to the ruins at the head of Asar Bay.
• Aperlai to Bogazcik, roughly 8 km. The harder half. The path climbs to around 400 m towards Yassidag and the village of Kilincli, then eases off across open country past the ruins of ancient Apollonia and down to Bogazcik.

Walkers who only want the coastal half do Aperlai to Ucagiz as a two-and-a-half to three-hour walk, often arriving at the ruins by boat in the morning and walking back. This is the most common way round it, and it works well from a yacht - Aperlai is a popular stop for gulet charter guests exploring Kekova, so the boat can drop walkers at the ruins and collect them at Ucagiz in the afternoon.

Water, Food and Shelter

This is a dry peninsula with no springs and no villages on the coastal section. There is no water between Ucagiz and Bogazcik except at two points: the Purple House at Aperlai, run by Riza Cuce, who collects rainwater in cisterns, and Ramazan's Place at Sicak Bay. Both serve drinks and meals when they are open, and the Purple House is the only accommodation at the ruins themselves. At the Bogazcik end there are simple beds at Apollonia Lodge and Ali's House. Carry more water than the distance suggests - the limestone throws heat back at you and there is very little shade.

When to Walk

Spring and late autumn are the seasons for this coast. March to May gives wildflowers and moderate temperatures; October and November are dry and clear. July and August on exposed south-facing limestone are genuinely punishing and best avoided, which is also when the Kekova anchorages are at their busiest.

What You Walk Into

Aperlai was a Lycian port founded between the late fourth and early third century BC. Its wall, built in mixed rectangular and polygonal masonry and strengthened with towers, runs from the shore up towards the acropolis, and the shoreline is scattered with sarcophagi. Part of the lower town lies under the water of Asar Bay after earthquakes dropped the coast - you can see wall lines and foundations from the surface. Snorkelling is allowed; diving is not, as the bay is protected.

Further west, near Kilincli, the trail passes Apollonia, a smaller Lycian settlement that shared a single vote in the Lycian League with Aperlai, Simena and Isinda. Its theatre and tombs are far less visited than anything on the water.

One point worth clearing up: the Lycian cities of this coast, and Kekova itself, sit on Turkey's UNESCO Tentative List - Kekova submitted in 2000, the Ancient Cities of Lycian Civilization file on 6 February 2009. Neither has been inscribed on the World Heritage List. Claims that the region "became a World Heritage Site in 2009" are wrong; the Lycian site that does hold that status is Xanthos-Letoon, further west, inscribed in 1988.