Lycian Way section Çirali – Olympos – Adrasan 16km.

Starting along the multi-coloured pebbles of Cirali beach you cross a stream, one of the three stream crossings of the day.  At the end of the beach you follow the creek inland to the site of Olympos, once one of the great harbour cities of Lycia.  The harbour is now a silted-up river-mouth, the remains are to be found under the thick jungle like cover of this well-watered and shady creek.

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After crossing the river the climbing starts steep past the western necropolis.  This steady climb under the shade of Mt Musa is through some extremely thick forests of pine, oak and the fascinating Arbutus Andrachne trees twisted and sinewy, the smooth bark like arms of a bodybuilder.  The path enters an open area of destruction, where it appears a tornado has snapped of the huge pines, some having been snapped in two, leaving the forlorn branchless trunks intact.  In the winter months, tornadoes or water spouts coming off the sea are a fairly frequent phenomenon.

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A little further up, at the pass, you can veer off the path and look at he site of upper Olympos, also known as Phoinikous where the Lycian pirates made their last stand against the navy of Pompey the Great.

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From here there is a water source before the descent following a charming stream continues down to the fertile plain of Adrasan.

View of the Gulf of Antalya from the pass

View of the Gulf of Antalya from the pass

Hut at the pass, sometimes drinks are for sale