Things to do in Fethiye

Fethiye is a working town with a harbour, and what people come for is mostly above it or outside it. The Lycian coast starts here. The mountain behind the bay is the reason the town appears on lists it would otherwise miss.

Above the town

Babadağ rises to just under two thousand metres straight off the shore. The ramps sit at about 1,700 and 1,965 metres. A descent to Ölüdeniz takes twenty to forty minutes.

• The flight. Tandem only, with a jeep up the mountain and a landing on the beach strip.
• Wind decides. Mornings are the calm slot; afternoons are cancelled more often than not in high summer.
• Ölüdeniz itself. The lagoon is a protected park with its own gate and fee, separate from the beach.

Out of the harbour

The other half of Fethiye leaves by boat. The twelve-island day is the standard one, and Butterfly Valley is reached the same way — by sea, not by road. Inland the draw is Saklıkent, a gorge waded rather than walked.

Practical

• Season. May to October. July and August are hot and fully booked; the shoulder months fly better.
• The tombs are in town. Lycian graves are cut into the cliff above the streets, lit at night and walkable from the marina.
• Dalaman airport is about fifty kilometres away, and transfers are usually part of the booking.
• Weight limits. Paragliding operators cap passenger weight, and the cap differs between them. Ask before paying.
• Money. Card is fine in the marina, cash easier at the Tuesday market.
• Kayaköy. A hillside of empty stone houses, left after the 1923 population exchange. Eight kilometres inland and quiet.
• The Lycian Way starts just outside town and runs five hundred kilometres east. Most people walk a morning of it.