About this stage
The shortest stage on the Lycian Way: about 2 km from the entrance to the Olympos ruins, down through the ancient city and along the beach to the peaceful village of Çıralı. If you sleep up the Olympos valley among the treehouses, add roughly 2 km more for the walk down to the ruins. Çıralı is home to the Chimaera — eternal flames that have burned naturally from the mountainside for thousands of years. A perfect rest day location with yoga retreats, organic pensions, and a loggerhead turtle nesting beach.
Stage highlights
- Chimaera eternal flames
- Loggerhead turtle nesting beach
- Olympos ruins walk-through
- Çıralı village organic pensions
What to expect on the trail
Ruins, river mouth and beach: a stroll rather than a hike, with soft sand for the last stretch.
Shade is patchy, and the walk along the beach to Çıralı is in the open, so bring a sun hat and sunscreen in summer.
You'll barely leave sea level — 51 m of ascent and 54 m of descent over 2.1 km, about half an hour of walking. Most people do it as part of a rest day and keep the evening for the walk up to the Chimaera flames from Çıralı.
Getting there
Buses on the Antalya–Kumluca road stop at the Olympos junction, and local dolmuş run down the steep lane to the valley; Olympos is about 83 km (about 1 h 40 min) by road from Antalya. Çıralı, at the end, is about 79 km (about 1 h 30 min) by road from Antalya; the dolmuş from Antalya's bus station drops you at the turn-off on the highway, about 7 km above the village.
Where this stage fits in the trail
This is stage 18 of 26, part of the Demre & Olympos section — the eastern coast around Demre, Finike, Adrasan and the ancient site of Olympos. It connects stage 17 (Adrasan to Olympos) to stage 20 (Çıralı to Tekirova (Coastal Route)), and works well as part of a multi-day section walk. There is no main stage 19: at Çıralı, stage 19a (Çıralı to Beycik) is the inland alternative to stages 20 to 22 along the coast, and it rejoins the main route at Gedelme.
Best time to walk this stage
The Lycian Way is best walked in spring (mid-March to mid-May) or autumn (mid-September to mid-November). October and April offer the most reliable weather: mild temperatures, clear skies, wildflowers in spring or olive harvest in autumn, and far fewer hikers than the shoulders of those windows. Summer (June-August) is generally too hot for comfortable walking — coastal stages routinely exceed 35°C and water sources dry up. Winter (December-February) brings rain to the coast and snow to mountain passes; the trail is walkable but conditions are unpredictable, especially on the higher inland stages.