Saklıkent Gorge, Ancient Tlos and Yakapark Trout Gardens Day Trip

Forty-five kilometres south-east of Fethiye in the shadow of the Akdağlar mountain range lies the coolest escape from July and August coastal heat: a half-day or full-day inland loop combining the 4,000-year-old Lycian acropolis of Tlos, the rushing mountain spring gardens of Yakapark, and the 300-metre-deep slot canyon of Saklıkent Gorge. Direct white dolmuş minibuses labelled "Fethiye, Tlos, Saklıkent" depart every 30 to 45 minutes from Fethiye Bus Station (and outside the main Carrefour) in 50 minutes, or you can drive easily on paved roads.

1. Ancient Tlos (One of the 6 Principal Cities of the Lycian League)

Rising on a dramatic sheer limestone crag overlooking the Xanthos Valley just 12 kilometres before Saklıkent, Tlos was inhabited continuously from the Hittite Bronze Age (when it was known as Dalawa, making it the oldest settlement in Lycia) right through the Roman, Byzantine and 19th-century Ottoman periods (when feudal lord Kanlı Ali Ağa built his stone fortress on top of the Lycian acropolis). Because tour buses often rush past, you can explore in total peace: climb through the honeycomb of Lycian house-type rock tombs carved into the east face of the cliff (including the colonnaded Tomb of Bellerophon, depicting the mythical hero riding the winged horse Pegasus to slay the fire-breathing Chimera), then walk across the road to the intact 34-row Roman Theatre, gymnasium and vaulted Roman baths overlooking the valley.

2. Walking into Saklıkent Gorge (Saklıkent Kanyonu)

Carved over millennia by the snowmelt of the Karaçay stream, Saklıkent ("Hidden City") is an 18-kilometre-long canyon whose limestone walls soar 300 metres overhead while pinching so narrow at the bottom that direct sunlight barely reaches the floor:

• Part 1 (The Dry Wooden Catwalk): anyone of any age can enter the gorge across a 200-metre wooden boardwalk bolted directly into the vertical canyon wall above the turquoise rushing water, leading to a dramatic underground karst spring where ice-cold 6°C water explodes out of the rock face with tremendous force.
• Part 2 (Wading Into the Slot Canyon, May to October): if you want to walk deeper into the narrow slot canyon behind the spring, you must wade for 5 minutes across the waist-deep, fast-flowing cold stream (holding a fixed guide rope) onto the dry pebble floor inside the canyon walls. Essential rules: wear strapped rubber water shoes (or rent plastic canyon shoes for a few lira at the entrance; never wear flip-flops, which the current rips off in seconds), put your phone in a waterproof pouch, and enjoy freshly grilled trout afterwards on the wooden river platforms of Yakapark or outside the gorge gate.