Fragment of photo taken at Xanthos in Lycia, Turkey.

Trails ~ Turkey

The Lycian Way and St-Paul Trail

Every year, more walkers are discovering the walking trails of Turkey. Although the routes themselves evolved far back in history, only in the last decade or so, have they been organized and waymarked for modern day long-distance hikers. There are two principal routes. The first is the Lycian Way, a 509km route from Ovacık to Antalya veering in and out (and up and down) along the Mediterranean Coast. The Lycian Way celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2009.

The St Paul Trail is even younger, having opened in 2004. Both trails are the brainchild of British expatriate Kate Clow, who moved to Istanbul in 1989. After several years of rambling through the countryside, she managed to organize funding to complete formal demarcation of the first route in 1999.

Kate is the author of two guidebooks describing the The Lycian Way, and the St Paul Trail. Both are available from Amazon. They can be hard to come by in the US. Another good source is Amazon.UK.

Additional information about the Lycian Way is here.

Other books about long-distance walking in Turkey are available here.