DAY 4 - (Ulupinar - Chimaera - Cirali - Olympos - Mt.Musa)

PATH DETAILS:

Start: 10:15

Finish: 17:15 (all rests and stops are included)

Total Distance: 19 km. (In details; begining from the restaurants in Ulupinar to Chimaera (Yanartas) 5 km. – From Chimaera to Cirali 4 km. - From Cirali to Olympos 2 km. - From Olympos to Mt. Musa (shepherd’s hut, peak point at where you start descending to Adrasan) 8 km.)

Water: As you an fill up your water from the restaurants or refresh it while you pass Uludere stream. (do not forget to take your shoes off...). Take enough amount of water with you cause there is no water supply while ascending to Chimaera. You’ll definetely need it while ascending, so keep your bottles filled. Descending from Chimaera to Cirali, there’s no water supply as well, however, there’s cafe and fountain at the entrance of the Chimaera where you are able to supply water, beverages and food. Even if the cafe is closed, it’s a short and smooth to Cirali along the settlements, so it’s not a problem to supply water. After you leave Chimaera, Cirali is not far away. No groceries or cafe on your way to Cirali (asphalt road), but you may definitely ask for water or food from one of the houses that you pass by if there is an urgency. Briefly, you don’t have major water problem between Chimaera to Cirali/Olympos. But you need to fill up your water while leaving Olympos during your climb to Mt.Musa. It’s a 8 km. ascent to top and you’ll definetely need water with you. There is a spring around the shepherd’s hut on top of the hill where you may have a camp over there. To see where it is located at you may refer to our Turkish site. It’s not a high flowing spring (generally dripping), but it will fulfill your purpose. That’s the only chance to find drinking water around Mt.Musa. Consequently, if you fill your water bottles while leaving Ulupınar and Olympos, you would feel more comfortable and if you are not able to find the spring at Mt.Musa do not panic cause your descent to Adrasan will take not more than 2 hours and you’ll be passing by a stream in 1-1.5 hours time after you leave shepherd’s hut.

Food: There’s no food problem in Cirali or Olympos. If you have your breakfast around Ulupinar, this willl be enough for your walk till Cirali. However, we advise all hikers to carry at least a handful of nuts, dried fruits or few slices of bread with them on their way just in case. You may stop to have your meal in Chimaera as well. If you propose to stay on the top of Mt.Musa, you may have a meal in Cirali or Olympos before ascending to Mt.Musa and carry your meal with you. Keep in mind that Mt.Musa pass (from Olympos to Adrasan) is a half day walk approx.

Accomodation: If you have a tent with you camping will not be a problem on Lycian Way. However there’s no comfortable place to camp between Ulupinar and Chimaera. No need to say anything about accomodation opportunities in Cirali or Olympos. Depending on your budget there are many places to stay. Camping or pension. Depends on your choice. If you have enough time, you have to spend at least one day in Olympos and enjoy history, beach and nature together. If you consider to camp on top of Mt.Musa meadows around shepherd’s hut is the best place. From Olympos to Mt.Musa, there’s no convenient camping site along the way. There are even signs of forest fire. After leaving Olympos, you have to climb around 8 km. to put your tent on. As we said before, make your plan to stay in Olympos by the sea or camp in the silence on the top (Mt.Musa) and watch the lights of Adrasan and Cavuskoy above. It’s up to you.
Economical and low-priced accomodation options available in Olympos, ran by local people. Most known and the oldest one is the Kadir's Tree Houses (web link - +90-533-354 99 41). In Cirali there are many alternatives as well but higher in price compared with Olympos. As a low-priced advice Friends Pension (+90-535-208 54 44) can be a valuable preference which is ran by a retired teacher. Friends Pension is very close to Chimaera and one street behind the main coastal road that lead you to Cirali town centre. You are able to see the signpost of the pension when you come across the Tekirova-Cirali Lycian Way signpost.

Difficulty: Comparing with Antalya sections (e.g. Mt.Tahtali), this trail is not difficult. However, you’ll be relatively ascending a lot both to Chimaera and Mt.Musa. You’ll probably need to stop and relax many times while ascending to Mt.Musa if it’s noon time under the sun. From the top of Chimaera to the place where the historical steps by the temple begin, you start far a long descent. You have to be patient. To go into the Mt. Musa route from Olympos, you have to pass the river along the ancient ruins and find the path among the bush. Although there are signpost available in Olympos people may spend sometime to find the waymarks even they pass the river (Akcay or Olympos River). Do not hesitate to ask for help from local people. At this section you need some attention while trying to find the marks. This is because waymarking is prohobited in ruins and ancient cities. To summarise, it may be a problem to find the enterance of the route inside the bushes during your leave from Olympos. You may refer to our main Turkish site for visual explanations. Briefly, the most challenging parts of that route is the ascent to Chimaera and Mt.Musa. A last word and kind reminder, from Chimaera to Cirali the route goes by the asphalt driveway (4 km.), which is no good under the sun.

Path Elevation Graphs and Photos: Please refer to our sister site www.likyayolu.org.

For this path, you can find some detailed information on this LINK. Although site is in Turkish, photos will give you a direction how the paths look like.

Please do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions. We'll be happy to help.