Olympos, Turkey

Ancient Lycian ruins, an isolated Mediterranean beach, accommodation in treehouses and flames that mysteriously burn from the side of a mountain are some of the attractions of Olympos (Olimpos) in Turkey's south.

The modern "village" is named after the Lycian/Roman city that now lies in ruins on the beach, which in turn is named after nearby Mt. Tahtalı, the highest mountain of the vicinity and, along with some other 20-odd noticably high mountains in northeastern Mediterranean basin, known as Olympos in antiquity.

A hippie haven until recently, the completion of a surfaced road from the main highway in summer 2009 means that there are many more people (including families with fussy children, and rowdy and drunk teenagers) heading there compared with only a few years past. In summer weekends when hordes of day- (and night-)trippers pour in, Olympos is sadly not much different from any ordinary resort town now. However, former habitués report that autumns when everyone else quits the scene, Olympos is just as beautiful as it used to be.

Getting to Olympos

Olympos is about 50-60 km south of Antalya. Nearest major towns are Kumluca to the south and Kemer to the north of Olympos. There are minibuses from Antalya's otogar (main station for intercity buses) as well as buses from Antalya to Kaş (and all those others on the way west like Kumluca), which stop at the junction on upland section of the main coastal highway of the region, which is about 10 km away from Olympos. There is a station at the junction with an open air cafe, which also offers some snacks. From there a dolmuş, which depart fairly frequent nowadays, can be caught.

Olympos Sights

The "town" area is a collection of backpacker guesthouses and hostels, particularly popular are the treehouse style bungalows. Follow the dusty road down past the end of the guesthouses and it leads to an ancient winding path, past the remains of ancient Greek ruins and down to the sparkling water. It's a pebble beach with absolutely no shade, so it's blisteringly hot to sit on and not very comfortable without thick padding, but the scenery is spectacular.

The ruins themselves are quite impressive, not as much so as Ephesus but still worth seeing. The relative lack of tourist traffic compared to Ephesus means the site is largely overgrown, which gives the place a "mystical" feel, so you have to do some hiking to get to some of the remains. I was there in late May and it was already brutally hot, so be prepared with lots of sunscreen and water.

Entering the ruins cost 3 TL/person, and going to the beach requires entering the ruins and the staff at the gate make no distinction between someone visiting the ruins and a beachgoer, so you'll have to pay this fee each time you're going to beach, except, of course, late at night and very early in the morning, when the office is unmanned. There is also the option of buying a weekly pass which costs 10 TL and gives unlimited access to the ruins, and thus the beach.

Olympos Activities

Bayrams has a lively social scene, with several resident Aussies tending bar. When it's fully dark you can take a bus up to Mount Olympos, with a 45 minute hike up to the Eternal Flames of the Chimera. These flames issue from natural gas jets in the side of the hill, which will self ignite if put out. These are the flames that inspired the Greek myth of Bellarophon and the Chimera. Ranging in size from small flickers to decent size campfires, they're quite interesting when you consider they've been burning for thousands of years.

Gulets cruising down the coast from Antalya stop at the beach to allow their passengers to wade ashore and visit the ruins or eat at one of the many beachside restaurants.

Olympos Money and Shopping

Since the area is under protection, no permanent construction is allowed (save for treehouses) and as such there is no formal bank in Olympos. However, a mobile satellite-connected cash dispenser run by the Turkish bank of Yapı Kredi is available in a central location between guesthouses, at least in summer.

Nearby Destinations to Olympos

Minibuses leave to the station on the main road every couple of hours. From there, dolmuşes go towards Antalya and Kaş (15 TL) every 30 minutes. It may be worth asking about buses direct to Fethiye if that is your destination.

There are also gulets that leave from Olympos going to Fethiye generally taking 4 days to get there.

• Adrasan about 4 km away, having been spared (at least for now) from development since the surfaced road does not yet reach there, is the destination of choice for the former frequenters of Olympos who flee the crowds newly arriving to Olympos.