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Sightseeing Near Kas
Sightsee
© Life in Kas, Turkey www.lifeinkas.com
Saklikent Gorge
Saklikent (Hidden City) Gorge is the second-largest (20 km-long) gorge in Europe, the longest and deepest gorge in Turkey, about an hour's drive from Kas. It is a spectacular place, with sculpted walls soaring high above. Four km. of the gorge is walkable after April when most of the snow from the Taurus Mountains has melted and passed through the gorge on its way to the Xanthos River. Summer is the best time to visit as the canyon is deliciously cool and shady with cold water. Tour operators in Kas offer tours to Saklikent Gorge, often in conjunction with a visit to other places.
The entrance to the gorge is under the bridge over the large stream. A narrow walkway suspended from the rock wall will take you into the gorge. Once inside, you reach the Ulupinar springs where water bubbles up under great force from the base of the cliffs and you wade across the stream into the gorge proper to begin your walk.
Outside the gorge locals have set up small restaurants with seating areas on wooden platforms suspended just above the rushing waters. These are a great place to kick back upon Turkish rugs and cushions with a beer under shady trees. Among other things on the menu, they offer delicious fresh trout. Outside of the gorge you will also find tree-house accommodation, small relaxed bars and river tubing. River tubing rides last from 45 minutes to about two hours, depending on which ride you join.
The entrance to the gorge is under the bridge over the large stream. A narrow walkway suspended from the rock wall will take you into the gorge. Once inside, you reach the Ulupinar springs where water bubbles up under great force from the base of the cliffs and you wade across the stream into the gorge proper to begin your walk.
Outside the gorge locals have set up small restaurants with seating areas on wooden platforms suspended just above the rushing waters. These are a great place to kick back upon Turkish rugs and cushions with a beer under shady trees. Among other things on the menu, they offer delicious fresh trout. Outside of the gorge you will also find tree-house accommodation, small relaxed bars and river tubing. River tubing rides last from 45 minutes to about two hours, depending on which ride you join.
Visitors' Experiences
Turkish Day Spa (Saklikent)
“Our 3rd day on the road before 8am got us to Saklikent before even the Turks and touts were awake. We were immediately enamoured by the idea of the river tube rafting and stay in a tree hut. What the heck, we haven’t had a hot shower in 6 days now so we may as well jump right into the river. We were kitted up in wetsuits and sexy plastic shoes and in our tubes within minutes for a scenic, topsy turvey white water experience down the valley. “Lady, bum up” was the call from our guide as we drifted over rocks, but the cold water soon enough numbed our feet and bums so we couldn’t feel the rocks anyway. The mud bath at the end would have cost thousands of pounds in any London beauty shop. We bathed and wallowed like a couple of hippos (sleek and fit hippos!).
Lunch was taken over the water and we enjoyed the peace of our tree hut until the limited bar music downstairs drove us out for a run. A beautiful Forest Gump setting, but the slight uphill all the way home made for a tough hour at fast pace. The pool provided the cool off we needed and Neil provided rescue for 3 frogs. Since we were the only guests around, we finally made our request clear that the bar music just had to go after the 4th round of Shaggy at full volume and the nail holding up the stairs to our tree hut managed to last out our stay, so good result. We had planned to skip the barrier and enter the gorge early morning, but it was far too freezing to wade through the water until the sun was high enough to shed some warmth so we paid the 4 lira each and went where no man had been so far (that morning anyway). We even managed to swindle in a fourth hot shower before departing.”
Lunch was taken over the water and we enjoyed the peace of our tree hut until the limited bar music downstairs drove us out for a run. A beautiful Forest Gump setting, but the slight uphill all the way home made for a tough hour at fast pace. The pool provided the cool off we needed and Neil provided rescue for 3 frogs. Since we were the only guests around, we finally made our request clear that the bar music just had to go after the 4th round of Shaggy at full volume and the nail holding up the stairs to our tree hut managed to last out our stay, so good result. We had planned to skip the barrier and enter the gorge early morning, but it was far too freezing to wade through the water until the sun was high enough to shed some warmth so we paid the 4 lira each and went where no man had been so far (that morning anyway). We even managed to swindle in a fourth hot shower before departing.”
Neil and Kerry (Blog)
“On today's drive from Koycegiz to Fethiye we stopped at a spot of amazing natural beauty virtually free of tourist buses. Saklikent Gorge is the second-longest(20 km-long) gorge in Europe (we'll do the longest while on Crete!) and the longest and deepest gorge in Turkey. It is a spectacular place, with sculpted walls soaring high above. Four km. of the gorge is walkable after April when most of the snow from the Taurus Mountains has melted and passed through the gorge on its way to the Xanthos River.
Roman, Bianca and I were blown away by the magnificent scenery. We had lunch in a nice cabana by the side of
Roman, Bianca and I were blown away by the magnificent scenery. We had lunch in a nice cabana by the side of
R N Riggings (Blog)
Example Tour
Our day begins with a drive along the Lycian Coast to to Xanthos, the capital of Lycia. After a visit to this beautifully located city and its World famous monuments, we head on to Saklikent.
An al fresco lunch is served at a local restaurant before we walk into the spectacular Saklikent Gorge, the longest and deepest in Turkey.
The stunning scenery is straight out of an Indiana Jones film.
10:00: Leave Kas for Xanthos.
10:45: Arrive at Xanthos and visit.
11:45: Leave Xanthos for Saklikent.
12:15: Arrive at Saklikent. Lunch, and then hike up the canyon.
15:30: Start back for Kas, stopping en route at Kaputas Beach for a swim.
An al fresco lunch is served at a local restaurant before we walk into the spectacular Saklikent Gorge, the longest and deepest in Turkey.
The stunning scenery is straight out of an Indiana Jones film.
10:00: Leave Kas for Xanthos.
10:45: Arrive at Xanthos and visit.
11:45: Leave Xanthos for Saklikent.
12:15: Arrive at Saklikent. Lunch, and then hike up the canyon.
15:30: Start back for Kas, stopping en route at Kaputas Beach for a swim.
Getting There
Getting to Saklikent via public transport is almost impossible from Kas. To get there independently you need a car. There are a number of different excursion options with tour operators in Kas.
the river while watching tubers squeal as their backsides landed in the cold water. We decided we would hike and get hot and sweaty, then try tubing. It turns out we stayed so long in the gorge that we didn't have time for tubing which was too bad.
It was hard to capture the hike adequately in photos since the depth of the gorge and enjoyment of the adventure didn't translate well. You'll see that the hike starts out easily enough on a wooden walkway above the "river" (more like a stream) leading to some lounging and eating decks built on top of the water. From here you begin the actual hike by donning water shoes and having local boys assist you across the stream for a small tip. It's funny because people are trying not to get too wet but if they hike much further they are definitely going to get wet. I was just trying to keep my backpack and camera from getting wet.
It was hard to capture the hike adequately in photos since the depth of the gorge and enjoyment of the adventure didn't translate well. You'll see that the hike starts out easily enough on a wooden walkway above the "river" (more like a stream) leading to some lounging and eating decks built on top of the water. From here you begin the actual hike by donning water shoes and having local boys assist you across the stream for a small tip. It's funny because people are trying not to get too wet but if they hike much further they are definitely going to get wet. I was just trying to keep my backpack and camera from getting wet.
Over the next couple of hours we hiked up the gorge crossing the stream often but trying to stay on the pebbled sides of the stream. The gorge is so narrow in points that you can touch both sides of the walls which rise hundreds of meters above. We had to climb over rocks, scale the short waterfalls and avoid the deeper pools along the way. The rocks had been worn smooth by the rushing water over the years making it more of a challenge.
The stream was usually just a foot or two deep so you just needed to avoid stepping in a hole or stepping on a loose rock. My water shoes were essential. After we had hiked awhile the route got steeper and more challenging. I had already had a few wobbles were the bottom of my backpack got wet (some money there wouldn't be dry a week later). My camera had gotten splashed too and acted up for most of the hike but seems fine now.
Roman often helped Bianca but she did great on her own. We each kept our eyes out for the others. My biggest issue was when we were climbing up a small waterfall and my right foot got stuck between rocks underwater. I couldn't see how it was stuck and the rushing water threatened to push me backwards while my foot was still stuck. I tried moving my leg every direction and tugging but no luck. I finally resorted to holding on with just one hand while the other explored underwater to see what was keeping my leg stuck. That did the trick as I finally freed my leg but my water shoe wasn't with it. One of the gorge guides went racing after my shoe that was floating downstream and was able to catch up with it and save the day.
We kept going upstream hoping to find the source of the water and went well beyond where everyone else turned around. It was pretty cool with just the three of us exploring the gorge. We eventually reached a point where we couldn't go any further though and turned around. The trip downstream was a lot quicker as we knew better which route to take. I really had a blast with this adventure since it is not your typical tourist excursion. I wish some of my friends had been along since I know they would have enjoyed it too!”
The stream was usually just a foot or two deep so you just needed to avoid stepping in a hole or stepping on a loose rock. My water shoes were essential. After we had hiked awhile the route got steeper and more challenging. I had already had a few wobbles were the bottom of my backpack got wet (some money there wouldn't be dry a week later). My camera had gotten splashed too and acted up for most of the hike but seems fine now.
Roman often helped Bianca but she did great on her own. We each kept our eyes out for the others. My biggest issue was when we were climbing up a small waterfall and my right foot got stuck between rocks underwater. I couldn't see how it was stuck and the rushing water threatened to push me backwards while my foot was still stuck. I tried moving my leg every direction and tugging but no luck. I finally resorted to holding on with just one hand while the other explored underwater to see what was keeping my leg stuck. That did the trick as I finally freed my leg but my water shoe wasn't with it. One of the gorge guides went racing after my shoe that was floating downstream and was able to catch up with it and save the day.
We kept going upstream hoping to find the source of the water and went well beyond where everyone else turned around. It was pretty cool with just the three of us exploring the gorge. We eventually reached a point where we couldn't go any further though and turned around. The trip downstream was a lot quicker as we knew better which route to take. I really had a blast with this adventure since it is not your typical tourist excursion. I wish some of my friends had been along since I know they would have enjoyed it too!”