[//]:# (!pinmapple 36.568427 lat 29.137989 long Lycian Way // 3 Reasons Why You Should Hike! d3scr)

Hello everyone! Today i’m going to walk you through (no pun intended) the hiking i did with two friends of mine, called “Lycian way”.

![IMG-8160.JPG](https://images.hive.blog/DQmXnJDNJs6mvVK9J6LWQuHxpGHg3oBKXX4itYcw4Y4u6tp/IMG-8160.JPG)


![IMG_20200911_220047.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmV1W8WovPhjFXyJE5ySZoNmVfHiQkoqHvfQVk9ERE3NzV/IMG_20200911_220047.jpg)


The Lycian Way is one of the worlds greatest long distance hiking trails. Regularly featuring in top hiking trails lists for its unique combination of Mediterranean sea,  glamorous beaches, mountainous views,  Turkish culture and ancient cities&ruins. Most of the trail is on the boundaries of ancient kingdom Lycia and the total length is 540 km. It’s Turkey’s first long-distance walking route and it takes 25-30 days to finish the whole route. The route was researched, designed and marked by Kate Clow, a British/Turkish amateur historian, back in 1999.


![IMG_20200912_105216.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmeECgsNfUA2bGrgtrZYEbabn5RyjUTDwMmBpcZi1MZ4vC/IMG_20200912_105216.jpg)
*Butterfly valley,  Fethiye.*


![IMG_20200915_083323.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmb7HhGsQ65aNwuaf8aVs8jBLJzwuX5kgWAFFg9VUc9wka/IMG_20200915_083323.jpg)
*Xantos, the ancient city.*

I have dreamed to hike the route for a many years, but never got the chance to do so until this September. Although i had only one hiking exprience before, which was in Iceland back in 2016, (The Landmannalaugar Trail), i was very confident about the mental and physical challanges i’ll confront on the Lycian way (which later i understood that confidence was coming from a total ignorance :) We planned to walk the first 195 km, from Ovacık to Kaş, which took 6 and a half days. And it was way more intense and challenging than i imagined.I guess i can say that i’m an athletic person, who trains 3/4 days in a week and most of the time, and i was just surprised by how hard some parts was, considering how many people walking on the route per year (pre-covid), which is 30.00! There are some serious climbs and downhills you have to overcome, with added 12-13 kg backpack... Heat was  another factor. South Turkey is notorious with it’s overwhelming heat and  even though it was mid September, there were days when it was +30 degrees hot in the noon.


![WhatsApp Image 2020-09-18 at 22.46.23.jpeg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmQExb8r1oNUxACji9x2Q8vHfXjkRnBRuEgjhSGFrcMdhU/WhatsApp%20Image%202020-09-18%20at%2022.46.23.jpeg)
*Numbers could be deceptive; just like these numbers which doesn’t show the suffer and satisfaction :)*


![IMG-8178.JPG](https://images.hive.blog/DQmTuYXnJ7xvwvXQRwHHmttv5nB2fNYAFsg2h4g6AqcSKrT/IMG-8178.JPG)
*Patara Beach, which is 12 km long!*



**The Road**

The route is well marked (most of the time) and mostly on the countryside;you’ll be walking on stone road, mule paths, and footpaths, going through some villages and small towns; there are only few big towns you can stop by so no fancy coffees or dinners. We were camping, so food was a concern. We stoked some easy to cook stuff and get the rest of our food from the small shops in the villages, where you can actually find organic and authentic stuff. Water is an another issue on the route. Usually there are some fountains on the route but on some parts, there are absolutely no water! So you have to stock a lot of them as well (which is heaivier than expected!), and drink them wisely.... So a good research is a must!


![IMG-20200918-WA0123.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmPuhZFyuaFHSYtjbcUpNE3cbC62j9nJTjtZ4RCkhn5bWX/IMG-20200918-WA0123.jpg)
*Delikkemer, Patara.*


![IMG_20200912_083310.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmYrkyU97Gxj3W1ML7CL6ac2dxdvGHCyusduTUSPfcXNNL/IMG_20200912_083310.jpg)

*Some of the goats you have to share your water with :)*

**The Team**

The team you have is pretty much defines what the road is going to be like. We were 3 people, me, my girlfriend and a friend of ours, who is walked this route for 8-10 times before and was pretty  much like a guide. It’s always good to have someone more exprienced than you, if you don’t have much in these type of activities; and it’s always good to have someone to be a barrier between you and your significant other for all the potential couple fights :). Joking aside, when you’re tired, sweaty, hungry, sleepless, it’s really easy to get in an argument that you wouldn’t get in on the regular conditions. So the people you’re with is becoming much more important than you’d think. I’d say the team is even more important than the activity itself! 


![IMG_20200916_105301.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmdXsAFXVcsTM5UwdSyMam9rUj1d86vAicwLda6bDGzDij/IMG_20200916_105301.jpg)


**Why you should hike?**

Overall, it was definately one of the trips that taught&amuse me the most. Just to be in the nature for a week is awesome itself, but being in the nature for a week with a driven-purpose is even more awesome. With each challange you overcome, you’ll feel more and more independent, maybe  stronger. I’d lie if i say you’re not  going to be tired, hungry, sleepless, or something you shouldn’t have planned; but you’ll be surprised to see how it was worth it.

If you can, i’d strongly recommend you to exprience this great hike, or hiking itself, 

**because¹** you’ll build up some great memories&relations. I’ve hiked alone and with friends.  Alone; you’ll feel almost invincible, you’ll have a funny observation&story with someone you’ll never see again, you’ll wander in your thoughts on somewhere you’ll probably never walk again. Which is surpsingly fun. With friends; you’ll feel that you get to know a person without all the shields, you’ll have to make decision on something and somehow you’ll be mutual, you’ll get to laugh on your friends fall :)

**Because²** it’s a meditation. It could be the world’s less known meditation type. And might be the world’s most effective one in my opinion. Unlike the regular types of meditation which stars with acknowledging, this one starts with challenging yourself,  not just mentally, but physically! It could be the third day of your hike, it could be the first day or it could be the last day, but there is/will be a moment, where all your thoughts are lost, a complete silence in your brain,and at that moment, your one and only focus is on your next step! You’re not thinking, you’re not feeling,  you’re not hungry or tired, you’re not good or bad or happy or sad, because you are in the moment! You’re weightless, you float like a feather in a beatiful world. Imagine people putting all the effort and money, going through lessons, lectures to just to be in the moment. Did you know that you can do that just by walking?

And **because³** you should start challange yourself no matter what you do. It is very easy to take whats left for you and follow the path you’re supposed to follow in daily life routine. The only way to progress as a human being is starts with challenging yourself. And this is not a one-way street. It’s not like “i’m going to challange myself at the work/school and then lay aside on my free time”. It needs a constant reminder. Think about all the successul people you look up for, or those who inspire you; what do they have in common? They pushed themself into something bigger/greater. Which is immensely hard, and hiking is a great way to like it, to have a peace with it.