Saklikent Gorge, Turkey
Crashing through the water, fighting the strong current of the river, I hold on tight to my bag.
My shoes are soaking, my shorts are getting wetter by the second and the chill in my legs is creeping up to a point where it could become very uncomfortable. But this is an unavoidable discomfort.
My path is blocked by the streaming waters and the only way through is to walk – or scramble, really – over the rocks through the river.
I’m at Saklikent Gorge, a natural beauty about 50 kilometres from the Turkish city of Fethiye.
I had jumped on one of the minibuses that serve as public transportation in the area and an hour later arrived at what turned out to be a very popular spot for families on a hot summer Saturday afternoon.
After paying the entrance fee, I had walked along a narrow pathway along the side of the canyon to a beach area. This is where the hard decision had to be made.
Do you stop here and enjoy what is visible… or do you push through the freezing waters?
I had contemplated just stopping, to be honest. More out of laziness than anything else.
I didn’t realise what was beyond, I thought I could see it all from here, that the effort and discomfort of ending up with wet clothes would not be worth the return.
I turned out to be wrong. Oh, so wrong.
Saklikent Gorge is about 300 metres deep and stretches out for 18 kilometres. While you can’t walk the whole way along it, the path after the water trap has some of the best examples of what is on offer.
The water is shallow and slow-moving in these parts. At times the path is wide, sometimes it narrows to a point where you have to climb over boulders to pass.
There’s a slight chill on the ground with the sun unable to break through to the bottom – but the rays of light which do shine through a crack bring a splash of colour to the red walls.
Some of the Turkish families seem to have been here before. They cover themselves in the mud from the ground and let it dry on their bodies.
On some of the walls, names and messages have been written in the dried mud.
Every turn of the path seems to reveal a slightly altered aspect of the canyon. The rocks change colour, the water interacts differently with the ground, the light shines through from another angle.
To walk through the gorge is such a pleasure.
How could I ever have considered staying on the other side of that gushing river? These shorts and shoes will dry eventually!
THE BEST ACCOMMODATION IN FETHIYE
You’ll find a lot of accommodation along the coast and in the blocks back towards the centre of town.
BACKPACKER
For a fun hostel that’s welcoming of all types of travellers, I would recommend Chillsteps.
BUDGET
You’ll often get great deals for the rooms at the lovely Infinity Exclusive City Hotel.
BOUTIQUE
For something a bit special, have a look at Ece Hotel Sovalye Island just off the coast of Fethiye.
LUXURY
And there are some beautiful luxury hotels but I think one of the best is Yacht Classic Hotel.
Wow, great post. I am huge fan of places like that-gores, caves, etc,etc. I hate getting wet, thoug, but in English they say-human skin is waterproof. Right?
Ha ha. Yeah, we’re all waterproof. You’re right – getting a bit wet is not a good enough excuse to avoid doing these kind of things.
It sounds, and looks, well worth the effort. Beautifully depicted.
Definitely worth the effort! As I said, I can’t believe I considered not crossing through the water!
This is a little out of my comfort zone, but I suppose it would be worth leaving the hotel pool for this…great stuff Michael:)
It’s just like a hotel pool. Just a little bit rougher, a little bit colder, and no drinks service 🙂
Wow gorgeous place, looks like you’ve had a great day, never mind the wet 😉
Oh, never mind the wet at all! Not for a beautiful place like this!
It looks a little bit like the Narrows in Zion National Park, which also take some effort to traverse but it’s definitely worth it!
I’ve never been to Zion but it sounds like I’m going to have to get myself along there now!!
Good article, Mike! My 11-year-old wants to do this now. I guess Turkey’s coming up then…
It’s a really fun place for families. The kids there seemed to be loving it! I hope you do get there soon – you’ll have such a great time.
Beautiful place! Thanks for sharing.
My pleasure. Thanks for checking it out!
Messages in dried mud! Now that is a clever idea, and one that doesn’t marr the landscape so much as the more traditional “carve your name into any handy surface so the world can see LOZ WOZ ERE”.
But how will the visitors in 2050 know Loz was there if you don’t vandalise the site during your visit? 🙂
Glad they just carve their name in mud rather than damaging the rock. This looks great fun, and it’s always good to find out about somewhere new.
That is so cool! You must be really glad you kept on going. We had a similar experience in butterfly creek which was not to far from Fethiye either. Such a beautiful area!
I’m very glad I kept going. The only reason I hesitated was because I didn’t know there was so much beyond the water. I think they should make it very clear to everyone what they could miss!
Very beautiful.
Thanks, glad you liked the photos!
My parents used to take me white water rafting as a kid in a gorge up in the mountains of North Carolina. There I learned that gorges are very pretty and as you mention the sun never seems to reach the bottom, so often very cold. I have learned that I dont like getting drenched in freezing water. I think I might be able to wade though. THat doesnt sound SO bad.
It does look pretty though. The colors on the rocks.
Wading isn’t ‘too’ bad… but it leaves you wet in a shadowy canyon where you’ve got little chance of drying. That’s the biggest problem. Other than that, it’s a small price to pay to see a really beautiful part of nature.