Through the river to the canyon

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.

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT TURKEY?

To help you plan your trip to Turkey:

• What you need to know about the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia
• Visiting the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul
• Why this is an important part of Istanbul’s World Heritage Site
• The beautiful travertines that are worth the visit
• The City of Love: Is this Turkey’s best ruins site?
• The museum at Bodrum that takes you under the water
• Why the Lycians were such an important part of Turkey’s history
• See the Lycian tombs from the centre of Fethiye
• Saklikent Gorge offers the perfect natural adventure
• How to make (and eat) Turkish Gozleme

Let someone else do the work for you:

You may also want to consider taking a tour of Turkey, rather than organising everything on your own. It’s also a nice way to have company if you are travelling solo.

I am a ‘Wanderer’ with G Adventures and they have great tours of Turkey.

You could consider:

• The best of Turkey (8 days)
• Turkey Multisport (10 days)
• Absolute Turkey (15 days)

When I travel internationally, I always get insurance. It’s not worth the risk, in case there’s a medical emergency or another serious incident. I recommend you should use World Nomads for your trip.