HIKING IN TURKEY & BABADAG ROUTE

Outdoor sports like hiking, trekking or mountain walking has not been really popular in Turkey except for the recent years. Amongst Turkey's high and favourite mountains as Ararat(5137m), followed by Cilo, Suphan, Kackar, Erciyes, with Taurus Aladag and Bolkar ranges, all above 3500 meters and most having glaciers, or other popular mid-range mountains like Hasandag, Akdag, Kizlarsivrisi, Tahtali, Dipoyraz, Uludag, Koroglu, Ilgaz, Bozdag, Palandöken, Nemrut mountains, as examples between 2000 to 3500 meters, some hosting ski resorts on their slopes and being preferred for hiking purposes, Babadag has a special importance with its sudden height gain from the coast, though it could be considered not so high in absolute figures.

When hiking in Turkey, one can discover the beauties of unspoilt nature and the local culture that have been in peace and balance for centuries. Though Babadag is located near the touristic seaside town of Oludeniz, this will be left behind after a few paces stepping on the slopes of the mountain into the real nature.

The Babadag path was marked in '99, reaching the summit of 1969 meters, inspired by the previously marked path of Tahtali mountain starting near Beycik village of Kemer/Antalya. Completion of the great project, the Lycian way, followed these pioneering paths. It would be unfair to compare Babadag hiking route with the latter, since their purposes are different. One is a short hike from the coast to the summit, but the other is a 500 km long route starting near Fethiye to near Antalya, or the other way round, following the roads used at ancient times.

It's uncommon to find a sudden height difference of almost 2000 meters from the sea level, that allows hiking in one day. Because of this property and its location with favourable climate conditions, Babadag has become a worldwide popular place for paragliding sport.

This route offers a scenic hike at a very beautiful place of Turkey. Because of its ease of access and accommodation at the foothills, it can be advised for hikers to try this route as a start for hiking in Turkey, before continuing with the other places. One shouldn't miss this chance, especially if traveling near the region of Fethiye.

  
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