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. |