Olympos Ancient City & Beach

Olympos, located in the Kemer District of Antalya province along the Lycian Way coast, is a Lycian city whose ruins are buried within a densely vegetated river valley that opens directly onto one of the finest undeveloped beaches in southern Turkey. The city was founded no later than the 4th century BC and was an important member of the Lycian Federation. Visitors enter the site through the ticket gate at the valley mouth and follow a path along the Olympos stream through the ruins, which include a Byzantine basilica, Roman baths, a temple, a theatre, and numerous sarcophagi scattered among the undergrowth. The jungle-like atmosphere created by the dense vegetation growing over and through the ruins gives Olympos a distinctly different character from the manicured archaeological parks of Aspendos or Perge. After exploring the ruins, the path emerges onto the beach, a long crescent of grey sand and pebble backed by dramatic forested hillsides, with no development visible from the beach itself. The treehouse camps above the valley have long been a fixture of the backpacker circuit in Turkey, offering basic accommodation with direct site access. The nearby Chimaera flames, a natural gas seep on the hillside at Çıralı, burn continuously and are best visited after dark when the blue and orange flames are most dramatic. A single ticket covers both the ruins and beach access. Olympos is within the Olympos-Beydağları Coastal National Park, ensuring the surrounding landscape remains protected.