Carian trail - Datcha peninsula

Встреча группы в гостинице в курортном городке Мармарис. Время прибытия значения не имеет - прилетайте хоть утром, хоть поздно вечером. Ближайший аэропорт - Даламан (полтора часа на автобусе Havas, около 30 лир), кроме того можно лететь через Бодрум (2,5 часа на автобусе) или Измир (4 часа на автобусе).

Гостиницу в Мамарисе мы будем бронировать централизовано. Вне курортного сезона стоимость двухместного номера примерно $13. От автовокзала до гостиницы 10 минут на маршрутке ($0,5) или 40 минут пешком. Вечером будет знакомство группы, первичный инструктаж и распределение продуктов. Кстати, на время похода по Карийской тропе в отеле можно оставить лишние вещи - например чистую одежду для обратной дороги.

Early rise and breakfast. A chartered minibus will take us to the Datca Peninsula. It is about 70 kilometers from Marmaris, an hour and a half on the road. There, near the village of Khyzyrshakh, our hike along the Carian Trail begins. More precisely, at first it will not even be a path, but an ordinary dirt road among almond orchards. Although after a kilometer, we will hide our backpacks in the bushes and climb a short radial to a huge grotto at the foot of Mount CatalDag. Climbers often train on the steep walls and ceiling of this grotto, but we’ll just admire the views and return to our backpacks. The simple road winds through not too memorable hills and pine forests until it leads to a viewpoint over the sea. And then you will finally understand what the point of this route is. A quaint coastline, Greek islands on the horizon, the incredible color of the sea... We have lunch and contemplate.

We walk along the southern coast of the Datca Peninsula, periodically crossing small toes and discovering new wild beaches. During the day we will visit at least a dozen pretty bays and swim several times. After lunch in Poseidon Bay (its stern stone face adorns the neighboring cape), we will climb to a pass about 200 meters high.

We descend to the tiny resort village of Hayit buku. There is a shop, restaurant and hotel and you can pamper yourself a little if you wish. A long break on the beach :) You can take your time and sunbathe and swim to your heart's content, because... We will get from Hayit buku to our overnight stay by car (17 km, 15 minutes). We set up camp on the outskirts of the village of Belen.

A short trek to the pass and after a miraculous tunnel and an observation deck with a view of another rock-sail, we again descend to the shore of the Aegean Sea at Cape Ortajaburun. Fishing hut in a secluded valley.

We come out to a very rugged seashore. The next section of the trail (about an hour and a half) will be slightly extreme and very interesting - the route is laid along chaotically scattered boulders along the very surf line. We are no longer just walking, but climbing a little. In one place you will even need to take off your backpack to get down from the high stone steps. Finally we go out to a normal beach, rest and begin to climb the dirt road traversing the northern slopes of Cape Arslanji. We go down to another bay, this time with a sandy beach, and have lunch.

On the trail you begin to encounter the ruins of the ancient city of Knidos, famous for its cult of Aphrodite and the Doric Games (similar to the Olympic Games). Fortress walls and amphitheaters, estates and agricultural terraces. At the very edge of the Datca peninsula, in the center of the former Knidos, a museum has been organized under the open city. We buy tickets (10 liras), leave our backpacks at the guard and go to explore the ruins. After this we go to the picturesque lighthouse at Cape Krio (Deveboynu). Having finished with the antiquities, we stock up on drinking water and make the final push to our accommodation for the night. We say goodbye to the Greek island of Rhodes, which has graced our horizon for the last 3 days, cross the base of Cape Iskandil and camp in a vast clearing with an ancient domed water tank. Unfortunately, this water cannot be drunk, so we brought a supply with us.

We descend to Degirmenbyukyu Bay and through the Keriz tract (the first strawberry jungle on the route) we find ourselves in a valley of gardens and vineyards, along which we gradually climb to the pass (219 m) on Mount Görmen. On the descent we will be surrounded by unusual thickets of strawberry trees (Shameless). We have lunch on the beach in Murdala Bay.

By the way, Rhodes (which disappeared behind the main ridge of the Datca Peninsula) is now replaced by the Greek island of Kos as a landscape decoration. After swimming in the sea and a fresh shower in Murdala, we make a heroic effort and take another pass (212 m) overgrown with strawberry jungle. We descend into the Mercincik valley. It’s a long walk to the beach, but there is a powerful source of fresh water and a vast orange garden. We camp for the night in a pine forest.

Today there will be no high passes, but we will more than exceed our jungle plan. At first glance, this is an ordinary pine forest, but it is so densely and so generously intertwined with thorny vines that we could wallow in them for weeks and not move further than a hundred meters deep.

However, thanks to the care of local authorities, a good, wide path was laid through this thorny jungle. And now we have every reason to believe that by evening we will reach our intended goal - a slightly salty spring at the other end of the forest. And along the way there will be cozy coves, a yacht broken on the rocks, nerve-tickling stairs and dangerous paths over cliffs. Once, in a bay on this section of the Carian Trail, we met the rarest Mediterranean monk seal. And another time, a real submarine emerged from the sea. A mysterious and deserted route...

In addition to the eye-watering azure coves, our day will be decorated with small but very pretty canyons with rocky overhangs and grottoes. In combination with the impassable tangles of vines and the divine colors of the sea, all this looks like the scenery for the next “Pirates”. And so that we don’t completely lose touch with reality, the water during the night will be noticeably tasteless :)

From the place of overnight stay it is only three hours to civilization - the village of Karakoy. We walk along a comfortable dirt road with excellent views of the sea and islands. The hike along the Carian Trail is coming to an end. We go down to Karakoy, where a chartered minibus picks us up and by 15:00 we will be at our hotel in Marmaris. A hot shower and then a celebratory dinner to celebrate the end of the hike. Although, if you are in a hurry, you can fly home this evening (not earlier than 19:00). The main part of the group spends the night in Marmaris and flies out the next day.