Splash your way up Saklikent Gorge

Saklikent

Walkway at entrance to Saklikent Gorge

Saklikent Gorge (meaning ‘Hidden City’) is a great place to beat the summer heat. It’s a narrow ravine, 18 kilometres long that, summer-long, channels ice cold snow melt from the Akdag range into the Esen River and down to the sea. As a geological feature it’s quite spectacular, with perpendicular sides hundreds of metres high whose sculpted rocks are a show piece of nature’s artistry.

It’s also great simply for splashing along. The start (after an entrance fee of 5 lira) is along a board-walk pinned to the cliff above the river. This brings you to a pleasantly leafy spot at the confluence of two streams: one, clear, cold and turbulent, gushing out from within the mountain, the other, warmer and more placid, meandering down the bed of the ravine.

For those not wanting to get their feet wet, this is as far as you’ll get. But with cushioned wooden platforms to lounge on in the dappled shade of ancient plane trees it’s a great place to relax as others venture across the stream.

Tea house inside Saklikent Canyon

There’s sometimes a rope in place to help you across the rapids that issue from the underground stream. But if that’s not in place, small boys less than half your size will offer a helping hand in the hope of a bit of baksheesh.

From then on it’s a pleasant splash, seldom more than knee high, that gets more tortuous and difficult to negotiate the further you get. It actually gets quite tricky in places, and most people turn back well before the waterfall the marks the farthest point you can reach without the aid of climbing equipment. Precisely how far this is, I’m not sure. Some say 4 kilometres. Time-wise, it takes about an hour to reach.

What to wear: There are numerous places where you can hire a pair of plastic shoes before getting your feet wet. However, if you want to scramble up the the rocks you’ll need to wear a pair of trainers. Don’t worry about your clothes: they’ll dry out in no time.

Relaxing on a kosk: After an hour or two exploring the gorge, there’s nowhere better to have lunch and relax than at one of the many waterside restaurants. These all have wooden platforms by the water’s edge, with low tables and bolsters for lounging on. The Turkish word for any shaded platform or pavilion designed for relaxation is ‘kosk.’ (As the ‘o’ has two dots over it and the ’s’ a diacritical mark below it, the word is pronounced ‘kershk’.) But whatever the word and however you say it, they are certainly a great feature of Turkish life in this part of the country.

Start wading upstream, Saklikent.

Go with the flow: Having earlier paddled upstream, you now have the option, should you so wish, to paddle downstream, though in a different fashion. For a small fee, you can equip yourself with a large inflatable rubber ring and a paddle and float downstream. You’ll find the paddle isn’t much use as you can’t sit high enough to manipulate it and – as early coracle designers discovered – a circular shape isn’t optimal for steering. Not to worry, the current will take you safely to your destination several kilometres  downstream. Trip options vary from 45 minutes to 3 hours.

Mud: Somewhere downstream, you can plaster yourself in mud. Good for the complexion?

Canyoning: Now for the serious stuff. For adventure sport enthusiasts who have enjoyed splashing around in the lower reaches of the gorge and want to do some serious canyoning, it is possible to make your way down from the top – the whole 18 kilometres, if you’re up for it. For more information on this and links to relevant Adventure companies, see the canyoning page.

Drifting down the river at Saklikent.

Gallery

Here are some photos taken on trips to Saklikent Gorge.

Map

View Villa Lukka to Saklikent Gorge in a larger map