Loop trail Dalyan. The city and the river Dalyan, rock tombs, forests, the ancient wall of Kaunos and many panoramas.

A very varied walk through the pleasant town of Dalyan in combination with a passage through beautiful forests and open areas with many panoramas. There are also some remnants of the historic city of Kaunos included in the route.

The route starts from the Coach Park in Dalyan. From there we take a footpath to the river which we will follow downstream. We will then walk along the quay where all the boats that provide day trips and other transport are moored. There are also quite a few restaurants. After almost a kilometer we arrive at the mooring place of the rowing boat that will serve us as a ferry to get to the other side. If no one is at the rowing boat, the ferryman may be drinking a cup of tea in the adjacent restaurant, so ask around to find him! It cost 30 Turkish lira (January 2023) to get across with three people. From this place we have a beautiful view over the river and the other side, in which we can see the ancient rock-cut temple tombs that are so typical for this Turkish region.

Ancient Tombs in Dalyan “Rock-Cut Temple Tombs”
The impressive ancient Lycian ancient tombs in Dalyan are a major tourist highlight on the banks of the Dalyan River. In spite of its great interest and uniqueness, the site hasn’t yet become a very popular name except for those familiar with the region. This place has remained untouched by the busy urban life and is well-known for its serene setting.
The temple tombs what we see today are the remnants of the Kaunos necropolis that once had over 170 rock-cut graves. The tombs mostly date back to mid 4th century BC and have influences of Anatolian, Greek and Persian elements. Although the tombs are inaccessible now, their imposing sight (seen best from across the Dalyan River or even sitting in a boat in this river) is a memorable one. You can see these sights depicted on covers of tourist guides, travel brochures and even in some TV documentaries.
(source: https://www.marmaristravel.net/attractions/ancient-tombs-in-dalyan/ )

Once we have reached the other side of the Dalyan river with the rowing ferry, we will walk just below the tombs on an easily paved road, but not long after that we turn right and follow a path uphill. The trail is marked with red and white stripes and is indicated as "The ECO Trails: C3a - Sultaniye-Dalyan" The path is never difficult and does not go along precipices, but there are quite a few stones along the way. So sturdy shoes and trekking poles are recommended. We rise quite a bit on this stretch, and gradually we get more and more beautiful views. Because we walk around the mountain, the panoramas are always on different parts of the plains around Dalyan, and therefore always impressive. On this first stretch up there are quite a few olive trees in the vegetation. Once we are at the top (about three kilometers from the start) and continue on the other side of the mountain, the paths become much easier and we enter more open pine forests.
We walk about a kilometer through these pine forests and then arrive at a segment that is even more open and then follow a dirt road, where we always have beautiful views on our left. Shortly afterwards we arrive at the ancient city walls of Kaunos.

The Kaunos city walls
The spectacular Kaunos city walls were erected during the reign of Mausolos in the 4th century BC. They are extraproportional in relation to the size of Kaunos and its population, presumably because the satrap had high expectations of the city's future as a marine and commercial port. The city walls start west of the inner port and run along the hills N and NW of the city, to the top of the steep cliff opposite Dalyan centre. There is a walking track along the wall, starting at the Çandır water station. The regularly-shaped rectangular blocks and the way the blocks have been positioned give a fine impression of Hellenistic building techniques. Parts of the wall are well-kept, other parts have been taken down and rebuilt.
(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaunos )

We now descend on the earlier mentioned path that continues along the ancient wall, it is indicated as "The ECO Trails: C3a - C4 bağl. Surlar (connection)" We will have the wall on our left and scenic views on our right. The track is at some times a bit difficult to find, it seems that not many people pass by. After a while we cross the wall one more time and head towards Kaunos. On this part you often come across a few goats that apparently always hang around there.
We can already see the ruins of the ancient theater in the distance ahead of us. The path leads to an asphalt road that we will follow. Shortly afterwards we pass the entrance to the museum of ancient Kaunos. This route does not include the museum, it is better to dedicate a separate visit to the ancient city. So we continue and follow the road to the car ferry and then return to the town of Dalyan.
From the ferry we walk through the city back to our starting point. Along the way we first pass an area with many restaurants and (super)markets a bit later we come along the main square with the mosque. So there is ample opportunity to linger somewhere and have a drink or eat.....

Some additional information:
The route is designed in a counter clockwise direction.
Time spent: total = 7 hours and 36 minutes of which moving = 4 hours and 5 minutes
There are picnic tables after: absent
There is drinking water after: absent.
The track is moderate from a technical point of view, sturdy shoes and trekking poles are recommended.

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