Faralya is a village in Lycia, Turkey. About 15 km south of Ölüdeniz (and 30 km south of Fethiye), Faralya used to be known as the "village on the cliffs of the Butterfly Valley" until travellers started to take a deeper look to the village. The village is quite a pleasant sight to see, with its houses and gardens cascading towards the cliffs of the valley.
Understand
Faralya is a quarter (Hisar Mahallesi) of the village of Uzunyurt (literally "long country"), which is made up of separate hamlets (from north to south: Kozağaç and Kirme on the Lycian Way to Ölüdeniz, Faralya/Hisar, Kızılcakaya, and Kabak) as these hamlets don't have enough population to be declared to be villages. However, almost nobody but the officials use this name, and the village is always referred to by its ancient name of Faralya whether it be by the minibus signs or travel agencies. And as Faralya is (relatively speaking) the biggest one of these hamlets, when someone speaks about Uzunyurt, you may assume he/she refers to Faralya.
Get in
There are minibuses (dolmuş) to the village from Ölüdeniz, continuing on to Kabak.
A narrow and winding, but tarmac (and sectionally potholed) road connects the village to Ölüdeniz, where it joins the main highway towards Fethiye near the Blue Lagoon. Though the distance is not that huge, it takes about 30 minutes to drive this road because of the conditions.
During high season (June–August) there are boats three times a day (11:00, 14:00, 16:00) from Ölüdeniz to the Butterfly Valley. They cost 15 TL pp return. Keep the ticket you'll be given upon getting on the boat in Ölüdeniz, it'll be asked for when getting on the boat that will take you back at the Butterfly Valley.
Hiking from Ovacık, 2 km north of Ölüdeniz, is also an option thanks to the Lycian Way which passes through the main road of the village. Most hikers do this 16-km section in one day, however two days combined with camping a night up in the mountains is much more comfortable, especially in summer.
Hitchhiking the road between Ölüdeniz and Faralya is super-easy, at least in summer when there are lots of holiday-makers travelling with their cars.
Get around
The village and the Butterfly Valley are connected by a very steep (dropping from the village's elevation of 350 m to sea level at canyon bottom) and somewhat dangerous path, some sections of which require a little bit of mountaineering skills. It usually takes around 45 minutes to one hour to do the entire path—climbing up of which is unusually said to be easier than climbing down—but there are some fit travellers who are reported to do it in a little more than 20 minutes. The path starts from in front of the guesthouse George House up in the village and marked with red dots all along it.
See
- 1 Butterfly Valley (Kelebekler Vadisi). "Discovered" by hippies in 1990s when their much beloved Blue Lagoon was lost to mass tourism, this 250 m-1 km canyon is following the steps of the Lagoon nowadays with much more day-trippers than it was a decade ago. Its name comes from a large swarm of endemic butterflies, the habitat of which is near the waterfalls on the canyon wall furthest from the sea. The view of the canyon from the village above is just as—if not more—beautiful as the view it has when you are in. Locals used to know this place by the name Güdürümsü before the valley was re-christened with the rather romantic current name. An entrance fee of 5 TL may be charged when arriving by boat.
- Lycian sarcophagii. Since you are in Lycia, there are a few to be seen here. The nearest one to the village is at the exit of the village towards Kabak, on the gentle slope on the left side of the road. The largest one is near Aktaş beach in middle Kızılcakaya hamlet of Faralya, accessible by the yellow and red waymarked coastal trail. There are two more hidden in the forest between Kabak and Aktaş off of the waymarked trail.
Do
Buy
There are no ATMs in the village and almost no establishments accept credit cards, the one down at the Butterfly Valley being an exception. Nearest ATMs are located in Ölüdeniz and further away in Fethiye.
- Faralya Market (on the road to Kabak, about 2-3 km from village). The only grocery store of the village which offers a very meager selection of vegetables, snacks, and drinks. No credit cards.
- There is also a small kiosk offering prepackaged snacks, drinks, and cigarettes down at the Butterfly Valley. However, be ready for paying twice or even three times more than elsewhere for anything you buy there. For short trips, it is best to bring your supplies from elsewhere with you.
Eat
Drink
Sleep
Inside the Butterfly Valley, you have two options to overnight, the bungalows or camping in a tent, both of which are rented by the same establishment. While you don't have to carry your tent, the tents offered by the establishment there fills out quickly in high season, so you may have to bring your own...although this won't make any difference at the fee you'll be paying. During the high season (June-Sept), staying in a bungalow costs 45 TL/night pp, while overnighting in a tent costs 35 TL/night pp. The prices gradually fall towards winter, with the lowest being 22 TL/night pp between November and March. All prices are half-board, i.e. include breakfast and dinner.
If you choose to stay up in the village itself, you have a number of guesthouses and hotels to choose from:
- Die Wassermühle (on the main road, at the entrance of the village from Ölüdeniz), ☏ 90 252 642-12-45, fax: 90 252 642-11-79, ✉[email protected]. A nicely decorated hotel housed in the former watermill of the village located next to a little creek and waterfall. Starts from €53 double.
- 1 Faralya Botanica (on the Lycian Way, between the Butterfly Valley and Kabak Beach), ☏ 90 505 909 91 60, ✉[email protected]. Faralya Botanica guesthouse offers a spacious stone house, wooden bungalows, camping site, restaurant and a yoga platform, all overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Depending what time of year you come to the guesthouse, you will be able to enjoy fresh pomegranates, oranges, lemons, grapefruits, Sharonfruit, plums, mulberries, avocados, tomatoes, aubergines, fresh spinach and olives, all fresh and organic from the garden. from €35.
- George House (on the slope towards the Butterfly Valley, follow the sign on the main road), ☏ 90 252 642-11-02, 90-535-793-21-12 (mobile), ✉[email protected]. Immediately on the cliffs of the Butterfly Valley, this family-run guesthouse is reported to be one of the most pleasant places to stay in Faralya. You can pitch a tent, stay in a wooden bungalow or an open (i.e. curtains instead of windows) wooden tree-house. Turkish tea is available for free all day. from 35 TL pp half-board (including breakfast & dinner). Check their website for details.
- Mandarin Boutique Hotel, Faralya (behind the market), ☏ 90 252 642-10-02, ✉[email protected]. Hotel with sea and mountain views; offering 8 stunning rooms, with 4-poster super kingsize beds, double size jacuzzi, delicious homemade organic food and wines. Outdoor pool with separate outdoor jacuzzi. Adult only, ideal for couples, and honeymooners. Standard double rooms €245 in season (Jul-Sep), cheaper in other months.
- Onur Motel Faralya, Faralya Village (hills of Butterfly Valley), ☏ 90 252 642 11 62, ✉[email protected]. Run by a Turkish family Onur Motel is a great place to stay, with a view of Babadag. The rooms are bungalows made of natural materials and built in traditional style: exterior is covered with stone work and the interior is covered with natural wood work. They also provide services for campers. Double room about 55 TL per person per night, which includes breakfast and home-cooked dinner..
If you are short on cash, you can also wild camp safely around the village, even near the cliffs of the Butterfly Valley - the focus of the attention around there, given that you have camping gear. Just be discreet -away from the sight of houses and the road, there are many bushes there that can hide you, and erect your tent at about the night starts to fall.
Stay safe
The path between the village and the Valley is a dangerous one, with two young backpackers having died when attempting the route in the last decade. Never ever take shortcuts and always stick to the route marked with red dots - taking a shortcut was the reason of death of one of the backpackers. Make sure you know what you are doing at every step - no dreams about taking a seabath on that azure coast! Attempting the route with a heavy backpack is almost suicidal so leave anything you won't need at which side (up or down) you're staying at. The path from beach to the waterfalls inside the Valley also requires some attention.
Connect
Faralya's telephone code is ( 90) 252.
The area is within the coverage of GSM networks.
Go next
- Kabak is a village 8 km further to the south, which also has a canyon (called Kabak Koyu) similar to the Butterfly Valley (with cliffs opening to the sea at one side, with waterfalls and so on...), though Kabak's canyon is more accessible than the Butterfly Valley: a dirt road connects the village with the canyon. In both the canyon's beach and upper village of Kabak, a number of guesthouses can be found.
- If you are in for a little bit of adventure, you may return to Ölüdeniz by hiking the Lycian Way instead of taking the minibus. When hiking in this direction (i.e. Faralya to Ölüdeniz, or south to north), there is only a short (albeit, steep) ascending section right at the beginning of the trail just out of Faralya, then it's almost always gently descending all the way to Ölüdeniz through a beautiful pine forest, along some amazing cliffs, and with unforgettable views over Blue Lagoon. Remember that the last 8-km towards Ölüdeniz (the section after the mountain hamlet of Kozağaç) has no water source along the path, though.