Seeing this, my wife suggested I experience these emotions firsthand—on a hiking trip.
My choice of Kuluar wasn’t random; I’ve long followed the life of its founder, Taras, who has a genuine desire to share these adventures with the whole world!
I reached out to Lyudmila for help, and she professionally walked me through the step-by-step process, from buying plane tickets to selecting hiking gear, shoes, and clothing.
I want to make it clear right away that all the characters in the story that follows are fictional and have nothing to do with the actual participants of the tour)
And so the day arrived: my wife and I arrived at the meeting point for our transfer to Chisinau, where we met up with another member of our group, the urban adventurer Kateryna.
We crossed the border without any issues and boarded the flight to Antalya. After landing, Kateryna helped us get to the hotel using public transportation (by the way, Lyudmila from support had recommended the hotel).
In the evening, we enjoyed the views of Antalya’s waterfront and watched the locals go fishing!
The next day, we headed to the bus station, where we met another member of our group, Andriy (who will be referred to as Mr. Ok in the rest of this report).
Now our group consisted of four people, and we set off over the mountain passes toward Fethiye.
In Fethiye, we were met by our team leader, Vitaliy, with whom we made our way to the hotel. Then we went on an interesting tour of the ancient ruins of Fethiye (there were plenty of ruins, in fact).
In the evening, we met three more members of the expedition: Andriy, Pavlo, and Serhiy. Now, the eight of us looked like a truly formidable team.
Then we visited the fish market, where they grilled various types of fish from the Mediterranean Sea for us.
The next day, a shuttle picked us up from the hotel and took us to an abandoned ancient city, where Vitaliy introduced us to the culture of that era.
Next, a trail awaited us, offering incredible views of the enchanting bays of the Mediterranean Sea.
When it was time for lunch, we climbed up to a cliff with a beautiful panoramic view, where our tour leader Vitaliy treated us to delicious food and made us fragrant tea and coffee.
By the time we reached Oludeniz, we were all exhausted, but swimming in the bay gave us the strength to make it to the hotel, where our luggage was already waiting for us.
By the way, we traveled with light backpacks every day, because the shuttle transported all our belongings to the next hotel each day.
After having dinner at sunset, we retired to our rooms to rest up for the next day.
With the first rays of the sun, after breakfast, our team set out for the start of the Lycian Way. After a while, a long climb began, but the views of the sun-baked cliffs and the sea gave us strength.
Along the way, we came across a juice vendor, where we stopped for a break. We could also quench our thirst right on the trail; half-liter bottles of water were simply left by the path, and we just had to leave the money in a box.
We passed through Turkish villages, where the locals warmly welcomed us. Today, we had a snack of gözleme (a traditional Turkish dish consisting of a flatbread with herbs and cheese) and ayran at a small café.
In the evening, we arrived in Faralya and checked into a hotel. Since the sea wasn’t nearby, we decided to take a taxi there. At sunset, we returned to the hotel and watched as the turquoise sea slowly swallowed the blazing sun.
In the morning, our route took us to Kabak, where we encountered obstacles that we overcame—even with the help of a rope—as we climbed the steep slopes.
We had lunch at an abandoned hotel by the sea, where we simply picked ripe mandarins and medlars. Once we reached Kabak, we immediately dove into the cool turquoise water after our grueling hike.
We spent the night at “U Lilith,” an interesting place unlike any other hotel. We stayed in separate cottages, and in the evening we were treated to sea bass and traditional dishes.
Before going to bed, we played table tennis with the hotel owner, who didn’t give us a single chance! On the way back to our accommodations, we saw a theater stage where we put our creative skills to the test!
In the morning, swimming in the Mediterranean Sea inspired us to think outside the box, and we decided to add Paradise Beach to our itinerary. After renting two boats, we sped off to make our dream come true.
The beach was truly beautiful, and after spending about an hour there, we set off on our hike. Today’s climb was really tough, but once we reached the plateau, we recharged with gözleme and ayran.
When we got back to the hotel, we had dinner and collapsed into bed, completely exhausted.
The next day, a long hike to the mountain village of Bel awaited us. During the hike, we not only admired the views of the Turkish landscapes but also engaged in philosophical conversations with our team leader, Vitaliy.
In the village of Bel, we took a transfer to the historic city of Patara.
We spent the entire next day immersing ourselves in the history of the ancient city and also visited a 2,000-year-old lighthouse.
The next morning, Vitaliy presented us with certificates as a memento of our incredible journey!
The shuttle took us to Fethiye, where we hugged each other with tears in our eyes and went our separate ways home!
I want to thank everyone involved who helped make our travel dreams come true!