Olympos Bey Mountains (Beydaglari) Coast National Park is in the west of Antalya City, and 30 km northeast of Finike. The park crosses the Antalya – Kemer – Kumluca state highway. The area is in western Taurus Mountains, with a geological structure predominantly made up of limestone and serpentine rocks, and ecological characteristics of the Mediterranean.
Olympos Bey Mountains Coast National Park which has been declared by the Board of Ministers as a national park in 16.03.1972 and has a 34.425 hectares of area when the settlements have been left out of the borders of National Parks, begins from Sarisu located at the southwestern part of Antalya and reaches out to Gelidonya Foreland parallel to the Mediterranean across the Kemer-Kumluca shoreline.
The Olympos (Lycia), Phaselis and Idyros ancient cities are in the Olympos – Bey Mountains Coast National Park which is located between the Pamphylia and Lycia shores. Although, the number of these coastal settlements are low in number, they are very old. There are the city of Phaselis as the first settlement of the coastline which has been established as a Rhodesian Colony in B.C. 7th century and the Olympos Ruins.
The Fire Which Never Goes Out
The natural gas which springs out of the cracks of limestone and serpentine formations of the mountainous area located a few kilometers west Olympos which is mentioned in the Iliad of Homer and called “The Fire Which Never Goes Out” has been burning for centuries and adds mythological value to the region by mentioning in the Bellerophontos mythos as Chimaira (Burning Stone). Furthermore; the Beldibi Cave which is located at the southern opening of the Camdag Tunnel and used 9 thousands of years before also supports the existing source value.
Natural Source Values: Rich biological diversity, epic and geomorphologic formations (Goynuk Canyon, Kesme Bosporus, Beldibi Canyon and hot spots) can be considered as the other worth-seeing natural and geological beauties of the park. The national park with rich biological diversity, 0-2365 m of elevation difference and various altitude characteristics, the vegetation cover presenting plant associations of all climatic types of the Mediterranean Region begins with calabrian pines on the shore and black pines are observed by elevation and ground cedars are seen over 1000 meters. There are almost 865 plant species inside the park borders and 25 of them are endemic to the region and only grow in that region. Their rate to the number of species is 3%. 154 (18%) of them have been identified as endemic to Turkey (Pesmen, 1980). As well as rare mammals such as mountain goat, imperial eagle, bobcat, caracal and wolf in the National Park, 72 of 465 bird species of Turkey live in that region (Kiziroglu, 1993). Furthermore, 3 species of endemic butterflies live in that region.
The plant cover begins with peanut pines at the shore, moving on to cluster pines and black pines at higher altitudes, then cedars at 1000m. The park has a vast array of plants, with around 1000 species. Also living there are bears, wild goats, wild boars, foxes, jackals and wolves, as well as fish and birds.
The natural structure of the area has been preserved and Olympos has become a unique paradise. The antique city has finally been conquered by nature. In order to visit the city, you have to make an adventurous trip through the forest by seeing the wild life and smelling the odor of pine and daphnia trees. The magnificent coast line does not only act as host to the sunbathe passionate… In the summer months big sea turtles come to the Olympos-Ciralı (Çıralı) in order to leave their eggs.
Olympos (Lycia)
Olympos (Lycia) is an ancient city which is located in a valley at the south coast of Turkey, 85 km southwest of Porto Bello Hotel Antalya. The former city of Olympos was founded in the Hellenistic period, presumably taking its name from nearby Mount Olympos one of over twenty mountains with the name Olympos in the Classical world. The coins of the city of Olympos date back to the 2nd century BC. The city became one of the six leading cities of the Lycian League The Olympos village is located in the heart of the Olympos coastal national park. The surrounding area offers best conditions for Trekking, Mountain biking, Canyoning, Rock climbing, Water Skiing. It is possible to rent equipment in the village or to join organized tours.
It was agreed that the “Protected Areas Management Effectiveness Monitoring Tracking Tool” used by international organizations such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) will also be used in Turkey. Fieldwork conducted in the scope of the workshop, participants filled out “Protected Areas Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool” form for the Olympos Bey Mountains Coastal National Park to evaluate the management effectiveness of the area.
Other places of interest in this area are Lydia, the ancient city which has been inhabited since pre-historic times; Phaselis (Tekirova), which was founded as a Rhodes colony in the 7th century BC; plus Idyros, Adrasan Harbour and Gagai.
There are facilities such as; watersports and trekking, and accommodation is available in hotels and campsites, plus restaurants, picnic sites, a museum and PTT.
Sea to Sky
After a drive through the Olympos Bey Mountains Coast National Park you will reach the cable car base station. From here, visitors will be taken up via the cable car on new modern cabins. The cabin interior is spacious with large panoramic windows that offer spectacular 360-degree views of the surrounding beautiful environment. Sea, sun and snow come together in Olympos National Park. A dream comes true with a spectacular ride to the peak, giving merit to the “Sea to Sky” slogan. It offers a great panorama of the Turkish Riviera.
The beautiful nature is unforgettable; steep rocky slopes, pine forests, turquoise blue sea and untouched nature.
Antalya Museum
Approximately twelve e thousand archaelogical pieces, all beloging to the region, are displayed mostly chronologically. In some places the finds are exhibited according to subjects matter. In other wors, visiting the Antalya Museum is taking a trip into the history of Anatolia a trip that takes one from the first flintstone tool of man to a recently woven carpet. The Antalya Museum is among the leading museums of the world on account of its sculptur works from the Roman period and unique finds found during the rescue exactions of the museum.
Antalya City
Every year millions of tourists from all over the world visiting Antalya for its beauty also benefit from the Antalya Airport with its modern building, latest technology and service provided. Antalya, with its faultless beautiful beaches is and their main attraction by the millions of tourists that visit every year. The clean and beautiful beaches of Antalya, where natures colours blue and green unite, is what makes the areas beaches blue flag. Besides all these natural beauties, Belek, with its International standard Golf courses is well on the way in becoming Europe’s biggest golf centre.
The sea is deep and beaches don’t show continuity as the west coast of Antalya Mountains run perpendicular to the sea. But there are natural beaches with favorable conditions in Kemer, Tekirova, Kumluca, Finike, Demre and Kaş coasts. Besides, coasts which lie from Beldibi Beaches, Göynük Coasts through Kemer, Tekirova, Olympos and Kolindonya to Xanthos have all required natural elements for tourism. Konyaaltı and Reşat Adası Beaches are also located in the west of Antalya. In the eastern part of the city, the mountains run parallel to sea, which caused a plain formation between mountains and sea, so amazing beaches covered in fine sand formed, lying from Antalya to Side and Gazipaşa. Lara, Karpuzkaldıran, Belek, Kundu beaches are located in east of Antalya.
Blue Flag Beaches in Antalya; Antalya has 197 crystal clear beaches in total that qualified for the blue flag.
Four National Parks and one Natural Park serve on a 79,366 hectare field in Antalya borders. The working area of Antalya National Park Department contains geomorphologic and geologic features along with many matchless beauties, including archaeological and aesthetical characteristics; unique rich plantation cover and animal group, where the most intense tourism activities are carried out in Turkey.
1- Olympos – Bey Mountains Coastal National Park
2- Koprulu Canyon National Park
3- Gulluk Mountain Termessos National Park
4- Altınbeşik Cave National Park
5- Kurşunlu Waterfall Natural Park
Olympos –Bey Mountains Gallery
National Parks, Nature Parks, Nature Reserve Areas And Wildlife Reserve Areas Near Antalya
Antalya
Maps Of Antalya
Olympos – Bey Mountains Coast National Park Map
