The St Paul Trail: from Köprülü Canyon to Lake Eğirdir

Eight days on foot along the St Paul Trail, between Roman roads, mountain villages and ancient cities, as a private tailor-made journey.

The St Paul Trail: from Köprülü Canyon to Lake Eğirdir

Starting from Antalya, this journey takes you onto the St Paul Trail in the Köprülü Canyon National Park. Four walking days along old Roman roads, tracks and shepherds' paths link the ancient city of Selge to the villages of Çaltepe and Kasımlar, before the descent to Lake Eğirdir. Aspendos and its superbly preserved theatre open the trip, Sagalassos closes it. A medium-level route for walkers used to days of 5 to 8 hours, with nights in village pensions and family guest houses.

CODE AA-CHE-01

8 days · Level 2/5

Price depends on group size and season: a detailed, no-obligation quote on request.

Request a quote

Day-by-day itinerary

  1. Antalya – arrival

    At Antalya airport our representative meets you and takes you to your hotel in the old town, the Kaleiçi district (about 20 minutes, 15 km). Antalya keeps traces of Lycian, Pamphylian and Hellenistic times, and above all Roman, then Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman ones. Dinner included; overnight at the hotel.

  2. From Antalya to Beşkonak via Aspendos

    After breakfast, drive to Beşkonak, at the edge of Köprülü National Park, with a stop at Aspendos. Its theatre is known as the best preserved of antiquity; nearby are the remains of a basilica, the agora, a nymphaeum and 15 km of Roman aqueduct. You also see the Roman Eurymedon Bridge, rebuilt in the 13th century. You reach the village in the late afternoon (about 1 hour's drive, 90 km). Breakfast, lunch and dinner included; overnight in a pension.

  3. Beşkonak and ancient Selge

    Köprülü National Park covers about 366 km²; its canyon, 14 km long, reaches 400 m deep in places. Calabrian (brutia) pine and black pine, cedar, fir, oak and wild olive grow here, and two Roman works, the Oluklu Bridge and the Büğrüm Bridge, show the skill of their builders. Today you enjoy a fine climb on paths and gravel tracks up to Selge, an ancient Pisidian city on the southern slope of the Taurus: city wall, acropolis, gymnasium, stoa, stadium, basilica and, best preserved of all, the theatre. Back to Beşkonak by vehicle in the late afternoon. Walking: 5 to 6 h, 10 km, ascent 742 m, descent 66 m. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included; overnight in a pension.

  4. From Selge to Çaltepe

    Back by vehicle to Selge, where the trail starts five minutes further on. The route mixes tracks, dirt roads and old Roman roads, in a part of the park known for its mature forests. You pass through the small villages of Ören, Delisarnıç and Kestanelik (kestane means chestnut), and finish on modest shepherds' paths, where you meet herders with their flocks mainly in summer. Arrival in Çaltepe. Walking: 7 to 8 h, 13 km, ascent 215 m, descent 675 m. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included; overnight in a small family-run guest house.

  5. From Çaltepe to Kasımlar via Kesme

    A short transfer (about 1 h, 40 km) takes you close to Kesme village on asphalted mountain roads with fine views down to the Köprü River, used for rafting in summer. The walk starts at Kesme, across fields and pastures and then on tractor tracks, up to a small pass at Belsarnıç. From there you descend to Kasımlar village. Walking: 6 h, 11 km, ascent 253 m, descent 582 m. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included; overnight in a small village pension.

  6. From Tota to Eğirdir via Yeniköy and Adada

    After a short transfer (20 min, 10 km), the last walking stage follows dirt tractor roads to Tota forest park, then round the end of Sarp Dağı to a spring on a large yayla. Old village roads lead you to Yeniköy, where the vehicle waits to take you to the ruins of Adada (10 min), which locals also call Baulo or Karabaulo, a name said to come from St Paul: acropolis, Hellenistic towers, basilica and theatre. The route continues along a dry riverbed and a fine stretch of old Roman road, a great way to end the walking part. Below the village of Sağrak the vehicle picks you up for Eğirdir (1 h, 45 km), by the lake. Walking: 8 h, 15 km, ascent 104 m, descent 374 m. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included; overnight in a small pension.

  7. Sagalassos and back to Antalya

    Leave Eğirdir after breakfast and drive to Antalya (about 3 h, 180 km), stopping at Sagalassos, known in Roman imperial times as the “first city of Pisidia”. Excavated since 1990, the site is one of the best preserved in the country: a large Roman bath complex, a library, an urban mansion of more than 80 rooms and a theatre seating up to 9,000. In the late afternoon in Antalya you can stroll through Kaleiçi, with its cobbled lanes and Ottoman houses, past Hadrian's Gate, the Clock Tower, the fluted Yivli minaret and the Hıdırlık Tower. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included; overnight at the hotel.

  8. Antalya – departure

    After breakfast, transfer from Kaleiçi to Antalya airport (about 20 minutes, 15 km), where the journey ends. We can extend your stay or arrange the rest of your trip in Turkey if you wish.

Included / Not included

What’s included

What’s not included

Related

Places to stay in the region

Taurus Mountains