Antalya - Beydaglari Shore National Park

NATIONAL PARKS

Location: The park is in the west of Antalya, and 30km northeast of Finike.

Transportation: The park crosses the Antalya – Kemer – Kumluca state highway. The road is part of the Mersin – Antalya – Mugla sea road.

Highlights: 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.

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.
In the mountains 13 km west of Olimpos, the natural gas emitting from the cracks of limestone and serpentine has been burning for thousands of years. This flame is the subject of the Bellerophon Myths, and known as the Chimaera Burning Stone.

The area has a typical Mediterranean climate, and visitors can do watersorts here for eight months of the year, as well as camping, trekking and visiting archaeological areas.

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.

Facilities: There are facilities such as; watersports and trekking, and accommodation is available in hotels and campsites, plus restaurants, picnic sites, a museum and PTT.