Turkey
Butterfly Valley
Only reachable by boat, a sheer-walled canyon where butterflies swirl above a hidden beach.
The boat rounds a headland and the valley opens: sheer limestone walls rising 350 metres on both sides, a ribbon of beach at the base, and the rush of a waterfall somewhere deep inside the canyon. No road leads down here. None is planned.
Butterfly Valley takes its name from the Jersey tiger butterfly, Euplagia quadripunctaria, which masses in the canyon between late June and September. The valley cuts into the mountainside below Faralya village, its walls too steep for ordinary access except by sea; shuttle boats run from Ölüdeniz, a few kilometres up the coast. A simple camp operates at the base, canvas shelters and wooden bungalows with communal cooking, and a trail leads to two small waterfalls that drop year-round. Walled in by stone on three sides and sea on the fourth, the cove has a sense of enclosure found nowhere else on this coast.
Couple
Arrive by boat, swim in the cove, follow the canyon to the waterfall, and sleep somewhere without phone signal or any reason to check. The enforced disconnection is the luxury.
Friends
The scramble to the waterfall is physical and slightly chaotic, the beach camp is sociable, and boat-only access gives the whole day a sense of mild adventure.
- The valley floor is reached by boat from Ölüdeniz; no road leads down and none is planned.
- The Jersey tiger butterfly, Euplagia quadripunctaria, gathers in the valley in numbers between June and September.
- A simple beach camp of tents and wooden bungalows operates at the valley base.
- A short scramble into the canyon reaches the waterfall; the cliff path down from Faralya is best left to the locals.
Camp-kitchen meals of grilled vegetables, rice and fresh bread, served under canvas at the beach.
Cold Efes and fresh-squeezed orange juice at the waterfall pool deep inside the canyon.
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