Turkey
Köprülü Canyon
White water through a canyon spanned by a Roman bridge, a ruined city perched above.
The raft drops into the rapid and the Roman bridge arches overhead — seventeen centuries of dressed stone spanning a canyon the river is still carving. Water crashes white against the canyon walls of Köprülü Canyon in southern Turkey, and somewhere above on the mountain road, the ruins of an ancient city watch it all from the treeline.
Köprülü Canyon National Park protects a 14-kilometre gorge carved by the Köprüçay River in Turkey's Mediterranean hinterland. The Roman bridge spanning the canyon was built in the 2nd century AD and still carries pedestrian traffic. White-water rafting runs at Class III-IV through the gorge, making it one of Turkey's most accessible adventure destinations. Above the canyon, the ancient city of Selge sits 22 kilometres up a mountain road — ruins and rapids in the same afternoon. The national park also legally protects a population of Anatolian leopards and brown bears, though sightings are rare.
Solo
Hike up to Selge's ruins alone in the morning, raft the canyon in the afternoon. The combination of ancient history and white water is hard to find anywhere else.
Friends
A group rafting trip through the canyon followed by grilled trout and çay at a riverside restaurant under the Roman bridge. Pure, uncomplicated fun.
Family
Calmer sections of the river are suitable for family rafting, and the combination of Roman ruins, canyon scenery, and river swimming keeps all ages engaged.
Couple
Share the adrenaline of the rapids, then wind down with trout grilled over vine-wood coals at canyon-edge restaurants as the gorge turns golden.
- The Roman bridge spanning the canyon was built in the 2nd century AD and still carries pedestrian traffic across it.
- White-water rafting at Class III-IV runs through the 14km canyon on the Köprüçay River.
- The ancient city of Selge sits 22km up a mountain road above the canyon — ruins and rapids in the same afternoon.
- The national park surrounding the canyon legally protects Anatolian leopards and brown bears — sightings are rare but documented.
River trout from the Köprüçay, grilled whole over vine-wood coals at canyon-edge restaurants.
Çay served in tulip glasses while you dry off from the rapids, the Roman bridge arching overhead.
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