Turkey
Ölüdeniz
Paragliders spiral down from 1,969 metres to land on a lagoon so blue it looks retouched.
The lagoon is so still it looks solid, a pool of liquid turquoise sealed behind a white spit, with pine-covered mountains rising straight from the shoreline. Then a shadow passes overhead. You look up and count thirty, forty paragliders spiralling down from Babadağ's summit, their canopies like scattered confetti against the blue.
Ölüdeniz sits on Turkey's southwestern Lycian Coast, where the 1,969-metre peak of Babadağ plunges toward the Mediterranean. The name means dead sea in Turkish, for the lagoon's calm, sheltered water rather than anything morbid. The tandem paraglide from Babadağ's summit down to the beach is regularly ranked among the world's leading commercial flights, a long descent over pine forest, cliffs and turquoise water. The Lycian Way, Turkey's original long-distance trail, passes above the lagoon on its long route from Fethiye to Antalya. Beyond the spit, Kidrak Beach offers quieter sand backed by cedar forest.
Couple
The lagoon at dawn, before the boats arrive, is a private world of turquoise and silence. Paraglide tandem at sunset, then dine on grilled sea bass with the beach to yourselves.
Friends
The tandem paraglide from Babadağ is a shared-adrenaline moment that bonds any group. Follow it with a boat trip to Butterfly Valley and evening meze back in Fethiye.
Family
The shallow, warm lagoon is a natural paddling pool for younger children, and the boat trips along the coast stop to swim at coves only reachable from the water.
- Tandem paragliding from Babadağ at 1,969 metres ranks among the world's leading commercial flights.
- The inner lagoon is a protected nature park where motorboats are kept out; you paddle it by hired canoe.
- The descent from the summit stays airborne for half an hour and more, spiralling over cliffs and turquoise water.
- The Lycian Way passes directly above the lagoon, with clifftop views for those who prefer to walk.
Gözleme rolled and griddled to order by village women, stuffed with spinach and crumbling white cheese.
Grilled sea bass pulled from the Mediterranean that morning, served on the beach with rocket and lemon.
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