Çıralı

Çıralı is the other end of the same beach as Olympos, separated by a rocky spur, and it developed differently: instead of treehouse camps it has family pensions and small hotels set back among orange and pomegranate groves, with a rule against high-rise building because the beach is a protected loggerhead nesting site. Turtles come ashore through the summer, nests are marked and caged by volunteers, and lights facing the sea are restricted at night - the darkness is noticeable and welcome. The beach is three and a half kilometres of pebble and coarse sand with the mountains behind. Up the slope is Yanartaş, the Chimaera: natural methane seeping through the rock has been burning continuously for millennia, and the flames on the hillside are the origin of the fire-breathing monster of the Bellerophon myth. A stone path climbs to them in twenty to thirty minutes and they are best seen after dark.

What you'll find

• The Chimaera flames - methane burning from the rock at Yanartaş.
• The nesting beach - marked loggerhead nests through summer.
• The orange groves - pensions set among the citrus.
• The dark nights - lighting restricted for the turtles.

When to go

May to June and September to October. Visit the flames after dark, when they show properly. Nesting season runs roughly May to September, with rules in force.

Practical notes

Do not use lights or flash on the beach at night in nesting season, and keep to marked paths. The climb to the flames is stony and unlit - bring a torch for the descent. Facilities are simple pensions; nightlife is nonexistent.

Nearby

Olympos is over the spur; Adrasan is south and Phaselis and Kemer north.

Key facts