Yanartas, the Chimaera Flames

Methane escaping through cracks in the rock above Cirali has been alight for as long as anyone has recorded the place, and the flames have never gone out. They are not dramatic in daylight: a couple of dozen small fires, some the size of a hand, flickering across a bare slope of blackened stone. After dark the effect changes completely. Ancient writers put the fire-breathing Chimaera under this hillside, and the remains of a sanctuary to Hephaestus, the smith god, stand a short way below the main flame field. The walk up is about a kilometre of uneven stone steps through pine, gaining roughly two hundred metres, and takes twenty-five to forty minutes at a steady pace.

What you actually see

• The flame field - dozens of small fires in blackened rock.
• The stone stair - a kilometre of uneven steps through pine.
• The sanctuary remains - ruins of the Hephaestus site below the flames.
• The night view - the dark coastline at Cirali under the burning slope.

When to go

Go after dark, when the flames are actually visible. Most people walk up in the last hour of daylight and come down in the black, so bring a torch: the steps are not lit. Winter evenings are cold on the exposed slope. Individual flames shift position between years and burn weaker after heavy rain.

Honest expectations

In daylight the site is genuinely underwhelming and people say so out loud. The path is steep, rocky and unlit, awkward in sandals or with small children. Evening brings tour minibuses and a ring of phone torches around the largest flames. There is an entry fee plus parking, and a tea stall at the bottom is the only facility.

Nearby

Cirali beach, the ruins of Olympos and the coastal path above them.