Nature and villages across Turkey: canyons, gorges and coast

Düden Waterfall is really two places: a green park around the Upper falls roughly 12 km north of central Antalya, and the Lower falls where the same river drops about 40 metres off the cliffs into the Mediterranean. Here is how to choose between them, reach both, and time the visit for the strongest water.

Karaalioğlu Park is Antalya's clifftop green above the old harbour, five minutes from Kaleiçi and best entered from Park Sokak or the old town. Allow an hour for the Gulf of Antalya and Beydağları views, the Hıdırlık Tower edge and a tea stop.

Kurşunlu Waterfall drops roughly 18 metres into a forested canyon about 19–20 km from central Antalya. This guide covers the drive from Kaleiçi, the walk through the nature park, spring and summer flow, and how it compares with Düden for a half-day out.

Amasra packs a fortress, a boat trip to Rabbit Island and a sunset beach into a small Black Sea harbour town in Bartın province. Give it two to three days for the town itself, or four to five if you add the Güzelcehisar lava columns and a Bartın River boat tour.

İznik is a lakeside town in Bursa Province, known for its tiles and ceramics and set on the shore of Lake İznik. Here is what to see on foot, how the trip works from Istanbul or Bursa, and how much time the town deserves.

Bozcaada is a small Aegean island in Çanakkale province, reached by ferry and best explored from its compact harbour. Here is how the town is laid out, what the castle and back streets add, whether half a day or an overnight suits you, and how the island pairs with Troy and Gallipoli.

Cappadocia is not one pin on a map but a scatter of towns and valleys across Central Anatolia. This guide places Göreme, Uçhisar, Avanos, Ürgüp and Nevşehir, lines up the valleys and underground cities, and reads the Red, Green and Blue tour routes against the ground you could cover yourself.

Cappadocia has no single mountain to climb: its "mountain" is a volcanic plateau of fairy chimneys, cave valleys and rock-cut towns. Here is what to see, which high points give the best panoramas and how many days the landscape rewards.

Rose Valley is the red-rock valley between Göreme and Çavuşin, walked together with Red Valley rather than on its own. This guide sets out the full 14.3 km circuit from Göreme, the ladder climb to the painted Haçlı Kilise, the café stop, Sunset Point, parking and the guided afternoon alternative.

Cappadocia's best sunset viewpoints, from the free platform above Göreme to the red rock of Kızılçukur and the castles at Uçhisar and Ortahisar, with the seasonal sunset window and a plain answer on balloons in the evening.

Devrent Valley, the Imagination Valley, is a small free cluster of animal-shaped fairy chimneys about 10 km north of Göreme. Allow 20 to 40 minutes, come for low sun, and pair it with Paşabağ and Zelve.

The Ihlara Valley is a green gorge in Cappadocia cut by the Melendiz River, with rock-cut churches and frescoes along a riverside path. Here is how the walk works, which entrance to pick, how long the gorge takes and how to reach it from central Cappadocia.

Cappadocia earns the trip if you want balloon mornings, cave-cut towns and underground cities in inland Turkey. It is the wrong choice for a beach holiday. Here is how the days work, how long to allow and how to reach Nevşehir from Istanbul.

Paşabağ is the Cappadocia valley of multi-capped mushroom fairy chimneys and rock-cut hermit chapels, reached on the Avanos road past Zelve. Allow 20 to 40 minutes for the loop, climb to Saint Simeon's chapel, and buy one ticket that also covers Zelve Open-Air Museum.

Pigeon Valley, or Güvercinlik Vadisi, is the canyon linking Göreme and Uçhisar, where carved dovecotes cover the cliffs. Walk it one way downhill for roughly 1.5 to 2.5 hours, or view it from the rim in twenty minutes.

Didim reads as one resort on a brochure map, but visitors use three separate pieces: the town itself, Didyma with the Temple of Apollo about 3½ km west, and Altınkum with its beach and promenade roughly 4½ km south. This map-led guide places each one and shows where the coves, the marina and the boat trips sit.

Kayaköy is a hillside of roofless stone houses and two Greek Orthodox churches above the Gulf of Fethiye, reached by dolmuş or on foot. Here is what you walk past, which church is which, how long to allow and how to combine it with Ölüdeniz and Hisarönü.

Babadağ rises to 1,969 m behind Ölüdeniz, and the cable car from Ölüdeniz Caddesi lifts you to viewing platforms and a summit restaurant. Here is how to reach the mountain, what the ride and the views involve, how paragliding flights work and how much of a day to set aside.

Butterfly Valley (Kelebekler Vadisi) cuts into the Muğla coast between Ölüdeniz and Fethiye, and you can approach it two ways: by boat to the valley floor, or by road to the rim above the gorge. This guide covers both routes, what the valley holds, how much time to give it, the butterflies that give it its name and how to pair it with Kayaköy and Ölüdeniz.

Faralya is a small village in the Fethiye district of Muğla Province, strung along the cliffs above Butterfly Valley on Turkey's Turquoise Coast. Use it as a quiet base for the bays, viewpoints and boat trips below, and plan around the rough last stretch of road and the distance from Ölüdeniz.

Ovacık is a small hillside village below Babadağ that runs into Hisarönü and sits minutes above Ölüdeniz. Here is how the two villages differ, how the dolmuş and the downhill walk work, and which ancient sites, gorges and boat trips are within a day's reach.

Saklıkent Gorge is an 18 km canyon in a national park near Fethiye, where you wade an icy river between walls that reach 300 m. A few hundred metres in is enough for most visitors; rubber sea shoes, a hat and a realistic half-day budget make the trip work.

The Turquoise Coast is the stretch of southwest Turkey better known as the Turkish Riviera, running from Antalya through Muğla to the Aegean shore. This guide groups the coast into three practical stretches, sets Antalya's old town against small places such as Kaş and Kalkan, and shows how to reach them by air and local transport.

Uzumlu is a village 16 km from Fethiye, with dastar weaving in open-fronted houses, a weekly market and the Cadianda ruins on the slope above. Allow half a day for the village and a further few hours if you want to walk up to the tombs, theatre and stadium foundation.

Çıralı is a small, conservation-protected village on Turkey's Lycian coast, roughly 70 km southwest of Antalya, where a long pebble beach meets forest, the ruins of Olympos and the ever-burning Yanartaş flames. This guide covers the transport chain from Antalya, the beach and turtle nesting, walking into Olympos, the Chimera climb and how many days to give it.

Göynük Canyon sits in the hills above Göynük village, about 10 km from Kemer. You walk in for roughly 3 km past springs and orchards, then climb through the gorge to pools and a waterfall. This guide covers the bus and the tour transfer, the effort involved, cold water, and what to wear.

Manavgat Waterfall is a wide, low cascade on the Manavgat River, roughly 4 km from Manavgat town centre and easy to reach by dolmuş or river cruise. Here is what the site looks like, how the access chain works and how long to give it.

Lake Salda is a turquoise crater lake in Burdur province, ringed by white mineral shores and forested hills. It works best as a half-day detour on a Pamukkale run, with a cool highland climate and swimming subject to conservation rules.

Şirince is a hillside village of cobbled lanes, whitewashed houses and fruit-wine shops about 8 km from Selçuk, and two to four hours covers a relaxed walk and a meal. Here is how to get there, what to taste and see, and when to arrive before the coach tours.

Green Canyon is the emerald reservoir behind the Oymapınar Dam in the mountains near Manavgat, not a sea trip. Boat tours run from Side, Manavgat and Alanya with hotel pickup, swim stops and, on the longer option, lunch on board. Here is how the day works, what it suits and what it costs.

Köprülü Canyon is a 14km gorge in the mountains northeast of Antalya, reached through Manavgat, Taşagil and Beşkonak. Rafting on the Köprü River is the main draw, with shaded camping along the banks and the Roman city of Selge on the ridge above.

The Manavgat River is the calm, wide waterway that runs past Manavgat town to the sea at Side. A day here pairs a short waterfall visit with a river cruise to the delta, a swim stop and free time in the Grand Bazaar, with hotel transfers and lunch usually bundled into the trip.

Tazı Canyon is a free-to-enter gorge inside Köprülü Canyon National Park, roughly 104 km from Antalya in the Beşkonak area between Serik and Manavgat. Reaching it takes a rough-road drive and a long walk over steep rock, the cliff edges are unfenced, and the zipline is a separate paid activity.

Turkish resorts split into four workable clusters: Antalya Bay, the Lycian coast, the south Aegean and the small bungalow bases around Çıralı. Pick the cluster first, then the town, and the day trips, boat trips and transfer routes fall into place around it.

The Aegean coast of Turkey runs from İzmir and the northern Aegean down through Kuşadası, Didim, Bodrum and Marmaris to Dalyan. Here is what each stretch is like, which ruins sit within reach and how to link two or three places on one trip.

Anamur is a district town on Turkey's southernmost tip, 120 km east of Alanya, facing Cyprus across the water. Mamure Castle, the ruins of Anemurium and the old water channels that still irrigate the banana and strawberry fields give it a day's worth of sightseeing, with a museum that is closed.

Turkey's coastal resorts are not one thing. Some are old-town bases with a harbour and Roman gates on the doorstep, others are purpose-built strips behind a beach, and a few are small harbours where the boat leaves from the middle of the village. This shortlist sorts them by what kind of holiday each one actually gives you.

The Turkish Riviera is the south-west coast of Turkey, also called the Turquoise Coast, and it runs from the Bodrum peninsula and İzmir down through Fethiye, Ölüdeniz and Kaş to Antalya and the ruins at Ephesus. This guide groups the coast into three stretches, names the landmarks that anchor each one, and explains how to link them without a car.

A village stop is the easiest way to break up a ruins-and-resort trip in Turkey. Here are the villages worth planning around, grouped by the ancient site or coast they sit near, plus what you eat, how the tea-and-hospitality etiquette works and how to stay overnight.