Hiking the Saklıkent Canyon

We spent an afternoon hiking the Saklıkent Canyon. Saklıkent, in Turkish, means "the hidden city."

Located in the Muğla province in Turkey, the Saklıkent Canyon is 11 miles long, though only 2.5 miles of the canyon are open to hikers. With vertical walls of nearly 1,000 feet, it is one of the deepest canyons in the world.

As is always the case with hiking in a canyon, flash floods are a concern. Two months ago, a flash flood swept through this very canyon, injuring eight people and killing two. Fortunately, the forecast showed no rain for the day of our hike.

Signs suggested that we wear helmets on the hike.
As helmets lacking proper adjustment mechanisms and chin straps
are nearly useless, we opted not to wear the helmets.
At least the helmets provided for a good photo op.

Ferit and I were joined on the hike by Feridun (Ferit's brother, from Japan)
and Ahmet (Feridun's friend, from Istanbul).
Here, Feridun and I point the way to the canyon entrance.

We had to cross a knee-deep, dare I say,
"freezing-ass cold" river to get to the beginning of the hike.

There were lots of people along the first few hundred feet of the trail.
Fortunately, the crowds thinned out shortly after this point.

A turn in the canyon.

The canyon is fed by snow from the Taurus Mountains
as the melt water makes it way to the Aegean Sea.
On the day of our hike, the silt water ranged from ankle-deep to mid-chest-deep.

Dried upon the canyon walls, the silt provides an irresistible
whiteboard for many graffiti-makers.

The hike included some climbing over rocks as well as some slippery slides.

About one and a half miles into the hike, we came across a rope that we needed to climb to get over a 20-foot high wall. Though we appreciate a good adventure, we know where to draw the line when situations seem a bit sketchy. As the rope alerted our "sketchy-alarm," we decided to call it quits at this point in the hike.

The rope seemed a bit sketchy, so we opted not to travel further.

We did, however, climb a short distance
up the rope for a photo op.
Here is Ferit-monkey.

Despite my puny arm muscles, I, too, somehow managed
to climb out of the chest-deep water for a photo op. 

Here's my monkey moment.

We had lots of fun on the hike...

....and shared lots of smiles, too...

...and silly moments.

Of course, we couldn't end the hike without first...

...enjoying our signature jumps for joy.

Should you find yourself in southwest Turkey, I highly recommend you go for a hike in the Saklıkent Canyon.