On this trail you’ll see loads of different landscapes while you ride over the historic Lycian trail. This place in Turkey is bursting with history and incredible views. You’ll ride your Arabian horse over the beach and its neighbouring sand dunes of the ancient city Patara, with stunning ruins, theatres and castles left and ride. You really get an idea of how these ancient cities and its people used to be and live. You’ll also gallop over the beach and ride through the mountains where you’ll find even more ancient cities to explore on horseback.
Also read: Beach riding equestrian meet-up in Turkey 2023
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The horse rides are stunning, you’ll gallop over the beach and explore mountains and ancient cities. Your main guide on the trip will be Ercihan. Ercihan owns the horses and is a very good horse rider himself, with lots of experience with through rides in Turkey and endurance races. You’ll be riding between 4 and 6 hours every day and you’ll be starting in different places on horseback every day to see the beautiful and varied landscape of Turkey's South Coast. The horses are certainly lean, but muscular and well taken care of. Their hooves are in perfect condition and the tack fits them well. They are excited on rides and love the gallops over the beach. They are alert but not scared of anything. I rode several different horses during my trip to Turkey and fell in love with Ercihan's beautiful mare called Anadolu. She is super soft and overall a great horse to ride, she is a fantastic lead horse with some spice which makes her perfect for strong intermediate and experienced riders. The other horses I rode were also lovely but some do have hard mouths, which I personally don’t love so much, however it was not a problem as the horses for the rest are extremely well behaved! I also rode the only gelding of the herd, he is a lovely and safe ride and has a nicely soft mouth. He has a very fast gallop compared to most of the herd! Overall I definitely found horses that I loved riding here. They are also super confident on different terrain, and pretended to be mountain goats as soon as we hit the rocks on the mountains.
On this trip, the plan is no plan! We go with the flow and do what's fun!
The accommodation is a beautiful hotel where I also had the pleasure of staying during my trip. The host of the hotel was a lovely Turkish man that spoke about 3 words of English. He was a fantastic host though and in an infectiously good mood everyday, we were able to communicate by pointing at stuff and some broken English. My host brought me lovely breakfasts up to my room every day. The entrance and restaurant of the hotel are beautifully decorated with Turkish murals and statues. There is a lovely garden to lounge in. The rooms are stunning with a view of the mountain and a balcony.
On my way back, I stayed the night in Fethiye before heading to the airport. I stayed at the fantastic Belci City residence close to the bus station.
7 Day Lycian Way and Patara Beach Horse Riding Holiday in Turkey
5 Day Lycian Way and Patara Beach Horse Riding Holiday in Turkey
4 Day Lycian Way and Patara Beach Horse Riding Holiday in Turkey
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