Gocek: an autumnal wonderland on Turkey’s Turquoise Coast
Sunday morning in the sleepy lakeside town of Koycegiz, and the only sounds drifting beneath the towering eucalyptus trees on its small main square are those of backgammon counters being slapped against boards and the low murmur of chat over simit, the Turkish equivalent of a bagel, and small cups of treacly coffee. In the restaurants that line the waterfront, families eat breakfast and couples take pictures of the shimmering teal expanse, separated from the sky by a jagged line of low, purple-hued mountains rising like giant, sleeping alligators.
Despite its location, there are no sunloungers or beach clubs in Koycegiz; part of the Europe-wide Cittaslow network — a community of towns and cities working to create a more sustainable, slow-paced quality of life (cittaslow.org) — it is instead somewhere that people come to walk, potter about on the lake or dip into the town’s renowned organic bazaar for pomegranates, citrus fruits, plump scarlet tomatoes and bushels of fresh herbs. There are few hotels here besides simple pensions and British visitors rarely come at all, apart from on day trips from Dalyan, a small resort along the river that feeds directly into the lake.
A boat trip on Lake Koycegiz
ALAMY
I have come here on a day trip from Gocek, about 30 minutes’ drive southeast. The pretty harbour town, at the point where the Aegean and the Mediterranean meet, is one of Turkey’s best-known sailing hubs and has become a small, sophisticated resort. Most visitors come for its beaches or to venture into the glittering Gulf of Fethiye and sail between the islands and inlets that shape this extraordinary coastline. But the town also makes an ideal base for discovering the rural side of Turkey, at its most beautiful in the autumn months, when the temperature drops enough to make walking a pleasure and beech, and eucalyptus trees provide splashes of auburn and yellow between the evergreen forests.
For keen mountain bikers and walkers, the area is home to a network of hiking routes and cycling tracks that wind their way through the mountains and down to the coast around Gocek, Dalaman and Koycegiz, waymarked by bright yellow signage (theecotrails.com.tr). I opt for the 8km route from Gocek to Inlice beach, setting off from the Rixos resort and walking along the town’s palm-lined promenade, with dozens of gleaming yachts and wooden gulets bobbing gently in the sea. As the houses melt away, the path leads into a shady swathe of sweet-gum forest — also known as liquidambar, sweet-gum sap was once used in medicinal and beauty products (Cleopatra was a devotee), but the trees are now so under threat that a replanting scheme is in process across southwestern Turkey to ensure that the species doesn’t become extinct here.
I fail to make it all the way to Inlice; the gradient and the warm sun defeat me, but not before I have stood on a hillside and turned slowly through 360 degrees to take in the vast cerulean sea and the imposing mountains behind — the beauty of Gocek is that one is just as easy to explore as the other.
Late afternoon the next day I drive to the nearby mountain village of Gokceovacik, which has become known for its handful of yoga retreats and some of the most spectacular views in the region. When I pull up on the outskirts of the village, I open the car door to a silence so thick that it feels almost tangible. It’s quickly broken, though, with the sounds of chickens squawking and children chattering, their voices carrying from probably a mile or two away.
I fail to find a waymarked walking trail, so amble for about a kilometre along a track that leads me out onto the mountainside, where the view stops me in my tracks. The few signs of human settlement meld into a vast landscape of undulating mountains, olive groves and forests, each peak slotting into the next — a jagged zig-zag of khaki greens and faded yellows, lit by the slowly setting sun.
Back in Gocek, where the bustling main street is dotted with boutiques and organic cafés and the air thick with English-speaking voices, it’s hard to believe that such unspoilt beauty is just a few minutes’ away. As the night rolls in, the restaurants fill with families, couples settle in for cocktails at tables set in the shallows of the sea and tenders zoom between the yachts that have settled for the night in Gocek’s protected bay. After the wild, silent emptiness of the mountains, it’s rather nice to be surrounded by life and a genuine buzz. I find a table at Mezegi, just off the waterfront, and tuck into a succulent aubergine salad and crisp, roasted seabass, and promise myself not to finish with a baklava (mains from £15; facebook.com/mezegi).
● 21 brilliant luxury villas in Turkey
● The best all-inclusive hotels in Turkey
My base in Gocek is the Rixos — a slick all-inclusive with a private beach accessible by water shuttle, and a broad excursion programme that includes cycling and guided walking tours. Unsure that I’m quite up to careering across the slopes on a mountain bike, I pick up a road bike from the fitness centre and wobble along Gocek’s cobbled promenade, following the path that I walked the previous evening. It’s roughly 2.5km from one side of town to the other, past several marinas and luxury villas; an easy, pleasant ride with a gentle autumn breeze rolling in off the water. On the way back I stop at Baba Dondurma and treat myself to a scoop of salted-caramel ice cream, throwing in a second, lavender scoop for good measure (£2 per scoop, instagram.com/babadondurma).
A beachside bar in Gocek
ANNABELLE THORPE
On my last day I head back towards Koycegiz and turn off for Toparlar, a village set high in the mountain forest that is known for its waterfall and natural swimming pools. It’s a 15-minute walk through the trees along a relatively well-made track, and I’m rewarded for my efforts with crystalline, if ice-cold water and the pleasing roar of the waterfall cascading over the rocks. It’s hardly peaceful — Turkish families have set up picnics and the children are hurling themselves into the water — but it’s entirely untouched; no cafés or stalls, just towering pines, leafy sweet-gum trees and jagged outcrops of rock.
It strikes me, as I drive on to Koycegiz for a final lunch by the lake, how much we miss by believing that all of a holiday should be spent by the sea. The Turkish coastline is extraordinarily beautiful, but it’s in the mountains behind where the real country is to be discovered — a place for gentle adventures among landscapes that have remained unchanged for centuries.
Annabelle Thorpe was a guest of British Airways Holidays, which has seven nights’ all-inclusive at the Rixos Premium from £1,049pp, including flights and transfers (ba.com)
