Turkey Guide
The Mediterranean coast and the Hatay
Köprülü Kanyon national park
Inland of Aspendos, the Köprülü Kanyon national park (Köprülü Kanyon Milli Parkı) and its Roman bridges, with the sparse ruins of Selge high in the mountains above, make a good full-day outing with a leisurely lunch stop. There is little public transport to Selge (the ruins of which are scattered amongst the modern village of Zerk, also referred to as Altınkaya) or to the national park – one elusive afternoon dolmuş (ostensibly at 3 or 4pm) passes by each day between Serik, on the coastal highway, to Selge/Zerk, returning next morning at 7am. However, many companies operate half-day raftingtrips down the Köprülü river, allowing time for a stop en route for a swim and lunch. Be warned that in peak season up to 45,000 rafters a day are bussed into this area, making both the road and river very crowded places – serious rafters should look elsewhere. Contact a tour operator in Antalya or Side for bookings.
The turn-off for both the national park ("Milli Parkı") and Selge is signposted 48km east of Antalya on Highway 400; past Sağgırınköyü is a left turn over the river, but you should pass this and continue straight on the asphalt road to Beşkonak, a straggly village. Five kilometres or so further on, you reach a series of trout restaurants which have sprung up to service hungry rafters. Just above these the road narrows; take the left fork, and inch across the first of two Roman spans, the Oluk bridge. You can park here and walk into the canyon via a footpath just after the bridge. From here, it's 13km up to Selge, reached by taking the right fork just after the bridge. Return on the west bank past the Böğrüm bridge, which has a huge, popular picnic and swimming area just downstream from it. Past here are a couple more trout restaurants and pensions and the river crossing back to the tarmac. In all honesty the bridges are nothing special, little different from hundreds of others in Turkey, and it's only the setting that makes Köprülü stand out.