Kekova Sunken City Sea Kayak

Kekova Sound, Lycian Coast, Antalya Province · Turkey

Easy5 daysAsia~£680 est.

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Overview

Beneath your hull lies a staircase that has led nowhere for eighteen centuries. Kekova Sound, on Turkey's Lycian coast, holds the ruins of ancient Dolchiste — dropped into the sea by a second-century earthquake — and a sea kayak is the only craft allowed close: you drift over submerged walls and doorways, quays a metre underwater, amphora shards catching the light. Swimming over the protected zone is banned, which keeps the water archaeologically still and glass-clear. Across the sound, Kaleköy village stacks up to the castle of ancient Simena, Lycian sarcophagi standing hip-deep in the shallows. Five days covers the sound and its islands at siesta pace: morning water like oil, grilled fish at a jetty restaurant, a crossing to the Aperlai ruins, gulets ghosting past under sail. Base in Üçağız, a fishing village reached by dolmuş from Demre; fly to Antalya or Dalaman. Guided trips with licensed operators run from about £680 including guesthouse nights and permits — the sound is protected, so freelancing is restricted. Sea state is rarely the issue; the variable is heat, which is why spring and autumn are the connoisseur's seasons and July departures launch at first light.