Top 17 Natural Monuments in the Yanartas Mountains

The Gelidonya Lighthouse – one of the beacons in the Mediterranean – is located at Cape Taşlık (Taşlık Burnu) in the Kumluca district. It is the highest lighthouse on the Turkish coast; its location is 227 meters above sea level and about 3 kilometers inland. Since the lighthouse, built on rugged rocks and difficult to access, could not be connected to the power grid, it had to be wound up by hand for a long time to function. Since 2017, the facility has been powered by solar energy with 220-volt electricity. In the area near the lighthouse, you can also camp. However, be sure to bring enough water and food and be prepared to see scorpions and snakes.

Directly below the fires are the remains of the Temple of Hephaestus, the Greek god who was associated with fire through his role as the blacksmith of the gods. Hephaestus was the main deity of the city of Olympos in Roman times. Some inscriptions and ruins of the temple can still be seen today. In the Byzantine period, after the advent of Christianity, a basilica was built over the temple.

Chimaira (Ancient Greek: Χίμαιρα Chímaira (f. sg.), Latinized: Chimaera) or Turkish: Yanartaş ('burning stone') is a site in Lycia, Asia Minor, known since antiquity, where a rare, millennia-old natural phenomenon can still be observed today. Flames erupt from the rocky ground of a mountainside in two separate areas at several points – the 'eternal fires of the fire-breathing Chimaira,' which gave the place its ancient name. There are two fire fields about one kilometer apart, of which usually only the lower one is visited. It can be reached from Çıralı in about 30 minutes uphill. An entrance fee is charged. The path to the upper fire field from Ulupınar is free of charge, but more arduous. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimaira_(Lykien)

Chimaira (Ancient Greek Χίμαιρα Chímaira (f. sg.), Latinized Chimaera) or Turkish Yanartaş ("burning stone") is a place in Lycia, Asia Minor, known since antiquity, where a rare, millennia-old natural phenomenon can still be observed today. Flames erupt from the rocky ground of a mountainside in two separate areas at several points – the "eternal fires of the fire-breathing Chimaira," which gave the place its ancient name. There are two fire fields about a kilometer apart, of which usually only the lower fire field is visited. You can reach it from Çıralı in about 30 minutes uphill. An entrance fee is charged. The path to the upper fire field from Ulupınar is free of charge, but more arduous.

Chimaira (Ancient Greek Χίμαιρα Chímaira (f. sg.), Latinized Chimaera) or Turkish Yanartaş ("burning stone") is a place in Lycia, Asia Minor, known since antiquity, where a rare, millennia-old natural phenomenon can still be observed today. Flames erupt from the rocky ground of a mountainside in several places across two separate areas – the "eternal fires of the fire-breathing Chimaira," which gave the place its ancient name. There are two fire fields about one kilometer apart, of which usually only the lower one is visited. It can be reached from Çıralı in about 30 minutes uphill. An entrance fee is charged. The path to the upper fire field from Ulupınar is free of charge, but more arduous. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimaira_(Lykien)

On the beach of Çıralı there is a rock passage that is now about two meters high and can be easily bypassed via the beach. The explorer Francis Beaufort describes this passage as the "only path leading into the adjacent valley" and gives it the local name Deliktaş (in English hole stone). Above the passage there are still remains of embedded roof tiles, which suggest a larger roofing. Due to silting, the passage is now about 20 m away from the water, although after occasional winter storms the waterline can reach the rock, so that it is then actually the only access from the beach again. Therefore, it is also to be expected that the actual path through the rock lies significantly deeper than the current silting suggests. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympos_(Lykien)

The climb or ride up here is definitely worth it. You are guaranteed a great all-round view, provided you are not in the clouds.

The ruins are worth seeing.