Butterfly Valley, Fethiye

Butterfly Valley is a narrow canyon that opens onto the Mediterranean on the Turkish coast south of Fethiye. Its walls rise 350 to 400 metres, so steep that the valley floor is effectively cut off from the land around it, and the only easy way in is from the sea. At the mouth lies a small beach; behind it the gorge runs three or four kilometres back into the mountain, fed by a stream that comes down from a spring near the village of Faralya, high on the rim above.

The valley owes its name to its insects. Researchers have recorded 105 species of butterfly from 15 families here, but the emblem is the Jersey tiger, a moth in the local subspecies Euplagia quadripunctaria rhodosensis. The flora is equally rich: 147 plant species from 54 families. A path from the beach leads inland to two small waterfalls about 60 metres high that run all year round.

Part of the attraction is the frame. From the water, the valley appears as a sudden green cleft in a sheer rock wall, with the slopes of Babadağ rising behind it. The valley was declared a first-degree protected nature area on 8 February 1995. In July and August around two hundred people camp on the beach each night, and the valley keeps an air of a hideaway rather than a resort.

Getting there

Butterfly Valley is about 16 km from Fethiye. The nearest airport is Dalaman (DLM), about 38 km away. Shuttle boats run through the day from Belceğiz Beach at Ölüdeniz, 5 to 7 km along the coast; the crossing takes around 20–25 minutes. A path descends from Faralya on the clifftop, but it is steep, with several fixed-rope sections, and is only for confident hikers, ideally with a guide.