Olympos Ancient City and the Chimaera Flames (Yanartaş)

Olympos is a Lycian and Roman harbour town whose ruins lie scattered through a wooded stream valley that runs straight onto a pebble beach, 85 km by road south-west of Antalya. Few ancient sites let you walk from a temple gate to the sea for a swim. In the hills above Çıralı, at the northern end of the same beach, the Chimaera flames (Yanartaş) burn out of the hillside much as Pliny described them in the 1st century AD, and they look best after dark. You can see the ruins, the beach and the flames in one long day, or stay a night in Olympos or Çıralı. We can plan it as a private day through our tailor-made tours.

Key details at a glance

A short history

Olympos appears on coins of the Lycian League minted in the 2nd century BC and was one of the six cities with three votes in the League, speaking for eastern Lycia. Its sheltered harbour made it a pirate base in the 1st century BC: the Cilician pirate chief Zeniketes used it as his headquarters, and the Ministry links the arrival of the cult of Mithras to his time. In 78 BC the Roman commander Servilius Isauricus captured the city and made it Roman.

Under Rome the town grew, with festivals for Hephaistos, the god of fire, whose cult centre was at the flames on the hill. In early Christian times its best-known figure was Bishop Methodius. Much later, Venetian and Genoese merchants used the harbour, until Ottoman control of the sea in the 16th century ended that trade. Medieval walls still stand on the hill above the south end of the beach.

What to see in the ruins

The remains are scattered along both banks of the river, many of them hidden in dense vegetation.

• The river channel. The stream that divided the town was walled in as a canal and used as a quay, with a bridge between the two halves; one of its abutments survives.
• The city walls. On the south bank, Hellenistic polygonal masonry with Roman and Byzantine repairs.
• The acropolis. A small, steep hill near the river mouth with the remains of late buildings.
• The theatre. A small theatre south of the river, Hellenistic in origin and repaired by the Romans, now badly ruined.
• The temple gate. About 150 m west of the river mouth stands the doorway of a small temple dedicated to Emperor Marcus Aurelius in AD 172-173.
• The captain's tomb. The sarcophagus of Captain Eudemos, in a rock niche right beside the river mouth, names him in its inscription and shows his ship carved on the long side.

The Chimaera flames (Yanartaş)

Yanartaş is a rocky slope above Çıralı where methane and other gases, including hydrogen, seep from cracks in the rock and burn as small, steady flames. Pliny the Elder wrote of a fire here that "does not die by day or night", and Sir Francis Beaufort identified the site in 1811. Myth puts the Chimera here, a fire-breathing monster with a lion's head, a goat's body and a snake's tail; in the version Kemer Municipality tells, Bellerophon, riding Pegasus, buried it deep underground, and its fire still breaks through. Around the flames are the ancient sacred road and the foundations of buildings from the cult of Hephaistos.

You drive to the entrance, 3.7 km by road from Çıralı. From there a stepped path climbs for 30 to 40 minutes, according to Kemer Municipality, which says entry is paid but publishes no price or hours. The Ministry calls the flames especially impressive at night, so it is worth timing the climb for dusk.

How to get there

From Antalya. Olympos is 85 km from central Antalya by road, about 1 hour 20 minutes, and Çıralı 81 km. Antalya Airport to Çıralı is about 95 km, roughly 1 hour 30 minutes; see our Antalya airport transfer guide.

From Kemer. Olympos is 40 km and Çıralı 36 km away, around 40 minutes either way; Kemer Municipality puts the Chimaera about an hour from the town.

Olympos or Çıralı? They are separate turnings off the main road, 20 km apart by car, but they share one beach: Çıralı's 3.5 km of shore ends at the Olympos ruins, so you can walk between them along the sand. If you arrive on the Olympos side, the path to the sea runs through the archaeological site, so you need the €10 ticket even if you only want to swim.

When to go

The ruins are shaded by trees, but summer is hot: Antalya's long-term average high is 34.2 °C in July and 34.1 °C in August, against 25.7 °C in May and 26.6 °C in October. Spring and autumn suit the ruins and the climb to the flames; July and August, with almost no rain, suit the beach. From November to April the portal has Olympos closing at 17:00. Çıralı's beach is a nesting site for loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta), so follow the signs on the sand.

Combining Olympos with nearby places

• Phaselis. About 26 km north of Çıralı (30 minutes), the old harbour city of Phaselis is another Ministry site, also €10 on the e-ticket list.
• Adrasan and Suluada. Adrasan is 15 km south of Olympos by road, about 25 minutes, and its boats sail to Suluada island.
• Antalya. Back in the city, Kaleiçi old town and the Düden waterfalls fill an easy day.

Practical tips

• Wear sturdy shoes: paths through the ruins are uneven and overgrown in places.
• Bring swimwear and a towel, because the beach is right beside the ruins.
• Take a torch or phone light for the walk down from the Chimaera after dark.
• The Ministry suggests spending at least one night near the flames; Olympos is known for tents and treehouse lodgings in the valley.

Our tours near Olympos and the Chimaera

None of our scheduled tours stops at the Olympos ruins or the Chimaera. These three pass along this coast or start close by:

• 15-Day Turkey Tour Package with Blue Cruise: from $2,482 per person. The 4-day cruise from Fethiye passes Kaş, Kekova and Simena, and on its last day follows the coast past Myra, Demre and Olympos before the drive to Antalya; the day plan lists no visit to the Olympos ruins or the Chimaera.
• Grand Turkey Tour Package: 19 Days: from $3,210 per person. Its cruise ends on day 13 on the Myra, Demre and Olympos coast, where Olympos is a last view of the coastline rather than a stop.
• Suluada Island Boat Tour from Antalya: from $50 per person, a full day by boat from Adrasan, 15 km south of Olympos.

For a day built around the ruins, the beach and the flames, ask us about a private trip through our tailor-made tours. Our Antalya tours, Antalya day trips guide and Antalya destination guide cover the rest of the region.

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