Leleg Way hiking guide: route map, stages & where to stay

The Leleg Way (Leleg Yolu in Turkish, also called the Lelegian Way or Leleg Trail) is a waymarked walking route on the Bodrum peninsula in Muğla province, in south-west Türkiye. The main route runs for 88 km from the village of Etrim in the east to Şevket Sabancı Park on the seafront of Turgutreis in the west. It keeps to the hills behind the resorts, on old mule paths, forest tracks and village lanes, and links the hilltop settlements of the Leleges, the people who lived on the peninsula before and alongside the Carians. The Bodrum Chamber of Commerce (BODTO) built the route with the South Aegean Development Agency (GEKA) in 2016 and 2017, to bring walkers in spring, autumn and winter. The main route is marked with red and white paint and signposts. About 30 marked connectors (bağlantı yolları), a northern route and a bike route lead down to the towns and bays, so the whole network is about 185 km.

The route

The trail starts at Etrim, a carpet-weaving village in the north-east of the peninsula, and climbs straight away to Kale Dağı and the walls of Theangela, the largest Lelegian city. It then crosses the high, wooded country around Çiftlik and Çamlık, passes below Syangela above Alazeytin and drops almost to the sea at Yalıçiftlik bay. From there it climbs again over the ridges east of Bodrum, with views over the castle and the Gulf of Gökova, and passes above the town at Yokuşbaşı. The next section is the best known: the climb to Pedasa, the best-preserved Lelegian site, and on over the highest part of the route (533 m) above Konacık to Girelbelen and the village of Dağbelen. The last days are lower and gentler: past Yaka and the abandoned Greek village of Sandıma above Geriş, down to Dereköy and İslamhaneleri, over the hills above Akçaalan and Karabağ with views to the Greek islands, and down to the sea at Turgutreis.

This guide follows the official coordinate list published by GEKA and splits the route into 6 stages, about 14.7 km each. The route book by Necip Damar describes seven stages, and the tourism ministry's Go Türkiye site says about five days; the stages here end where you can reach a bed, because the main route touches only a few villages. On some days you walk down a marked connector or take a short taxi ride to your hotel and return the same way next morning. The highest point is 533 m and the route adds up to about 3,000 m of climbing.

Highlights

• Theangela: city walls and towers on Kale Dağı above Etrim, on the first morning
• Syangela and Alazeytin: a Lelegian hilltop site above an abandoned stone village
• Pedasa: the best-preserved Lelegian city, with walls, tombs and a temple terrace above Konacık
• The high ridge above Konacık: the highest point of the route, with views over Bodrum, Bitez and Yalıkavak
• Sandıma: an abandoned Greek village of stone houses above Geriş
• The last hills above Turgutreis: wide views to the Greek islands before the descent to the sea

When to walk the Leleg Way

The best months are October and November, and March to May. The weather is then usually dry and mild, and spring brings wild flowers. December to February is the rainy season, but many winter days are clear and good for walking; some paths are muddy. From June to September it is very hot, the hills have little shade, and fire risk is high: in the fire season the Muğla Governorship can ban entry to forests at short notice. In spring and late autumn many big beach hotels are closed, so choose town hotels and pensions.

How many days do you need?

Allow five to seven days. The 6 stages in this guide range from about 10 to 22 km. The longest day is stage 2, Çiftlik to Yalıçiftlik, at about 21 km with a long descent at the end. Because the peninsula is small and minibuses (dolmuş) and taxis reach every town, you can also stay in one or two bases and walk the route in day sections, which many local walkers do.

Getting there and logistics

Milas-Bodrum Airport (BJV) has flights from Istanbul and, in season, from many European cities; airport buses run to Bodrum bus station. Etrim has no reliable public transport: take a taxi from Bodrum or the airport. Turgutreis has frequent minibuses to Bodrum. Minibuses also run between Bodrum and Konacık, Ortakent, Gündoğan, Yalıkavak, Gümüşlük and Turgutreis.

You sleep in hotels, boutique hotels, pensions and a few campsites in the towns and bays below the trail: Yalıçiftlik, Bodrum, Gündoğan, Gümüşlük and Turgutreis. There are no huts and almost no beds in the hill villages on the route. Book ahead, especially in spring and autumn, when some places are closed. There are no shops or cafés on most stages, so carry food for the day.

Money and phone signal

The currency is the Turkish lira. There are ATMs in every town around the route, and hotels take cards, but carry cash for minibuses, taxis and village shops. Mobile signal is good on most of the route, which is never far from a town, but it drops in some valleys.

What to pack

Carry 2 to 3 litres of water: there are few springs and many cisterns are dry or unsafe. Bring sturdy shoes with a good grip for loose stones, long trousers against thorny scrub, a sun hat, sunscreen, a windproof layer, a headlamp, a first-aid kit and the GPS track on your phone. Signs have been turned or removed in places, so do not rely on the waymarks alone.

Difficulty and safety

The Leleg Way is a moderate to hard walk, not because of its height but because of its rough paths: many short, steep climbs and descents on rocky, stony ground, with little shade. Start early in warm weather and rest in the heat of the day. Keep your distance from guard dogs and do not run. Wild boar are hunted in the hills in autumn and winter. Do not light fires or smoke in the forest, and report any smoke at once. In an emergency call 112, the single emergency number in Türkiye. The public Bodrum State Hospital and the private Acıbadem Bodrum Hospital, both with 24-hour emergency departments, are on the Bodrum-Turgutreis road near Konacık and Ortakent, never more than about 40 minutes by road from the trail.

History

Ancient writers such as Herodotus and Strabo describe the Leleges as an old people of Caria who lived in fortified hilltop towns on the Bodrum peninsula. In the 4th century BC the Carian ruler Mausolus moved much of their population to his new capital, Halicarnassus, today's Bodrum, and the hill towns slowly emptied. Their dry-stone walls, towers, tombs and cisterns still stand on the hills, at Pedasa, Theangela, Syangela and other sites. Modern historians debate whether the Leleges were a separate people or an older name for the Carians. The trail itself is new: the first section, at Pedasa, opened in March 2016 and the eastern section in April 2017.