Tazi Canyon and Selge Ancient City Jeep Tour with Lunch from Side

Köprülü Canyon National Park and the jeep ride

About an hour's drive inland from Side, where the coastal plain meets the Taurus Mountains, our air-conditioned vehicle hands you over to the jeeps. Köprülü Canyon National Park protects a long stretch of the Köprüçay river as it cuts through limestone, together with the pine and cypress forests on its slopes and a Roman stone bridge that still spans the gorge. The jeep ride climbs the winding mountain road above the canyon on dirt and asphalt sections, with the river far below, and the guide stops at the best viewpoints so you can photograph the gorge and the peaks.

The open jeeps are what make this a Köprülü Canyon jeep tour rather than a bus excursion: you feel the mountain air, the dust and the bends, and children love it. Hold on at the bumpy parts, wear a hat and keep your camera strapped on.

Selge Ancient City

High in the mountains, around a thousand metres above sea level, lie the ruins of Selge, one of the most remote ancient cities in southern Turkey. Founded in antiquity by the mountain peoples of Pisidia, Selge grew into a wealthy, independent city that minted its own coins, traded olives, grapes and timber down the river to the coastal cities of Aspendos, Perge and Side, and at its height counted tens of thousands of inhabitants. Today the village of Altınkaya sits among the ruins, and its stone houses share the hillside with the remains of the agora, temples and city walls.

The highlight is the theatre, cut into the slope with rows of seats intact and a sweeping view of the peaks. Your guide tells the story of the city's rise and decline, and you have about fifty minutes to explore. The entrance fee is paid on site and the ground is uneven, so wear sturdy shoes.

Adam Kayalar rock formations

On the road to Selge the jeeps stop at Adam Kayalar, which translates as the man rocks: a landscape of eroded limestone pillars and pinnacles that the imagination turns into human figures, animals and faces standing on the hillside. The formations were shaped over millions of years by rain and wind working on the soft rock, and together with the views over the canyon they make this the most photographed stop before lunch. The guide explains the geology and the local legends attached to the stones.

Allow around an hour for the stops on this stretch, which include short walks to viewpoints over Köprülü Canyon and the mountains. It is a gentle introduction to the terrain before the swim and the afternoon climb to Tazi Canyon.

The Köprüçay river: swim and lunch

Lunch is served at a restaurant on the bank of the Köprüçay, where the river runs clear and cold between boulders and pine trees at the bottom of the canyon. The meal is a local, halal lunch prepared by the restaurant's cooks, served at tables with a view of the water and the Taurus Mountains; drinks are bought separately. Before or after eating, you have time to swim: the river is fed by mountain springs and stays refreshingly cool even in August, and there are calm pools near the restaurant where families can paddle while stronger swimmers go further out.

Bring swimwear and a towel, and water shoes if you have them, because the stones are slippery. The riverside stop lasts about an hour and is, for many guests, the favourite part of this Tazi Canyon tour from Side.

Tazi Canyon viewpoint

The afternoon brings the grand finale: Tazi Canyon, a gorge carved by the Köprüçay through the mountains near Beşkonak, some four hundred metres deep and only around forty metres wide at its narrowest. Its sheer limestone walls, the thin ribbon of river at the bottom and the eagles that nest in the cliffs have earned it the names Eagle Canyon and Wisdom Valley, and the area is a first-degree protected natural site. The jeeps bring you to the clifftop, and a short walk leads to the viewing platforms on the edge, where the panorama over the canyon and the Taurus peaks is extraordinary.

You have about an hour here for photographs, so this is the moment for a wide lens. On the way back the tour stops at a village café with a view for tea or coffee, and our driver returns you to your hotel in Side between 17:00 and 17:30.