# Olympos ancient city near Kemer > Olympos is a Lycian and Roman city in a wooded stream gorge by the sea, about 50 km south of Kemer. Entry is €10 for foreign visitors and free for under-8s; the same ticket gets you onto the beach from Olympos village. It opens daily, 8:00–19:00 in summer and 8:00–17:00 in winter. Allow 2–3 hours. Web page: https://yesgo.io/turkey/kemer/olympos-ancient-city - City: [Kemer](https://yesgo.io/turkey/kemer), Turkey - YesGo score: 21/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 2 h - Opening hours: Daily: summer 8:00–19:00 (last tickets 18:30); 1 November–30 April 8:00–17:00 (last tickets 16:30) - With kids: Fine with kids - Entry (foreign visitors): €10 (age 8+) - Children: Under 8 free - Museum Pass The Mediterranean: Valid: €90, 7 days, 40+ museums and sites in the region - Summer: 8:00–19:00, last tickets 18:30 - Winter (1 November–30 April): 8:00–17:00, last tickets 16:30 - Closed: Open every day - Beach: From Olympos village through the ruins' ticket gate; from Çıralı, free - Payment: Priced in euros; lira accepted at the booth's rate - Getting there: Bus from Kemer to the Olympos junction on the D400, then a valley minibus - Address: Yazır Mahallesi, Olympos Mevkii, Kumluca, Antalya - Coordinates: 36.39656, 30.47354 - Facts checked: 30.10.2026 ## Key facts - **3 votes** — in the Lycian League — one of its six leading cities (source: Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism; English Wikipedia) - **Until 67 BC** — the harbour was a base for Cilician pirates (source: Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism; Russian Wikipedia) - **Hephaestus** — the city's main cult, inspired by the Chimaera flames on the hill nearby (source: Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism; Russian Wikipedia) - **Temple gate** — 2nd century AD, with an inscription honouring Emperor Marcus Aurelius (source: Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism; Turkey's For Life) - **Eudemos sarcophagus** — a sea captain's tomb carved with his ship (source: Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism; Küre Ansiklopedi) - **Methodius** — bishop of Olympos in the late 3rd century, theologian and martyr (source: Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism; English Wikipedia) - **Several basilicas** — early Christian churches — the city thrived into Byzantine times (source: English Wikipedia; Turkey Travel Planner) - **Loggerheads** — Caretta caretta turtles nest on the Olympos–Çıralı beach (source: Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism; Turkey's For Life) - **Arab raids** — led the last residents to abandon the city (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) - **Small theatre** — by the stream, partly hidden under vegetation (source: Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism; Russian Wikipedia) ## Olympos entrance fee and opening hours Foreign visitors pay **€10** from age 8; younger children are free. The price is set in euros, but you can pay in lira at the booth's rate. One ticket covers the ruins and the walk out to the sea from Olympos village — the path to the beach runs straight through the site. The site is open **every day**: 8:00–19:00 in summer and 8:00–17:00 from 1 November to 30 April. The ticket booth shuts 30 minutes before closing. Planning [Phaselis](https://yesgo.io/turkey/kemer/phaselis), the Antalya Museum, Perge or Aspendos as well? The **Museum Pass The Mediterranean** — €90 for 7 days, over 40 museums and sites — is valid here. For Olympos alone it doesn't pay off; for three or four sites in a week it does. > **Not the cable car, not the hotel** Search for “Olympos Kemer” and you'll mostly find the **Olympos Teleferik** cable car up [Mount Tahtalı](https://yesgo.io/turkey/kemer/mount-tahtali) and hotels with the same name in Kemer itself. The ancient city is a different place, an hour south, between Olympos village and Çıralı. Check where your tour or sat-nav is actually taking you. ## How to get to Olympos from Kemer 1. From the Clock Tower on Republic Square, walk about 10 minutes to Kemer bus station. 2. Take a bus or dolmuş heading south towards Kumluca or Finike and ask to be dropped at the Olympos junction on the D400. The ride takes about 40–50 minutes. 3. At the junction, wait for the minibus down the valley to Olympos village — about 10 km, roughly 20 minutes. It runs often in summer and less in winter, so ask the driver when the last one goes back up. 4. From the last stop, walk through the village along the stream to the ticket booth, then through the ruins to the sea — 15–20 minutes. 5. No changes: by car or taxi along the D400 it's about an hour. Or book a guided tour from Kemer — it is often paired with the Chimaera flames in the evening. ## Is Olympos worth visiting? Yes, if you like ruins in wild surroundings. There are no neat paths or ropes around every stone; the city seems to grow out of the forest, and the trail ends at the sea, where you can swim straight away. Neither Perge nor Aspendos offers that. If you want a textbook ancient city — paved streets, a big theatre, a clear layout — Olympos will disappoint: everything is scattered and overgrown. As a half-day from Kemer for the ruins alone it's a long trip, so combine it with the beach and the Chimaera flames after dark. That makes a full day, or an afternoon on a tour. ## What to see at Olympos - **The temple gate** — a tall stone doorway from the 2nd century with an inscription to Marcus Aurelius. The temple itself is gone; the gate stands alone in the greenery and is the classic Olympos photo. - **The sarcophagus of Captain Eudemos** near the stream mouth, carved with his ship and an inscription naming him. - **Hillside tombs** — a necropolis above the south bank of the stream, reached by steep paths. - **Roman bridge piers** across the stream and the remains of baths, on the way from the booth to the sea. - **A Byzantine basilica and the bishop's residence** on the north bank, with patches of mosaic floor. - **The small theatre** — partly cleared, partly overgrown; follow the signs. - **The acropolis** above the beach — a 15-minute climb for a view over the stream mouth and the whole bay to Çıralı. - **The beach** — long, pebbly and without sunbeds: it is a protected turtle-nesting zone. ## Olympos beach and the national park The ruins sit inside **Olympos Beydağları National Park**, which runs down the coast south of Kemer. That's why there are no big resorts here — just a village of guesthouses, treehouse camps and campsites. **Olympos beach** runs south into Çıralı beach, several kilometres of pebbles in all. Loggerhead turtles nest here, so there are no sunbeds or umbrellas — bring a towel, water and water shoes. In nesting season the nests are fenced off; keep outside the markers and don't shine torches on the sand at night. ## A short history Olympos was one of the leading cities of Lycia. In the 2nd century BC it held three votes in the **Lycian League**, the most any member had. Its sheltered harbour at the stream mouth drew Cilician pirates in the 1st century BC, until Rome drove them out by 67 BC. The townspeople worshipped **Hephaestus**, god of fire and the forge, because of the “eternal” flames on the hillside nearby, linked to the myth of the Chimaera. Under Rome the city grew rich, with baths, a temple and a bridge over the stream. In the late 3rd century its bishop was **Methodius**, a theologian venerated as a martyr. Several basilicas followed in Byzantine times; after Arab raids the city was abandoned. Excavations continue every summer, so some areas are fenced off. ## Before you go: checklist - [ ] I'll reach the booth 30 minutes before closing, journey included - [ ] €10 or lira for the ticket - [ ] Closed shoes — the paths are rocky and slippery by the stream - [ ] Water and insect repellent — the gorge is humid - [ ] Swimsuit and towel — the beach is right past the ruins - [ ] I know how to get back: last minibus time or a taxi number - [ ] A torch, if I'm going on to the Chimaera flames ## Olympos vs Phaselis vs the Chimaera | | Olympos | Phaselis | Chimaera flames | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | What it is | Ruins in a stream gorge | Harbour town on a headland | Natural flames on a hillside | | From Kemer | ≈ 50 km, about an hour | 16 km, 20 minutes | Next to Olympos, above Çıralı | | Sea | A long pebble beach | Three bays by the ruins | None | | Entry | €10 | €10 | Separate ticket | | Time needed | 2–3 h | 1.5 h, half a day with a swim | 1–1.5 h, best after dark | | Without a car | Bus + valley minibus | Dolmuş + 2 km walk | Easier by car | Phaselis is the easy half-day. Olympos is further and wilder, and it works best paired with the [Chimaera flames](https://yesgo.io/turkey/kemer/chimaera-flames): ruins and a swim by day, the flames after sunset. ## Kemer's historic sites compared Every historic site around Kemer rated by YesGo. - [Phaselis](https://yesgo.io/turkey/kemer/phaselis) — YesGo score 29/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · €10, under-8s free - [Chimaera flames (Yanartaş)](https://yesgo.io/turkey/kemer/chimaera-flames) — YesGo score 25/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 15 min · 75–165 TL, sources differ - [Olympos](https://yesgo.io/turkey/kemer/olympos-ancient-city) — YesGo score 21/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · €10, under 8 free ## Kemer's ancient south in a day Phaselis and a swim in the morning, the ruins and beach at Olympos by day, then the Chimaera flames above Çıralı after sunset. 1. [Phaselis](https://yesgo.io/turkey/kemer/phaselis) — YesGo score 29/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · €10, under-8s free 2. [Olympos](https://yesgo.io/turkey/kemer/olympos-ancient-city) — YesGo score 21/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · €10, under 8 free 3. [Chimaera flames (Yanartaş)](https://yesgo.io/turkey/kemer/chimaera-flames) — YesGo score 25/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 15 min · 75–165 TL, sources differ ## Good to know Several things around Kemer share the Olympos name: the Tahtalı cable car (Olympos Teleferik), hotels such as Olympos Beach in Kemer town and the treehouse camps in Olympos village. The ancient city is the ruins in the gorge by the sea, beach included. It has nothing to do with Mount Olympus in Greece. ## Tips - Come in the morning or after 16:00: the gorge is stuffy at midday and jeep-safari groups arrive around lunchtime. - Walk the ruins first, in the shade of the trees, then head out to the sea for a swim. - Wear closed shoes — the stones by the stream are slippery and the paths to the tombs are steep. - Stay a night in Çıralı or Olympos village and you'll have the ruins almost to yourself first thing. - After sunset, go up to the Chimaera flames — about 15 minutes by car from Çıralı beach. ## Questions ### How much is the entrance fee to Olympos? €10 for foreign visitors aged 8 and over; younger children are free. The Museum Pass The Mediterranean (€90, 7 days) is valid. ### What are the Olympos ruins opening hours? Daily: 8:00–19:00 in summer and 8:00–17:00 from 1 November to 30 April. The ticket booth closes 30 minutes earlier. ### How do I get to Olympos from Kemer by bus? Take a bus or dolmuş from Kemer bus station south to the Olympos junction on the D400, about 40–50 minutes, then the valley minibus down to the village, about 20 minutes more. ### How far is Olympos from Kemer? About 50 km south — roughly an hour by car or taxi, longer by public transport with the change at the junction. ### Do you have to pay to go to Olympos beach? From Olympos village the beach path runs through the ruins, so you need a ticket. From the Çıralı end you can walk onto the beach for free. ### Is Olympos worth visiting? Yes, for overgrown ruins in a forest gorge with the sea at the end. If you want a big, orderly ancient city, Perge or Aspendos suit you better. ### How long do you need at Olympos? 2–3 hours for the ruins and the beach; a full day with a swim and the Chimaera flames in the evening. ### Can you combine Olympos and the Chimaera? Yes — it's the classic pairing. Spend the afternoon at the ruins and beach, then drive up to the flames above Çıralı after sunset. ### Is Olympos the same as the Olympos cable car? No. The cable car climbs Mount Tahtalı near Tekirova; the ancient city is an hour further south, near Çıralı. ## How we checked Fees, hours, seasons and the Museum Pass come from the official Ministry of Culture and Tourism page. Its summer-season dates contain a typo, so we only state that winter hours run from 1 November to 30 April. An older Ministry leaflet and some guides give other closing times (18:30, 21:00); we don't repeat them. Other facts are checked against at least two sources. Sources disagree on the year Rome took over and on Hadrian's visit (129 or 130), and only one gives the theatre's capacity, so we leave those numbers out. Free beach access from Çıralı, paying in lira and the bus route to the junction are marked “verifying”. ## Sources - Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Antalya Olympos Archaeological Site page (turkishmuseums.com) — fees, hours, Museum Pass, address, history, 30.10.2026 - English Wikipedia: Olympus (Lycia); Russian Wikipedia: Olimp (ancient city); Wikidata Q1380189 - Küre Ansiklopedi: Olympos Antik Kenti - Turkey Travel Planner — Olympus Ancient City Guide - Turkey's For Life — Olympos Ruins --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.