Butterfly Valley in Turkey
Find out all about visiting Butterfly Valley in Turkey, including how to get there and what adventures to do once you arrive.
Butterfly Valley in Turkey
As our Sail Turkey boat pulls into Butterfly Valley in Turkey along the Mediterranean Sea we are greeted by the sheer red, brown and grey cliffs that plunge over 50m into the turquoise sea. The order from the Captain is given to anchor while the tiny dinghy is dropped from the stern with a splash. With only room for four at a time it’s slow progress into the thin strip of sandy beach.
Getting to Butterfly Valley in Turkey
As far as we could tell Butterfly Valley in Turkey can only be accessed by boat, and luckily our 8 day Sail Turkey cruise with Busabout took us straight there on our second day.
There were half a dozen other tourist boats that had also motored up from the town of Fethiye although it wasn’t busy at all. And even though it is so isolated it was still no surprise that as with everything in Turkey there was still a man sitting under his umbrella waiting to charge us 5 Turkish Lira for the 1 km walk up Butterfly Valley to the waterfall.
Butterfly Valley in Turkey
You can only begin to wonder at the forces of nature that have sent millions of litres of snow melt every summer through Butterfly Valley slowly carving out the steep-sided canyon which is now a protected wildlife sanctuary for over 25 different butterfly species. Unfortunately since it was the shoulder season we were told not to expect too many butterflies. Apparently it is better during the height of summer.
The short hike up to the base of the waterfall is gorgeous. Trekking through head-high scrub with what few butterflies there were darting across the path is actually very relaxing. Especially since large hand painted signs along the route warn us that loud noises can actually kill the butterflies.
The silence was only broken by whispered words as we stumbled along in typical Kiwi fashion with our jandals on.
I was constantly worried that my hastily repaired jandals, which were held together with two bobby-pins after an earlier blowout, were going to completely fall apart on the uneven gravel path. Especially when we reached the first stream crossing.
The campground in Butterfly Valley in Turkey
As the path got steeper and the canyon walls closed in around us we had to begin to scramble over rocks and up through the river. Our jandals had to come off. Even though the rocks were covered in water they were surprisingly not slippery. Pretty fortunate as I am sure someone could easily have hurt themselves up here if not careful.
Suddenly the trees above us disappeared and the waterfall was revealed in all it’s glory. Bugger. All that hard work for this? It was only about 10m in height and meandered rather than thundered over the rocks above us. Still enough to stick your head in though and get drenched. But not all that impressive to be honest. Until we saw the hand painted sign attached to the rock face next to it…
“Do not got past! DANGER. DEATH.”
Obviously that meant a bigger and cooler waterfall up just a bit higher! Looked easy enough…
Just had to climb the vertical rock wall next to the first waterfall by holding onto a frayed knotted rope. Hold onto the same rope as you pass under the next small waterfall. Another vertical climb through the river up over boulders larger than me before edging along a 20cm wide ledge. Just don’t look down!
So stoked that I made the decision to climb up though as sure enough a 30m high waterfall gushed over the side of the cliff above us. I was so thankful that it was 25 degrees Celsius as I was already soaked to the bone and looking like a drowned rat. But the exhilaration of looking back down upon Butterfly Valley from that height was truly spectacular.
Adela resting after climbing up Butterfly Valley in Turkey
Unfortunately I didn’t risk taking our camera up to the very top so we don’t have any photos of me getting pounded on the head from the waterfall!
You can get to Butterfly Valley in Turkey with the awesome Sail Turkey cruise by Busabout:
Category: Adventure Travel, Europe
We have been wearing out our jandals (Kiwi slang for flip-flops) on our travel adventures around the world since 2009. We love all types of adventures that make us step outside our comfort zone, in comfort, including surfing, skiing, snowboarding, diving and cruising on our bikes. You can find out more 
I walked the path to the waterfall but decided to turn back once the climbing got a bit ott. I too, was worried about my camera plus the fact that I was on my own. Just kept imagining that if something happened to me, no one would find me!!
I was pretty nervous climbing up as well and had the same thoughts! Luckily there were others with us but I was running scenario’s in my head haha.
I love Butterfly Valley. I used to live in Oludeniz and liked to go and enjoy having Butterfly Valley beach mostly, if not completely, to myself on my days off!
That is awesome Liv! It was an amazing spot and would hate to see it in the middle of summer when it is packed.
But that’s the beauty of the place Cole – even in summer the beach never gets packed because it’s a bit of an effort to get to. Rarely more than a dozen people on the beach. Perfect!
Wow that is awesome Liv! Guess we just showed up when there were 5 other boats there so seemed a bit busier…
Well done for walking on past the sign. Often the best experiences result from a slight detour from what is expected of you. Did you see any butterflies?
Yea kind of got sidetracked away from the whole “butterfly” part didn’t I! We did see a few butterflies but it was out of season so nothing like we expected.
Haha, clearly “DANGER. DEATH.” means keep trekking on! Waterfalls are totally worth it, though.
The sign was pretty dramatic but peer pressure and the sense of adventure won over in this case
I am such a sucker for waterfalls! But I think I might have been scared off by the DANGER DEATH sign. Glad you didn’t die!
Haha we are glad as well!
We didn’t really get out in nature at all on our trip to Turkey last year – another reason to go back – looks gorgeous!
We have so many places to go ourselves so will be going back sometime soon as well I think!
Hehe – I have spent a couple of years working in Butterfly Valley. In summer, they tell visitors that the summer months are too hot for the butterflies, and that they need to visit in Spring/Autumn. Having only seen three butterflies in three years, I’m fairly certain that even with the minimal development in the valley, they have been scared away. Still my candidate for most beautiful spot on Earth
Hahaha that is crazy about the butterflies. There must have been so many in the past for it to be named Butterfly Valley! And we agree it is right up there for beautiful spots
Beautiful adventure and great shots, I miss Turkey!
We miss Turkey as well Angela! Although just in Italy now and damn it is good
This sounds totally different from my experience in Butterfly Valley! I took a boat tour there…well, apparently I did, but I’m not sure if the boat went anywhere near it. We certainly didn’t set foot on land. I ended up with a horrific sunburn on my gorilla legs…it wasn’t fun when it started to peel.
Anyhow, I’m glad you guys had an awesome experience and got some great shots! Although I think you’re clinically insane for going up to the waterfall of death and inching across that tiny ledge. I can feel myself plummeting to my death just thinking about it…
Can’t call ourselves the Adventure Couple if we sit on our asses all day Tom
The ledge was a bit ridiculous but with a few other guys heading up I couldn’t be the one to sit back relaxing.
Sucks you didn’t make it to Butterfly Valley itself but chilling in the sun on a boat, can’t really complain. Apart from the burns I guess!
Wow, Butterfly Valley sounds like quite an adventure! I’m glad you decided to leave the camera behind when you went to the very top. Some photos are just not worth it. The photos you took are beautiful and it would be a huge loss if your readers didn’t get to see them
That sounds like a great adventure! Glad you went beyond the sign and didn’t get hurt
Beautiful shots.
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A little bit scary with the slippery rocks. But then again you need to live a little bit outside the norm in our opinion!