St. Paul Trail
The Saint Paul Trail starts just east of Antalya and passes through some of the greenest parts of the Taurus mountains where natural pine, cedar, oak and juniper forests abound. It then descend into the Lakes district with its fertile plains full of fruit trees.
This second long distance walking route of Turkey of around 500 kms follows some of the Roman roads used by St Paul on his journey from Perge, on the south coast, to Antioch in Pisidia, near Lake Eğirdir. Untouched by time, the pastoral life style, the richness of history, the beauty of nature and diversity of wild life gives this area almost everything a trekker can wish for on a walk.
The Turkish Lakes are a series of huge shallow lakes trapped between the folds of the Northern Taurus and Sultan Mountains. At an average altitude of 1000m, they are surrounded by peaks which rise to 3000m. On their shores are the old Selçuk towns of Beyşehir, Eğirdir and Burdur, many small villages and summer pastures overlook their tranquil waters. Often frozen in winter, the lakes are a haven for migrating birds, and the surrounding meadows and marshes support a huge mix or orchids and other wild flowers, as well as apple orchards in abundance. Best times to visit are mid-May to end September, when the weather is almost guaranteed to be perfect and the waters warm enough for swimming.
As Middle Earth team we are proud to have been part of the St Paul Project from the very early stages. We helped Kate Clow, the author of the St Paul Trail book and the creator of the project, with route finding, field research, waymarking and organization of the trail. We don’t think it is too much to say that: “We have the best equipped team to run tours on this beautiful route.” Our programs include a guided tour and self-guided option that can also be made into tailor made holidays on request.