Kaş and Kalkan: quiet living on the Lycian coast

2026-10-08 · Author: Grand Emlak

Kaş and Kalkan, at Antalya's western tip, are the first stop for anyone seeking a quieter life; this guide uses official sources only.

Kaş: from Lycian harbour to boutique resort town

The ancient name of Kaş is Antiphellos; its older Lycian name is recorded as Habesos or Habesa. The city was a member of the Lycian League and is known to have been inhabited since the 6th century BC. The Hellenistic theatre on the acropolis hill still stands, its twenty-six rows of seats facing the sea. Antiphellos is among the "Ancient Cities of Lycian Civilization" proposed for the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List (2009). Source: Türkiye Culture Portal, accessed 08.10.2026

Renamed Andifli under the Seljuks, the settlement passed from the Tekeoğulları principality to the Ottoman state in the reign of Yıldırım Bayezid. The name Andifli survives in the central neighbourhood of the town, and the 4th-century BC monumental tomb with a Lycian inscription on Uzun Çarşı Street is known locally as the "King's Tomb". Source: Kaş Municipality, accessed 08.10.2026

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism notes that the name Kaş means "eyebrow" or "something curved", and that the town sits beneath cliffs 500 metres high. Summer daytime temperatures reach around 35 degrees; winter days are mild, though nights can drop below 10 degrees. Famous for its exported sponges in Roman times, Kaş is known today for canoeing, diving, paragliding and Blue Voyage cruises. Source: Ministry of Culture and Tourism, accessed 08.10.2026

According to Kaş Municipality, the district has a population of 61,488 and an area of 1,722 km². The Antalya Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism describes Kaş as having grown from "a small harbour town squeezed at the foot of mountains rising abruptly from the sea" into a fully serviced resort. Source: Kaş Municipality, Antalya Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, accessed 08.10.2026

Kalkan and Kaputaş

Kalkan is the district's second centre, west of Kaş towards Patara. On the coastal road between them lie Kaputaş Beach and, about 600 metres before it, the Blue Cave, 18 kilometres from Kaş and 6 kilometres from Kalkan. Discovered in 1972 by geologist Dr. Temuçin Aygen, the cave is 50 metres long, 40 metres wide and 15 metres high. Source: Türkiye Culture Portal, accessed 08.10.2026

Kalkan Public Beach, run by Kaş Municipality, operates from 15 May to 30 September and has held the Blue Flag every year from 2010 to 2025. The Patara Prince resort beach, also in Kalkan, has carried the Blue Flag since 1996. Source: Blue Flag Türkiye, Blue Flag Türkiye, accessed 08.10.2026

Kaş Municipality's list of beaches includes Kaputaş, Patara, Akçagerme, Büyükçakıl, Küçükçakıl, Hidayet Cove, İnceboğaz, Limanağzı, Seyret Çakıl, Kadınlar and Acısu. Source: Kaş Municipality, accessed 08.10.2026

Patara, Xanthos and Kekova

Patara, in today's village of Gelemiş, became the capital of the Lycian League in 167–168 BC; the council building where the League met and the structure built under Nero, described as the world's oldest lighthouse, are here. The twelve-kilometre Patara Beach adjoining the ancient city is a nesting ground for sea turtles and is reached by minibus from Kaş and Kalkan. Source: Türkiye Culture Portal, accessed 08.10.2026

Xanthos, near the village of Kınık in Kaş, was the capital of ancient Lycia and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List together with Letoon in 1988. Source: Türkiye Culture Portal, accessed 08.10.2026

To the east, the Kekova area in Demre district lies roughly 200 kilometres west of Antalya. The sunken cities around Kekova Island, the Lycian sarcophagi standing in the water along the shore, and the settlements of Simena (Kaleköy) and Üçağız are protected within the "Kaş-Kekova Special Environmental Protection Area"; the region has been on the UNESCO Tentative List since 2000, and its shores are reached mainly by boat. Source: Türkiye Culture Portal, accessed 08.10.2026

The Lycian Way, the marina and Meis

The roughly 540-kilometre Lycian Way, running between Ölüdeniz and Geyikbayırı in Konyaaltı, is Türkiye's first long-distance hiking route; walking it in full takes about a month along the historic paths that linked the ancient Lycian cities. Source: Türkiye Culture Portal, accessed 08.10.2026

Setur Kaş Marina, 1 kilometre from the town centre, has a total capacity of 567 boats, 447 at sea and 120 on land; the nearest airport, Dalaman, is 150 kilometres from the marina. Source: Setur Marinas, accessed 08.10.2026

The Greek island of Meis, only 2.7 kilometres off the Kaş shore, became the town's sister city under a protocol signed on 27 June 2008; the island, 6 kilometres long from north to south, hosts joint cultural and arts events of the two municipalities. Source: Kaş Municipality, accessed 08.10.2026

Getting there

Kaş is linked by the coastal road to the provinces of Antalya and Muğla, and by roads climbing north to the interior via Elmalı and Korkuteli. Source: Antalya Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, accessed 08.10.2026

The nearest airport is DHMİ-operated Muğla Dalaman Airport (DLM), opened in 1981 and handling domestic and international flights; Antalya Airport (AYT), in service since 1960, is likewise open to both. Source: DHMİ, DHMİ, accessed 08.10.2026

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