Turkey is blessed with a beautiful terrain and countryside that’s perfect for outdoor leisure activities such as long-distance biking and rugged terrain cycling. Tourists can hire out mountain bikes for a few Turkish Liras and enjoy the amazing scenery that this country has to offer, there’s no better way to enjoy your holidays than this some of the best locations for this activity include:
Mount Nemrut
It lies approximately 40 kilometres towards the north side of Katha Township near Adiyaman. The terrain is rugged but manageable for those that are really into cycling. Moreover, at the very top of it are tomb sanctuaries flanked by large, artificial statues rising 8-9 meters high. They were created during the 1st Century BC in retrospect to native Iranian, Armenian and Greek gods such as Hercules and Zeus. Therefore, apart from exercising your muscles you can also marvel at the antique constructions and take pictures if needs be.
At one point in time, all these statues were earmarked with the names of each respective deity that they were dedicated to Their heads have since been removed from the rest of the body, and are currently scattered all over the region. The site also preserves stone slabs holding some ancient figures that are believed to have developed a huge frieze, these slabs generally display who the ancestors of Antiochus were, with the origins tracing back to Armenian, Persians and Greeks. The good thing about this site is that there are stop-points where one can pick a few bottles of water and other trip essentials, so that their bike expedition can be a whole lot easier.
Saklikent Canyon
Another great place to cycle is along or inside the Saklikent Canyon during conducive seasons. It is approximately 50km from Fethiye city and measures 300m deep as well as 18 kilometers long, making it one of the deepest natural gorges in the world formed by flood waters 1000s of years ago. Visitors can enter the ravine during summer season when waters are low, about 4kms of the ravine is accessible at this time for adventure cyclists.
Taurus Mountain Range
It’s a large mountain complex found in southern Turkey and dividing Mediterranean coastal plateau with central Anatolian. The geographical system stretches along an arc from L. Egirdir towards the west all the way to the upper sections of river Tigris and Euphrates. The terrain mainly consists of limestone deposits that have eroded into beautiful karstic landscapes consisting of underground rivers, waterfalls and large antiquity caves.
Apart from mountain climbing and hiking, there are 2 ski resorts within the terrain with one at Davras which is approximately 25km from the nearest metropolises of Isparta and Egirdir. The second one is conveniently close to Saklikent 40km from Antalya city. Those who are really willing to exercise their muscles can bike along the Varda Viaduct, it’s situated along the Konya-Adana railway line at Hacikiri, Adana Province. This is a 98m high rail-bridge that was constructed during the 1910s by German imperialists, a favorite biking spot for tourists. For those who haven’t been to this country before but would like to visit it, registering for an official turkey visa is mandatory.