Butterfly valley is located about
15 kilometers south of Ölüdeniz and 30 km south of Fethiye. The Butterfly
Valley is protected by the World Heritage Foundation and gets its name from the
exclusive butterfly species. Faralya was well-known simply as the "village
on the cliffs of the Butterfly Valley" till in recent times, when travelers
begin to take a deeper look to the village, actually a quite pleasant sight to
see, with its houses and gardens cascading towards the cliffs of the Valley. There
are over 60 different species of butterfly in the valley several appearing in
the day time and others only venturing out at night. Butterfly Valley actually
discovered by hippies in 1990s when their beloved Blue Lagoon was lost to mass
tourism. There are numerous rare butterflies and for those who are enthusiasts
there is a small museum located in the valley dedicated to giving more in depth
information about the species that can be found there.
A narrow and winding road
connects the village to Ölüdeniz, although the distance is not to much where it
joins the main highway towards Fethiye near the Blue Lagoon. Though the
distance is not that huge, it takes about 30 minutes to drive this road because
of the conditions. During peak season June-August there are boats three times a
day from Ölüdeniz to the Butterfly Valley. Hiking is another activity from
Ovacik, and most hikers do the 16 Kilometers track in one day. But two days
track is much more convenient, especially in summer. The butterfly valley and
village are connected by a very steep and dangerous path. At many places there’s
a need of mountaineering skills. Normally it takes one hour to do the entire
path, depends upon your physical fitness, with two young backpackers having
died when attempting the route in the last decade. It is highly recommended to
never take shortcuts and always stick to the route marked with red dots because
taking a shortcut was the reason of death of one of the backpackers
The path starts from in front of
the guesthouse George House up in the village and marked with red dots all
along it. Local residents used to know
this area by the name Güdürümsü before the valley was re-christened with the
rather romantic current name. Faralya market
provides only grocery store of the village which offers a very meager selection
of vegetables, snacks, and drinks, although the prices are higher even paying
twice or three times more than elsewhere. In butterfly valley only two options are
available for night stay, the Bungalows or camping in a tent. But if you select
to stay in the village you’ve number of guest houses and hotels. If you choose
to stay up in the village itself, you have a number of guesthouses and hotels
to choose from.
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