smell

As soon as you set foot in Muğla, you can smell the sparkling sea, clean air and pine forests intertwined with the sea with the winds blowing from the Aegean and Mediterranean. While you breathe the scent of plants and fruits in the citrus gardens in many districts of the city, you will go to other lands.

In the Butterfly Valley (Kelebek Vadisi), you can inhale the scent of lavender flowers and chaste trees, which set the ground for the natural environment of the butterfly family. The scent of sweetgum trees, which are an endemic plant species and are found only in the form of forests in America and Köyceğiz in the world, is unrivalled.

And if you happen to be here, do not forget to smell the buffalo linen that stands for Bodrum, the oleander and bougainvillea that decorate the streets in Datça and overflow from the flowerpots in front of the doors, and the almond flowers that bloom in the spring.

Selimiye

Selimiye is also one of the frequent destinations for blue cruising between Bodrum and Marmaris.

It is a village surrounded by green, with clean and generally gentle seawater. Small restaurants gathered around the pier generally serve for boats. Around Selimiye there are three antique castle ruins named Hydas. The ruins of the Hellenistic walls in the southeast hill of the bay can be visited. The Lookout tower 100 meters offshore was built in order to provide guidance for the boats approaching Selimiye. Also the lighthouse, monasteries and other ruins are worth seeing. Remains unearthed from wrecks in the region are exhibited in the Bodrum Underwater Museum (Bodrum Sualtı Müzesi). 

In Selimiye which is the natural harbour for boats in stormy weather, the "shallow harbour" beach is one of the places worth seeing.

There are many restaurants around the pier where yachts are anchored in Selimiye. In restaurants that serve mainly seafood and fish, you can choose either grilled or steamed fish, depending on the kind of the fish. Pure olive oil and bay leaf add a different flavour to steaming. Stuffed courgette flower is a specialty of the Southern Aegean.

Saklıkent Canyon

Saklıkent Canyon (Saklıkent Kanyonu) in Muğla's Seydikemer district is a highly preferred natural attraction with its natural track consisting of steep slopes and cool waters, where the sun does not reach in hot summer months. Everybody is welcomed to have a walk on the 2km wooden pier attached to the canyon walls, along the 18 km Eşen Stream (Esen Çayı), which flows powerfully during summer. The remaining 16 kilometres of the Canyon can only be visited by those with professional equipment for canyoning. Only the sky can be seen among the rocks that exceed a thousand meters in places. There are also activities such as rafting, zipline and bungee jumping in the water flowing from the canyon for adventurous visitors.

Karabağlar Plateau

We recommend that you leave the city centre of Muğla and see Karabağlar Plateau (Karabağlar Yaylası), which is 3 km away. With its cold spring water, great plane trees, abundant fruit trees, it is a place of escape in hot days. The whitewashed, red-tiled houses of the Karabağlar Plateau bear the same characteristics as the preserved historical houses of the Saburhane district of Muğla. The delicious “kuyu büryanı” served in restaurants in the neighbourhood of Karabağlar Süpüroğlu quarter is one of the tastes you shouldn't miss.

Butterfly Valley

Butterfly Valley (Kelebek Vadisi) is one of the most prominent places in Muğla (Fethiye), which has created an isolated structure from the outside world thanks to its natural and protected structure surrounded by the sea and steep cliffs. It is a very surprising effect to see billions of butterflies covering the rocks, the trunks and leaves of the trees, in short, everywhere like a shawl, after a little painstaking climb in the rocky and pine valley, which is declared a 1st degree natural protected area and closed to all kinds of buildings. With a sound or a tiny movement, the butterflies fills the sky, casting a shadow over the valley. The valley in question is home to more than 80 butterfly species.

Kabak Bay

Kabak Valley (Kabak Koyu) is one of the natural protected areas where many endemic plants are located. It is a bay for yoga and nature lovers, athletes who prefer the camping sites surrounded by nature and wooden bungalow houses. The bay, which is a paradise including the Lycian way walking route, is among the places that should be visited.