Canyoning Services

About Canyoning

A canyon walk is the corporate nature experience that needs the least equipment and is remembered the most. No helmet, no rope, no technique — shoes and clothes that can get wet are enough. You walk between narrow rock walls in ice-cold water from knee to waist deep; the first ten metres are a shock, the rest is a half hour nobody forgets. Turkey's two canyons best suited to this format are on the Mediterranean, and both sit close to the big hotel regions — which makes them natural add-ons to an Antalya or Fethiye offsite.

Two canyons, two characters

Saklıkent (Fethiye). An 18-kilometre gorge, in places two metres wide and 300 metres deep. Corporate groups walk the first two to three kilometres: a route that starts on a wooden walkway and then moves into water rising from knee to waist. The water is ice-cold even on the hottest summer day — that is Saklıkent. Forty-five minutes from Fethiye and Ölüdeniz hotels; a half-day programme that becomes a two-day adventure with Babadağ paragliding in the same region.

Köprülü Canyon (Antalya). Here the canyon is the rafting course itself: the Köprüçay's 12–14 kilometre route runs between canyon walls. Not a walk in the water but a raft; the canyon is experienced from the boat. Ninety minutes from central Antalya; the most used venue for congress and dealer-meeting side events.

The half-day flow (Saklıkent)

• Transfer and assembly (45 min). Coach from the hotel; early departure, before the midday heat.
• Briefing (15 min). Route, water level, the rule of moving as a group, the turnaround point — in English.
• Canyon walk (60–90 min). A guide at the front, a guide at the back; the group is split into sub-groups of eight to ten moving within sight of each other. Team task: hand-in-hand chains, holding each other at points with current — the canyon itself makes this compulsory.
• Lunch at the canyon mouth (1 hour). Trout on platforms over the river; the regional classic.

Why it is a team event

Moving alone in a canyon is hard: at points with current a hand-in-hand chain forms, on slippery rock the person in front reaches back, when the water rises the group stops and decides together. None of this is designed as a "game"; the canyon forces it. It is the same principle as rafting — cooperation is not encouraged, it is required — but it is less physical than rafting and suits a wider range of participants. It also crosses languages: a hand held out needs no translation.

Who it is for

No swimming is required; the water rarely rises above the waist and the guide turns the route back where it does. Moderate fitness is enough; the real difficulty is the cold of the water and the slippery floor. Older participants and those with balance problems can stay on the first 500 metres of walkway and return to the lunch area — this is Saklıkent's "everyone enters, those who want go on" character. Participation is not recommended in pregnancy or with serious joint problems.

Season and equipment

May to October; in April and early May the water is high and dangerous and the canyon may be closed. June to September is the ideal window; the cold water turns into an advantage in the summer heat. Equipment: laced shoes that can go in water (flip-flops and sandals are not accepted — slippery rock and current), clothes that can get wet, a change of clothes, a towel, a waterproof phone case. Helmet and buoyancy aid are not needed on the corporate route; the guide team carries first aid. Rain and downpours in the upper catchment are cancellation criteria — flash flooding in canyons is taken seriously, the decision is the guide's and it is final.

Frequently asked questions