Patara

Tickets and tours: which to book

No ticket or tour for Patara alone is sold online. Entry works at a gate on the road from Gelemis to the beach, where a single ticket covers both the ancient city and the long beach beyond it. The Turkish Museum Pass, which covers state-run sites across the country, is accepted and pays off if you also plan to see Xanthos, the Letoon, Myra and other sites on the Lycian coast. The ticket is usually valid for the day, so you can leave the ruins, swim and come back.

There are good information panels at the main monuments, and the site is easy to explore alone, on foot or by driving between the main groups of ruins. Local guides can be found in Kalkan and Kas, and some operators offer private tours that bundle Patara with Xanthos and the Letoon, or with the gorge at Saklikent, including transport and lunch.

Many visitors come on boat or jeep excursions from Kalkan, Kas or Fethiye that stop at Patara beach and give an hour or so for the ruins. That is enough for the main street and the assembly hall, but not much more. For most people the sensible plan is to come independently, buy the ticket at the gate, see the ruins in the cool of the morning and spend the afternoon on the beach.

A short history

Patara appears in Hittite texts of the 13th century BC, and the city grew from a hilltop settlement on Tepecik into the chief port of Lycia. It was famous for an oracle of Apollo, ranked by ancient writers just below Delphi. Patara surrendered to Alexander in 333 BC, passed to the Ptolemies and later led the Lycian League. Rome annexed Lycia in AD 43, and Paul changed ships here. Saint Nicholas was born in the city around AD 270. In the 5th century a new wall shrank the city, and after the Seljuk conquest of 1211 it declined, deserted by about 1340. Charles Texier and Charles Fellows explored it in the 1830s, and Turkish teams have excavated since 1988.

Getting there

The nearest airport is Dalaman, about two hours away by car, and Antalya is about three and a half. The coastal D400 road between Fethiye and Kas passes the turn-off for Patara; Gelemis village lies a few kilometres down that road. Dolmus minibuses on the Fethiye to Kas route stop at the junction, and some run into Gelemis itself, especially in summer, with shuttles to the beach. Kalkan is about 20 minutes away by car, Kas about 45. The ticket gate is just south of the village, and the road then runs through the ruins for a couple of kilometres to the beach car park, so a car or bicycle is useful in the heat.

Rules and what to bring

Patara beach is a protected nesting ground for loggerhead turtles, so in the nesting season it is closed at night; do not dig near marked nests. Do not climb on the walls or columns, or disturb the sarcophagi. Bring plenty of water, a hat and sunscreen: there is almost no shade among the ruins. Toilets and a cafe are at the beach, and restaurants are in Gelemis.

When to go

Patara is a site for the early morning or the late afternoon. From late morning until about 4 pm in summer the open plain is very hot, and the sand reflects the glare. Most visitors arrive on boat and jeep excursions around midday and head straight to the beach, so the ruins are often almost empty even in August. Sunset from the theatre or the dunes is the best moment of the day.

April to June and September to October are the best months: warm sea, softer heat and green fields around the harbour marsh in spring. July and August are hot, often above 35 degrees, so see the ruins first and swim in the afternoon. The turtle nesting season runs through the summer, which limits evening access to the beach. Winter is quiet and mild, though some cafes close. Allow two to three hours for the ruins and a full day with the beach.