Myra/Demre → Belören → Finike

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Stage 19 is not a normal day walk. From Demre the trail climbs through the village of Belören and the hamlet of Zeytin to the Byzantine church at Alakilise — roughly 12–15 km with more than 1,000 m of ascent — then crosses the mountain past the ruins of Belos before descending through citrus groves to Finike. The whole section is about 29 km, and most hikers take three days over it; strong hikers manage it in two.

There is no accommodation between Demre and Finike, so you need a tent or sleeping bag for the nights on the mountain and food for the whole section. Water is available at the fountains in Belören and Zeytin and from wells and cisterns, which should be filtered — assume there is nothing else. Beyond Alakilise the descent crosses loose scree with sparse waymarking, so download the GPX before you leave Demre.

The reward is solitude. The Alakilise basilica sits in an olive grove at the top of the climb and few visitors ever reach it on foot, and in spring the descent to Finike is fragrant with orange and lemon blossom.