Description of the attraction
One of the most romantic mountains is Mount Olympos, which is better known in Turkey as Tahtali. Mount Tahtali is a visiting card of Kemer. It is an integral part of the Western Taurus mountain system. It is the dominant peak of Olympos National Park.
The park has an area of several tens of thousands of hectares. The nature of the national park, fenced off by a powerful mountain range from the mainland of Turkey, is unique in its pristine nature. The flora in the park is represented by three distinct zones: alpine meadows, pine coastal and mountain cedar forests, in which wild boars and turtles are abundant, and in more remote areas from settlements you can find foxes, wolves, hyenas, jackals, lynxes and wild goats.
Tahtali is located near one of the most favorite places for swimming and recreation, next to the tourist center - the city of Antalya. It represents the second highest peak in the Olympos - Beydaglari - National Park zone, and rises royally between Antalya and Finike as the dominant peak in the Beydaglari mountain range. You can see it from almost anywhere in Kemer, in addition to everything, it is perfectly visible from the sea.
The mountain is shrouded in many legends. One of them tells that the hero Bellerophon, exiled to Lycia, killed the Chimera - a monster with the head of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a snake with his arrow and threw it inside Mount Olympos, and since that time the flame flares up there 365 days a year. Of course, geologists have their own explanations on this score, but this in no way can affect the historical fact, since this ancient mountain is mentioned by Homer in the Iliad.
Mount Takhtaly is famous for its special funicular-lift, which the Turks call "teleferik", which stretches from the very coast of the sea to the top of Takhtaly. The spectacular teleferic climb turns dreams into reality and brings the slogan "From Sea to Sky" to life. The funicular, which takes tourists almost to its top, at a height of two thousand three hundred and sixty-five meters above sea level, is the main modern attraction of Antalya. From the observation deck, in good weather, you can admire the panorama of the coastline, opening for many kilometers around - from Finike to Side. The cable car was designed and manufactured in Switzerland, which testifies to the highest level of its reliability. It can also be noted that Mount Olympos-Tahtali is known for being the highest peak in the world, which is located so close to the sea coast, and the cable car itself on Mount Tahtali is the first cable car in Europe in length and the second longest in the world. …
Passengers board at the lower station, which is 726 meters above sea level. This site can be reached both by a rented car and by bus. It is located fifty kilometers from Antalya. Tourists here can visit the mini-zoo or have a bite to eat at a local cafe.
The upper station is a three-story solid building, in which, along with the waiting and arrival halls, there are two more restaurants (a terrace restaurant and a panoramic one), souvenir shops and the observation deck itself, located on the roof of the building with a 360º panorama. A stunning view of the mountain range, the sea surface and the coast opens from the upper station. From here you can see Kemer and the nearby villages - Tekirova and Camyuva, even in cloudy weather. At this station, you can also buy hiking tours in the mountains and watch evening performances organized by prior arrangement for groups.
The climb itself lasts twelve minutes, during which the cable car, moving at a speed of about ten meters per second, manages to overcome four kilometers three hundred and fifty meters along the mountain slope. The Tahtali cable car uniquely combines two classic holiday destinations: the mountains and the sea.
