Daily Sagalassos & Salda Lake Tour from Manavgat – Ruins & Crater Lake

Sagalassos Ancient City and Salda Lake Day Trip from Manavgat

The daily Sagalassos and Salda Lake tour from Manavgat takes you inland to the Lakes Region of Burdur, combining one of the best-preserved mountain cities of Anatolia with a turquoise lake often compared to the surface of Mars. This guided day tour is ideal for travellers who want history and striking natural scenery in a single outing.

• Guided visit to Sagalassos Ancient City, set about 1,700 metres above sea level
• Monumental ruins where almost every original building block survives on site
• Traces of settlement in the area reaching back some 12,000 years
• Salda Lake, a remarkably deep crater lake that plunges to roughly 184 metres
• White mineral shores and vivid turquoise water, perfect for photographs

Sagalassos lies on the slopes of the Western Taurus near the town of Aglasun, so high that on some days the ruins seem to float above the clouds. It flourished as a city of ancient Pisidia and reached its peak under Roman rule, before earthquakes eventually led to its abandonment. Because its stones were never carried off for later buildings, archaeologists have been able to restore fountains, temples and public squares with their own original blocks, which gives the city a rare sense of completeness.

After the ancient city, this daily excursion continues to Salda Lake. Its brilliant colour comes from fine mineral sediments, and its pale, crystalline shoreline has drawn comparisons with the Martian landscape, making it one of the most photographed natural sights in the region and a fitting finale to the Sagalassos day trip.

Practical notes: return transfers to your hotel in Manavgat, an English-speaking guide and entrance fees in the itinerary are included; lunch is not. Expect a long road day, wear comfortable shoes for the hillside site and bring a jacket, as temperatures at altitude are cooler than on the coast.