Ölüdeniz, the Lagoon Under the Mountain

The view everyone knows comes from above, and it holds up. From the ridge the lagoon is a dark oval of water ringed with pale green shallows, shut off from the bay by a narrow curve of pebbles and sand, with pines running to the edge on every side.

The surprise is on the ground. Paragliders launched from the summit of Babadağ spiral down and set onto the beach as casually as someone stepping off a bus, while lunch carries on around them. Ölüdeniz means "dead sea", a name for the stillness of the lagoon. Little else here is quiet. The front is a long line of sunbeds, paragliders and snack stalls, and it is easy to be snobbish about it. The geography makes that hard to sustain.

The ridge behind the village

Ölüdeniz sits under that same ridge, which closes the village in from behind. In front, the coast bends into a deep bay. The lagoon is protected as a nature park, held apart from the sea by a spit of pale pebbles and sand. Inside, the water is shallow, sheltered and warm, almost green near the shore. Outside, the open bay turns a deep blue, framed by pine slopes that tilt up toward the ridge. No amount of building along the front has managed to spoil that arrangement.

Lagoon or open bay

The two feel very different. The lagoon is the calm choice, good for families and for anyone who wants flat water. Belcekız, along the front, has more space and more energy, deeper water and the smell of grilled corn and sun lotion. Neither is secret, and neither pretends to be.

The coast here is developed. The front stays lively all day, and calm belongs to the early hours and to the evening. Early on, the beach is still enough to hear the pebbles move with the waves. By midday it is full. As the day boats leave and the shadows lengthen, it empties again and the colour in the water deepens.

If you can manage only one hour of it, take the hour after the day boats have left. The light is lower, the colours deepen and the front belongs to the people who live there.

Editor's picks

• Be at the lagoon early.The water is at its stillest and the shallows are almost empty.
• Swim at Belcekız for depth.The water is deeper and livelier than inside the lagoon.
• Watch the landings from the sand.The pilots come down onto the beach, so keep clear of the landing area.
• Book an early paragliding slot.The air is usually smoother and the view from the launch point is at its clearest.
• Take a boat along the coast.Day boats head for cliff-backed coves, including Butterfly Valley and Gemiler, that are far wilder than anything on the main beach.
• Walk a stretch of the Lycian Way.It climbs through the hills above the town toward Faralya, with some of the best views on the coast.
• Breakfast behind the front.Cafés under plane trees serve a proper Turkish breakfast, and in the lanes behind the seafront the food improves and prices fall.

Insider notes

Ölüdeniz works best as a base rather than a destination. If you can, stay in the hills above the resort, where small guesthouses look down on the bay and the noise of the front barely reaches you. Ask which mornings the wind drops, since a still bay is the whole point of the place.

Dolmuş minibuses connect Fethiye with the beach, but check the last return before you settle in. If the beach feels too busy at midday, do what the locals do and retreat to a shaded terrace with a long Turkish tea until the light turns low.

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How to get to Ölüdeniz

Dalaman is the closest airport, about an hour by road, through Fethiye. The dolmuş from Fethiye covers the last leg. Flights from Europe and Istanbul are covered in Getting there.

Ölüdeniz means "dead sea", and at seven in the morning the water lies flat enough to explain it.