Dalaman River - Southwest Turkey

Turkey has much more to offer than just the standard package holiday, as Sean Kinsella found out when he jumped on a cheap charter flight, and made his way to the Dalaman river in search of some white water action...

Article by Sean Kinsella

The river
I was working for a white water rafting company called Eco-Rafts as a video kayaker which ran trips on the Dalaman river: Upper and lower sections. The lower section of the river is 14kms Grade 3-4. The grade 3 sections are simple enough but the grade 4 sections can be tricky on higher water levels.

All the rapids are easily scoutable and to portage. There is only one get-in point and one take-out point on the lower section. It is full of big canyons and gorges which make it very difficult to walk out of, so it’s a river for competent paddlers with good safety skills. This is not a river you should be swimming on.

There are five raft companies on the river and between them there have been five deaths on the river over the last six years. When I was there there, there were two near-drownings and a lot of injuries so a bombproof roll is necessary. There are a lot of cover spots and great camera positions at every rapid and also big pools after each major rapid for people to recover after the inevitable happens.

Lower section
The lower section is dam-released. The water is turned on at 1pm and switched off at 5pm each day. Some days the water is switched off earlier so be prepared for a long walk out. Phone numbers for the dam control room can be acquired at all the raft companies’ bases. You have to speak Turkish though!

During the wintertime there is a lot of rain so the river changes a lot during that time. The lower section is a beautiful and amazing one. I learned so much on this river from paddling every day for four months. You can definitely improve your whitewater skills.

Upper section
The upper section is 11km long of grade 4-5. At the start of the section it’s pretty straightforward but after 2 or 3 km it starts to get tricky and technical. The main grade 5 rapid is called portage, mainly because of a very large undercut on river left. In low water it’s pretty straightforward.

It’s a continuous section with very little pools for recovery. There are lots of camera positions and cover spots and all sections are easily scoutable. Your safety and river skills really have to be up to scratch for this section. Like the lower section there is nowhere to walk out, only one get-in and one take-out point. When the river is in flood it is an amazing one but very continuous. You have to know the river well before running it in flood. The section ends up in a lake, which takes half an hour to paddle to the dam, which feeds the lower section.

The best things about the whole river are the views, so spectacular. The water is so blue, big deep gorges and canyons. You are also paddling with just a BA on because it’s really warm. Also there are so many cool lizards and insects all over the river banks. I recommend this river to paddlers willing to improve their skills.

Getting there

Getting to turkey is tricky enough from Dublin. I was lucky with my flights. I booked a package holiday and only took the flights. There are ways of getting there no problem. It just takes some patience. You need to fly to the Dalaman airport which is only 30 minutes from a village called Beyobasi. The villagers are very friendly and will give you directions to the nearest raft companies base.

Accomodation
Once you hook up with the raft guides and the staff at the raft companies, you are sorted. You can stay in the bases pretty much free of charge, sleeping on the rafts, which is very comfortable. You just need to be friendly. All the people there are international and are always up for a party. Food can be bought in the villages and cooked on a gas stove, or you can get food from the raft companies for a very cheap price.

Shuttles
The transport to the river can be organised through the raft companies. Usually you can just throw your boat in one of the rafts and join a trip. Its very safe when you paddle during the high rafting season because there is a lot of people there. There is always cover at each rapid because of the five companies running trips every day. And really good banter with the guides and customers.