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| Entry point for paddling the Azmak river in Gökova- great place to unload the boards |
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| Azmak means "running wild" in Turkish and is used to describe the river that runs into the sea in Akyaka. This river is formed by springs that extend about two miles east to west. |
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| On this day the river current was not too strong, we paddled with 3 adults and two children. We found some tubers along the way:) |
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| The Azmak has some shallow areas but can get very deep as well. It has rich underwater fauna and is a popular spot for daily boat trips and diving. |
The water is cold and salty, watercress and celery thrive here and fish and sea turtles can be found easily.
We passed many boats going down the river as well as riverside restaurants. However, the river is not overly crowed and can easily be navigated by paddle board.
Akyaka town is located at the gulf of Gökova, a common place to kite surf because of its almost constant wind, and a great place to paraglide due to the surrounding high peaks.
In the background you can make out the kites of kite surfers who are surfing in the gulf of Gökova. Gökova is really Turkey's kite surfing hot spot with 3 schools operating here.
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| We ended our paddle at a riverside restaurant where the river boats park. We played in the water awhile with the kids then had a beer:) We parked a car at the end of the river so that we could drive the boards back instead of paddling back up the river. The current is a bit too strong to navigate against the current. If you don't have two cars you can easily taxi back to your parked car. |
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| Akyaka and Gökova have ancient histories which make then even more interesting. Gökova is the inland town from Akyaka and was the ancient city of Idyma. Idyma's remains are still visible here and date back to the 4th century BC. This region has natural beauty and history tucked into a quaint village. I would recommend a visit to anyone. | |
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