Köprülü Canyon: a planning guide

Köprülü Canyon National Park sits inland in the Taurus Mountains, north-east of the Antalya coast, and the Köprü river runs through it under pine-clad cliffs and a Roman-era bridge. For visitors on the Belek strip it is a full day out rather than an afternoon: a transfer up, a river run of around fourteen kilometres, a swim, lunch on the bank and the drive home. From Belek that day is €23 per adult.

Last updated: August 30, 2026

What is actually there

  • The Köprü river, also written Köprüçay — cold all year, turquoise where it slows, lively where it does not.
  • The Oluk Bridge, a Roman-era arch the river still runs beneath, and the landmark of the rafting run.
  • Pine-clad canyon walls, close together in the narrow sections.
  • The Tazı Canyon viewpoint, a rock terrace at the rim with roughly a 400-metre drop, reached by vehicle rather than on foot.
  • A riverside rafting base with equipment, guides and a restaurant.

How to plan a day here from the coast

Treat it as the whole day. The park is inland and uphill, so a visit from the Belek strip is built around one drive out and one drive back, with the river and lunch between them.

If the rafting is the reason you are going, the day is already organised for you: the transfer, the equipment, a guide in your boat, insurance and lunch are all inside one price. If it is not, you are planning your own transport, and that is a different exercise from a hotel on the coast.

What this guide will not tell you

How far it is, or how long the drive takes. Nobody on our side has measured it from every hotel we collect from, and a figure that is right for one address is wrong for the next.

Which month is best, or what the water temperature is. We have no month-by-month record and nobody has taken a thermometer to the Köprü, so both would be invention dressed as guidance.

Opening hours, entrance arrangements or hiking routes. Those belong to the park rather than to us, and we would rather point at the gap than fill it confidently.

Where to read further

The river itself, what you see from the boat and why Belek is the pickup rather than the place: that is the Köprülü Canyon page. The cliff-top half of the day is on the Tazı Canyon page.

For the practical side — what to bring, whether it is safe, whether children and non-swimmers can come, and what the day costs — the guides on this site answer each in turn, and the price page holds the whole ladder in one table.

Questions

Frequently asked

Where is Köprülü Canyon?
Inland in the Taurus Mountains, north-east of the Antalya coast. The Köprü river runs through the national park; Belek and the coast are where visitors come from, not where the canyon is.
How far is it from Belek?
We do not publish a distance or a drive time — neither has been measured from the hotels we collect from, and a number that fits one address misleads the next.
What can you do in Köprülü Canyon?
Rafting on the Köprü river is what we run. The park also holds the Roman-era Oluk Bridge and the Tazı Canyon viewpoint, which is the afternoon of our combo tour.
How long should I spend there?
From the Belek strip it is a full day, around eight hours door to door including both transfers, the river and lunch.
Book · from €23