Waterfalls in Antalya: Düden, Kurşunlu and Manavgat

Four waterfalls lie within reach of Antalya: Upper and Lower Düden in the city itself, Kurşunlu in a nature park in the Aksu district, and Manavgat 72 km to the east. Lower Düden drops 40 m, Kurşunlu 18 m and Manavgat 4 m, and each fall has its own operator and its own way in. The tool hangs them on one wall and draws Lower Düden, Kurşunlu and Manavgat to one scale.

Upper Düden: where the Düden water comes up

Düden Waterfall lies in the Kepez district of Antalya. It is also called İskender Şelalesi (Alexander’s Waterfall), Yukarı Düden (Upper Düden) and Düdenbaşı Şelalesi. A düden is a hole where a stream disappears into the rock, and Düdenbaşı is the place where the water comes out again.

The water’s way to the fall

1. Two springsTwo karst springs (springs in limestone rock), the Pınarbaşı, feed two rivers that join and vanish into the Bıyıklı Düdeni, a swallow hole.
2. 14 km undergroundIt comes up at one end of the Varsak depression and sinks at the other.
3. 2 km undergroundIt reaches the surface at Düdenbaşı.
4. At the fallAt least 10 m³ a second (10,000 litres) wells up, even on days when no water runs on the surface. The most is 94 m³ a second, the average 15 to 16 m³ a second.
5. Over the edgeWater falling from above at Düdenbaşı comes from the Kepez hydroelectric plant.

Culture Portal · Kepez District Governorate, 07.05.2019 · checked 28.10.2026

The fall is run by affiliates (iştirak, companies the municipality owns) of the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, Antalya Büyükşehir Belediyesi.

An older place

• Lyrboton Kome. Ruins of this ancient town, about 2,200 years old, are found in the area. It was a Hellenistic town, from the centuries after Alexander the Great, known for olive oil; an olive-oil workshop has been uncovered in recent digs, and rock tombs round the valley are read as a sign that the place was held sacred.
• Kataraktes. The ancient name of the falls. Travellers noticed them, they became a symbol of the city, and old city coins show a river god.
• İskender Şelalesi. Some sources say Alexander the Great, passing through, gave his horses water from this fall.

Booklet of the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, September 2023 · checked 28.10.2026 · booklet (PDF)

Lower Düden: the drop into the sea

The Düden reaches the sea

Lower Düden Waterfall, Aşağı Düden Şelalesi, lies in the Lara area of Antalya. The Düden stream splits into several branches and drops 40 m over steep cliffs into the sea. The edge is a sill of travertine, a pale limestone laid down by mineral-rich water.

The Lara coast, its beaches and what lies along it are in Lara beach and Beaches in Antalya.

Booklet; Culture Portal · checked 28.10.2026 · booklet (PDF) · Culture Portal

An older town

• Magydos. In antiquity a town of this name, also given as Karpuzkaldıran, stood in the area.
• The aqueduct. Some sources say the town’s drinking water came from the Düden by aqueduct.
• The ruins. Part of the ruins is shown in the Karpuzkaldıran Özel Eğitim ve Dinlenme Tesisleri, the Karpuzkaldıran special education and recreation facilities.

Booklet of the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, September 2023 · checked 28.10.2026

Kurşunlu: a nature park in a canyon

Kurşunlu Waterfall lies in the Aksu district of Antalya. A tabiat parkı is a nature park, a protected area open to visitors. Kurşunlu Şelalesi Tabiat Parkı is one of the nature parks of the DKMP’s 6th Regional Directorate. The area opened to visitors in 1986, was declared a nature park in 1991 and was enlarged in 2000.

On the path

• Walks. A walking path with bridges, a historic water mill and a viewing terrace (seyir terası).
• Watching. Plants, rocks and wildlife. A walker may meet rabbits, squirrels, woodpeckers and tortoises.
• Camel rides. Camel rides (deve gezintisi) are among the park’s activities.
• A stop. Picnic tables, a field restaurant and café, a kiosk, a photographer, WC, a prayer room (mescit) and children’s play groups.

Checked 28.10.2026 · DKMP 6th Regional Directorate · Culture Portal · booklet (PDF)

Manavgat: a wide, low fall on a river

Manavgat is three things: a district (ilçe), its main town and a river. The fall is on the river, outside the town, 72 km from Antalya. The Manavgat Municipality puts it 3 km west of the district centre, and the booklet of the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality puts it 4 km from the district.

How high

The booklet gives 4 m, with a high flow of water. The Manavgat District Governorate gives about 5 m for the cliffs the river drops from.

The river

The Manavgat River is 93 km long. It splits into small branches, passes the district centre and reaches the Mediterranean. Trout and many other fish, ducks and geese live on it, and plane trees line the banks. More rivers: Rivers in Turkey. District Governorate; booklet

In June 2022

The Manavgat Municipality finished landscaping the fall’s surroundings: an entrance and a square, a restaurant, sales units and toilets. Municipality news, 26.06.2022

On the river

Rafting and canoeing are on offer from private operators. Köprü Çayı and Köprülü Kanyon, two other nature areas, lie near. Booklet

Checked 28.10.2026 · Manavgat Municipality guide · municipality news · District Governorate · booklet (PDF)

Getting there and getting in: buses, dolmuşes and entry rules

Two kinds of vehicle come up on these routes. A city bus shows its line number and its stops on a board behind the windscreen, like line 94 in the photo, with its stops in two columns. A dolmuş is a shared minibus on a set route; the word means «filled». Manavgat’s leave from Manavgat town.

DKMP entry-fee rules for protected areas, 2026

• No person fee for children under 7 and for pedestrians over 65.
• Students pay half with a student ID; their parents do not.
• Once a day. A person or vehicle fee is charged once per calendar day, and a vehicle fee covers the people inside.
• Foreign visitors pay at least 5 and at most 10 times the area’s person fee, set area by area.
• Operators of an area charge at most the tariff and may charge less.

Kurşunlu Şelalesi Tabiat Parkı is a DKMP nature park. The rules cover areas the DKMP runs and areas a public body or a municipality runs under a protocol (an agreement); each area has its own amounts. · checked 28.10.2026 · DKMP rules (PDF)

Three more falls in Antalya province

Three more falls lie farther from the city, in Serik, Alanya and Kaş.

Quick answers in a few lines

Sources and limits

General information on places and rules that change; ask the operator before you go.