Mount Chimaera was the name of a place in ancient Lycia, known in Turkish as Yanartaş, or ‘Burning Rock’, where methane and other gases emerge from the rocky slopes of Mt Olympos and burn. Some ancient sources considered it to be the origin of the myth of the monster called the Chimera. These extraordinary flames should be the breath of a monster – part lion, part goat, and part snake – that had terrorized Lycia. Although a flame can be extinguished by covering it, it will reignite close by into a new and separate flame. The best time to visit is in the evening, it takes around a 30-minute climb up a stepped path to the site (🎫 16 TRY).
Parking location – Chimaera: 36.439692N 30.432077E