Fire that comes out of the ground
On a bare, rocky slope above the village of Çıralı, dozens of small flames burn directly out of cracks and holes in the mountainside — no wood, no fuel canister, nothing visibly burning down. This is Yanartaş, literally "burning rock" in Turkish, and internationally known as the Chimaera. The flames are fed by methane gas escaping from deep underground through fissures in the limestone and ultramafic rock of Mount Olympos (Tahtalı Dağı), igniting spontaneously on contact with air. Extinguish one and, given enough time, gas will find a new crack and a new flame will appear nearby — the phenomenon isn't tied to a single fixed vent, but to an active, gas-permeable patch of mountainside.
Geologists studying the site have measured the escaping gas as being composed mostly of methane with traces of other hydrocarbons, likely generated by the serpentinization of ophiolite rock in the area — a naturally occurring chemical reaction between water and certain rock types that can release hydrogen and support this kind of long-term gas seepage. Whatever the precise mechanism, the practical result for visitors is remarkable: real, continuous fire, seemingly self-sustaining, scattered across open rock in a dozen or more separate spots.
The myth of the Chimera
Long before anyone understood methane seepage, ancient writers already knew about fire on this mountainside — and they explained it with a monster. In Greek mythology, the Chimera was a fearsome, fire-breathing hybrid creature, usually described as part lion, part goat, and part serpent, that terrorized the region of Lycia. The hero Bellerophon, riding the winged horse Pegasus, eventually killed the Chimera, becoming one of Greek mythology's classic monster-slaying tales alongside Perseus and Medusa or Theseus and the Minotaur.
Many historians and classicists believe this exact mountainside — with its unexplained, ever-burning flames rising from rock near the sea — is the geographic origin of the Chimera myth. Ancient geographers, including Strabo, wrote about burning ground near Olympos in Lycia, and the association between real fire and mythical fire-breathing monster has stuck ever since. Visiting after dark, watching flames flicker out of bare stone with no obvious source, it's easy to see how ancient travelers might have reached for a supernatural explanation.
Visiting the flames: the walk up
Access to the flame field is from a signposted road above Çıralı, where there's a small car park, a ticket booth charging a modest national-park entry fee, and the start of a stone-paved path. From there, it's roughly a 20–30 minute walk uphill through pine and maquis scrub to reach the main concentration of flames. The path is well-marked and doesn't require technical hiking experience, but sturdy shoes are worthwhile since the final stretch is over uneven rock.
Once at the top, visitors can walk among the flames themselves, spread across an open rocky area roughly the size of a football pitch. Some flames are small and low, barely knee height; others jump higher, especially where gas pressure is stronger. It's genuinely safe to approach at normal visitor distances, and many people bring marshmallows or bread on sticks to toast over the natural fire — an experience that's become something of a local tradition.
Why nighttime is best
The Chimaera burns 24 hours a day, every day of the year, so a daytime visit is entirely possible and shows the geology clearly. But the flames are far less visually striking against bright sunlight, when they look like faint, colorless shimmer rather than glowing fire. After sunset, the same flames become vivid orange points scattered across the dark hillside, visible from a considerable distance and genuinely atmospheric to walk among. Most visitors — whether independent travelers or those on organized evening trips from Çıralı or Olympos village — deliberately time their walk for dusk or later, bringing a headlamp or flashlight for the descent. See our best time to visit guide for seasonal considerations beyond time of day.
Combining the flames with the rest of Olympos
The Chimaera sits only a short drive or walk from the Olympos ruins and beach, making it easy to combine into a single day or overnight visit: explore the ancient city and beach during daylight, then head up to Yanartaş as evening falls. The flame field also lies directly on a spur of the Lycian Way, so hikers passing through the region can build the site naturally into a walking itinerary rather than treating it as a separate excursion.
Practical tips
Bring water, a flashlight or headlamp for the walk down, and closed shoes rather than sandals — the rock underfoot can be sharp and uneven in the dark. The site can get busy with tour groups in the early evening; arriving a little later, once the initial rush has thinned out, often means a quieter experience among the flames. Photography is straightforward but benefits from a tripod or stabilized camera given the low light, and long exposures capture the flames' movement particularly well. For transport details on reaching Çıralı and the Chimaera access road, see how to get there, and for a full sense of the wider area, return to the Olympos & Chimaera overview.