Turkey's Köprülü Canyon set to welcome 700,000 tourists for rafting

Turkey's Köprülü Canyon, one of the world's easiest rafting tracks, is set to welcome nearly 700,000 tourists this year, according to tour organizers in the region. 

The canyon in the Beşkopnak neighborhood of the Mediterranean province of Antalya's Manavgat district is located on a 36,600-hectare area with over 100-meter-high walls and 14-kilometers-long streamline.

Rafting in the Köprülü Canyon can be done in two-person canoes or boats with a capacity of eight to 10 people by any enthusiast from any age group, without the need for any extra talent. A brief training, a helmet, a lifejacket, and an oar are enough to go rafting in the canyon. 

The head of the Köprülü Canyon Tourism Development Cooperative, Refik Armağan, said rafting activities started in the beginning of 1990 in the Köprüçay Stream - from where the canyon also takes its name, which begins from the Taurus Mountains and flows into the Mediterranean Sea.
 
"This season, especially Turkish tourists, Russian and Arab tourists are showing great interest to our rafting activities. We are having a quite lively season. Last year, no more than 2,000 people were rafting here on a daily basis, but this year we are hosting 10,000 people every day for rafting. By the end of this year's season, we expect to welcome about 700,000 people in total to our canyon," he noted.

The rafting season in the canyon starts mid-March and lasts until mid-November in accordance with good weather over the Köprüçay Stream in the region. 

"Tourists from neighboring districts, including Kemer, Alanya, Belek and Side, are taken from their hotels in the morning at around 9 a.m. and brought to Köprülü Canyon. We have guides for every language. They firstly give an introduction to...