Kursunlu Waterfall Nature Park in Antalya, Turkey

You’ll find more than just a waterfall at the Kursunlu Waterfall Nature Park about 20km from the Antalya city center. The area was preserved as a natural park in 1991 and opened to tourists. You’ll see many kinds of plants and animals, forests with hiking trails, restaurants, and playgrounds. The best time to see the falls is in winter and early spring. Once summer rolls around, the waterfall is only a trickle. Still, you can enjoy the cooler temperatures in the canyon to escape the Antalya heat. We recommend at least an hour to walk down to the falls and look around. If you enjoy hiking and exploring, there are other trails you can wander down from the falls that wind back around to the backside of the main park area.

Ultimately, the park is a great stop to explore, especially if you are traveling with kids. Read on to get all the details about how to get there and what to do at the park.

Know Before You Go

COST: Check the Museum Pass | Kids under 6 Free

HOURS: April – Oct. 8am – 7pm | Nov. – Mar. 8am – 6pm

BEST TIME TO GO: March – May

LOCATION: 20km from Antalya

PARKING: Free

TIME NEEDED TO VISIT: 1 – 2 hours

• Kid Friendly | Kursunlu Waterfall Nature Park is a wonderful site for kids. The paths are paved in the park and lead down to the falls. There are playgrounds and a lot of room to run and play in the park. There are restrooms and changing rooms on-site in the park.
• Accessibility | The paths in the park are wide and paved, making it easy for strollers and wheelchairs. There are paved ramps heading down to the waterfall that take you to an overlook. If you have young children, plan on using a carrier or parking the stroller at the top of the canyon when you go down the falls.
• Trails | The dirt paths that leave from the falls are rocky and at times uneven. They’re not too steep unless you go climbing down to the stream.
• Photography | Go early to get the best photos and views of the falls. There are many spots to get great photographs if you don’t have too many other visitors there.
• Food & Drinks | There are restaurants and mini markets on-site if you need water, snacks, or want to sit and have a meal. Also, you can picnic in the park.
• Restrooms | There are multiple restrooms on-site throughout the park.

How to Get to Kursunlu Waterfall

To go to Kursunlu Waterfall Nature Park, its about a 20km drive from the Antalya city center. You’ll go east on D400 and then turn left at Aksu on D685 and stay on this road until you reach the park. There is a parking lot across the street from the entrance.

Also, if you don’t have your own car, you can take a small group or private tour to visit the falls. You can include a visit to the ancient cities Perge, Sillyon and Aspendos or head to a favorite Antalya beach after visiting the falls, for a full day of exploring.

Next, we’ll see the best things to do at Kursunlu Waterfall Nature Park.

What to Do at Kursunlu Waterfall Nature Park

Kursunlu Waterfall

The waterfall is a short and easy 2km hike from the park entrance. The falls are in a canyon, so you’ll walk down a paved path with step down to the falls. Kursunlu waterfall is an 18-meter waterfall that pours into 7 ponds that are connected. They continue running down the canyon with other small waterfalls along the path.

Ultimately, the main attraction at the park is the waterfall and hidden cave behind the falls. You can choose to explore and hike the path or head back up to the park after you are done seeing the falls.

 

Hidden Cave

Meanwhile, as you walk into the canyon, there are 2 paths you can take. One will take you to the front view of the falls, and the other path will take you to enter the falls through the natural cave behind the falls. We took the path behind the Kursunlu waterfall, with the water pouring down in front of us. It was a different perspective than we were expecting and were so glad we walked in from that direction.

Waterfall Ponds

After walking out from behind the Kurusunlu waterfall, we stepped out to see the pond and front of the falls. The area is simply beautiful with the clear water, trees overhanging the pond, and seeing fish swimming around. The path down to the waterfalls and around the ponds are all paved and easily walkable.

Hiking from the Waterfall

Once you’ve seen the Kursunlu waterfall, you can head out of the canyon to the park, or there is a dirt path that you hike that follows the stream coming from the pond. We took off down the path to see what else there was to see. There were several places where you can climb down closer to the water, which the kids loved doing.

We walked back further down the trail until we saw a small wooden bridge that crossed the stream, and the trail went back into the forest. We heard the frogs singing and saw fish swimming around in the stream as we crossed over the bridge. The kids felt very adventurous going across the bridge and seeing many new things.

Once we headed away from the stream, we were back in the forest. It smelled wonderful as little flowers were blooming at the beginning of spring. We stopped and took a break and had some water as we were sure how long the trail was or where it was taking us. It was marked, so we knew it was part of the park, but we didn’t know how long it was.

The trail began to take us up and we knew we were coming out of the canyon. The trees began to clear a bit more and we walked up into the backside of the main park above the canyon. We saw several small turtles which thrilled the kids.

Main Park

Up at the nature park, there are playgrounds, paved paths, restaurants, and restrooms. We stopped and spent some time at the playground so the kids could play with some of the other kids. We found locals and foreigners were visiting that day.

As we were leaving to go have lunch, we noticed several tour buses pulling in and were glad we came early to enjoy fewer crowds in the morning. See our guide of things to do in Antalya with kids and Kas with kids for more fun activities to enjoy along the Turkish coast.

FAQs

Can you swim in the Kursunlu waterfall?

No, you cannot swim at the Kursunlu waterfall. The main activities at the nature park are viewing the falls and hiking the dirt paths that follow the stream and wind back around out of the canyon to the park.

What is the Kursunlu waterfall entrance fee?

There is an entrance fee to Kursunlu Waterfall Nature Park. There are discounted rates for kids 7-12 years old. Kids under 6 years old are free.

Can you visit Termessos and Kursunlu waterfall the same day?

Termessos and Kursunlu waterfall are on opposite sides of Antalya – making it about an hour’s drive between the sites. We recommend seeing Perge and Aspendos. The ancient cities are in close proximity to the Kursunlu waterfall.