Oymapinar Dam

went here on a full day trip with a private car only 4 people. the dam is really spectacular. we viewed it from the bottom then drove to the top, breathtaking scenery. then onto the green canyon for a lovely boat trip and a swim in lovely fresh water. thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of this tour.

The Oymapinar dam is situated 12km North of Manavgat. Constructed between 1977-1984 it is now the fifth largest dam in Turkey, and the only one to offer boat trips.

A winding road takes you up into the mountains to the dam where you can board a catamaran or traditional Turkish wooden boat, the ride can be a bit precarious in places but the views are amazing - it takes between 30-40 minutes to reach the dam. Tour companies in the old town of Side offer day excursions, fishing is available and a lunch stop is normally included in the price at one of the waterside retaurants. The boats make several swim stops to cool off providing a welcome relief from the scorching heat . The views are magnificent and it is particularly nice to go during the summer to plunge into the cool water. We went in the summer of 2007 so can't quote recent prices, but it seemed quite reasonable at the time. We were picked up at around 9am and should have returned at about 4pm but had to take a detour due to a forest fire in the area adding about half an hour to the journey.

A wonderful day out, highly recommended!

Nice view from top. Oymapinar is actually Turkey 5th largest dam, 180 meter high and 450 meters wide. There is also a restaurant, 3km after dam. (trough the tunnel, gravel road)

There are not many rural attractions close to Manavgat so on a dull day we decided to use our rental car to visit the Green Canyon.
Our GPS led us in from Kiziligac (east of Manavgat) and used minor roads which were rutted or unsurfaced but thankfully we regained the regular road and drove along the shore of Green Lake/Panorama Lake and from there we continued up a steeply winding road to a separate body of water created by the dam at Oymapinar and known locally as Green Canyon.
The dam was impressive enough and there was no doubting that the water was green but we saw nothing that would tempt us to enter any of the numerous tatty restaurants or to seek passage on the tourist boats that travel the length of the canyon.
Don’t rely on Google Maps for a current illustration of the area - every single tree and bush for miles has been chopped down and the majority of the vehicles we met were lorries bearing newly felled timber tearing up the roads or Land Rover Safaris containing tourists grimly holding on for dear life.
The area is devastated beyond belief, imagine Lake Tahoe or Lake Windermere completely stripped of vegetation and that’s what you’ve got.
We took the better road back to the D400 at Manavgat but during the entire outing we did not see a single building that you might describe as impressive or quaint or traditional and barely a single viewpoint (other than the aqueduct) that was worth getting your camera out for.
Admittedly we were not at water level or on a boat where you could take a more selective photo but I would not recommend that anyone spend 40 or 50 euros each to savour this experience.

have visited this site on numerous occasions and always enjoy the site.dont go on the usual tours though.go+see ayhan in the sultan-ay,just on the corner down from the gazipasha on the main road.ayhan runs a trip 2 days a week in peak times.first they take you to the mananvgat waterfalls(amazing site).then of to a picnic on a private lake,you have a barby+all you can drink,the waters lovely to swim in+you stay there for a good few hours.then of to the dam.the taurus mountains are amazing close up+the colours are beutifull,you can also swim in the dam when the waters released,not for the faint hearted though the speed it travels at.you normally get back about 6 in the evening,still enough time for a night out(if you dont just want to curl up+sleep)its quite a hectic but enjoyable day+half the price you would pay for 1 excursion from the many tourist offices around.enjoy!

The size of this place is truly impressive.
We stopped to see the dam at the way to the Green Canyon.

Took some photos, looked at the water, etc.

I passed the time lecturing my wife about hydro-electricity production and the difference between amps, volts and watts, but she looked bored. Not sure if it was the dam's fault or mine.

We booked a one-day-tour "Green Canyon" at our hotel to get away from Side (shops, people, restaurants, noise). Of course we were a lot of people in the tour but it was not annoying. First you pass the dam and from there you go onto the boats. We had 2 stops to go for a swim. It was really awesome, we had like 40 C outside and the water was like 15 C. It was so refreshing!! We loved it. For lunch we had a buffet, of course there were other boats and other tours but it was not annoying at all (at least for me). The colour of the water is stunning! I have only seen this colour in the caribbean. Our week in Side was nothing special at all but this one day made our stay absolutely worth it.

Beautiful nature, nice swimming, very little people. We made a little hike with the spectacular vistas.

We went on both a Jeep Safari and a Cabrio Bus Safari. Both were very good. I would recommend going on at least one. The Jeep Safari was off road and went to a small mosque along with going into Manavgat Falls. The bus safari went to the large mosque in Manavgat, the ancient city of Lybre, but only viewed the Falls. With both we ate at restaurants on the Green Lake, and went up to to the top of the Dam. Amazing views and well worth a trip up into the Taurus mountains.