Professional Trekking Guide
I’m Altuğ Şenel — a mechanical-engineer-turned licensed culture-trail guide, outdoor author and award-winning photographer based in İzmit, Turkey. After completing both my BSc and MSc in Mechanical Engineering at Istanbul Technical University and an early career with Ford Otosan, I traded CAD files for contour lines and began walking Turkey’s great long-distance paths step by step. Over the past decade I’ve hiked the entire 600 km Lycian Way multiple times, GPS-mapped its trickiest sections and written the best-selling handbook “Adım Adım Likya Yolu / Step by Step Lycian Way,” now in its fifth edition. I’ve since added Adım Adım Karia Yolu and dozens of illustrated features for Magma and Hürriyet Seyahat, turning every kilometre into a story that inspires more people to lace up and head outside.
As a well-known tourist guide certified by the Turkish Ministry of Culture & Tourism, I specialise in hiking trails, culture routes and the archaeology of ancient civilisations and cities. Most of my programmes are tailor-made, designed around each guest’s pace, passions and fitness, whether that means a week of sunrise hikes and gastronomy on the Carian coast or a photography-centric trek through the Kaçkars.
Certifications
- First Aid
- CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation)
- Licensed Professional Tourist Guide (Ministry of Culture & Tourism, Turkey)
Key Achievements
- Author of Step by Step: Lycian Way (English translation, 2023) and earlier Turkish editions—the most up-to-date 600 km Lycian Way handbook.
- Wrote Adım Adım Karia Yolu (Step by Step: Carian Trail) and other guidebooks covering Turkey’s culture routes.
- Creator & maintainer of free information portals lycianway.org, likyayolu.org and kariayolu.info, sharing GPS data, planning tips and route updates.
- Founder of HikeInTurkey (TR) and OutdoorInTurkey (EN), delivering guided and self-guided trekking programmes across Turkey since 2010.
- Logged 300 + GPS routes on Wikiloc, amassing 4 k+ followers and a 49 k TrailRank—one of the most-referenced Turkish contributors on the platform.
Safety Statement
I treat safety as part of the story we’re here to tell. Before we set off, I brief the group on terrain, heat and cliff exposure, then confirm everyone’s water, footwear and sun protection. We hike in small groups, stay on marked red-white waymarks, and when markings fade we switch to GPS—no improvising near cliff bands or drop-offs. Midday heat? We start early, schedule shade/water halts, and set clear turnaround times. I keep a first-aid kit and emergency comms, and I’d rather retreat than risk a tricky section. Your job is to walk, notice and enjoy; my job is to manage pace, navigation and decisions so we finish the day safely and proud.
CERTIFICATIONS
Certified & credentialed
Verified credentials that underpin every adventure.
ACHIEVEMENTS
The record behind the record
Wrote Adım Adım Karia Yolu (Step by Step: Carian Trail) and other guidebooks covering Turkey’s culture routes.
Creator & maintainer of free information portals lycianway.org, likyayolu.org and kariayolu.info, sharing GPS data, planning tips and route updates.
Founder of HikeInTurkey (TR) and OutdoorInTurkey (EN), delivering guided and self-guided trekking programmes across Turkey since 2010.
Logged 300 + GPS routes on Wikiloc, amassing 4 k+ followers and a 49 k TrailRank—one of the most-referenced Turkish contributors on the platform.
SAFETY
Safety is the protocol
I treat safety as part of the story we’re here to tell. Before we set off, I brief the group on terrain, heat and cliff exposure, then confirm everyone’s water, footwear and sun protection. We hike in small groups, stay on marked red-white waymarks, and when markings fade we switch to GPS—no improvising near cliff bands or drop-offs. Midday heat? We start early, schedule shade/water halts, and set clear turnaround times. I keep a first-aid kit and emergency comms, and I’d rather retreat than risk a tricky section. Your job is to walk, notice and enjoy; my job is to manage pace, navigation and decisions so we finish the day safely and proud.
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