Its unique environment is being preserved as a nature and wildlife sanctuary, the Köyceğiz-Dalyan Special Environmental Protection Area.

A road shaded with trees leads to the township that carries the same name as the river, Dalyan, which is situated on the inland waterway and is administratively a part of the neighboring district of Ortaca.

Dalyan is highly popular with visitors and its maze of channels can be explored by boat.

High on the cliff face, at a bend in the river, above the ancient harbor city of Caunos, tombs were carved into the rocks.

The Dalyan Delta, with a long, golden sandy beach at its mouth, is a nature conservation area and a refuge for rare loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) and blue crabs.