Here’s why Pamukkale will make you fall in love with Turkey

One of the most beautiful destinations in the world is Pamukkale. Meaning cotton castle, Pamukkale is home to a delightful landscape of turquoise springs and slopes of white limestone. This stunning glimpse of nature is difficult to describe, but the photos in this post will speak for themselves.

Located in the southwestern part of Turkey, this picturesque location has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1988. This has also meant that flocks of tourists visit the local town every year in hopes of exploring the travertines, or limestone formations. The picture-perfect natural wonder is a result of mineral-rich waters collecting in terraces and spilling over the mountainside.

As you plan your trip to Pamukkale, consider visiting during low seasons to avoid massive crowds. You can imagine how many people want to visit these magnificent slopes. Our tips to visiting Pamukkale should help you make the most out of your travels.

What You Should Know

Pamukkale’s scenic thermal pools are not an uncommon form of travertines. In fact, similar formations exist in Italy, China, and Iran. The uniqueness of these terraces attracts 2 million visitors each year. As you can imagine, things can get rather crowded. The photos you see in this post were taken in the fall, between September and October, at a time when tourism in Turkey is rather slow. The sun also sets at a later time in the day, giving you more time to enjoy the scenery. This is the ideal time to visit the thermal pools.

How to get there 

If you’re traveling from Istanbul, you’ll have to fly to the Cardak Airport in Denzili. These are essentially direct flights to Pamukkale. Although the airport is approximately 18 km from downtown or a 45-minute car ride.

Outside the arrival terminal at Cardak Airport, you’ll spot many buses designated specifically for Pamukkale tourists. You also don’t have to worry about booking ahead of time; the buses are familiar with the schedule of incoming flights and will always be available to take you straight to downtown (for a small fee).  Of course, you can always choose to take a comfortable taxi into the city, but its far more expensive than the shuttle buses. The buses will drop you off on the main road of the town, which at first can be confusing. The town is actually incredibly small, and all the nearby hotels are only a few minutes away.

Where to Stay

There are several boutique hotels and Bed & Breakfasts in downtown Pamukkale. The best options in terms of amenities & proximity, are: Melrose House Hotel, Venus Suite Hotel, and the Melrose Viewpoint Suites. We stayed one night in each and were happy that they were all very close to at least one of the park’s entrances.

What to Do in Pamukkale

As we mentioned before, the city of Pamukkale is tiny, yet it’s surprisingly dense with historical attractions. The funny thing is, all of the important sites are in one place. You’re essentially traveling to the town of Pamukkale just to visit and explore one park. The area is referred to as the Pamukkale Nature Park as well as the Hierapolis-Pamukkale complex. In our opinion, it’s incredibly worth it!

The Pamukkale Nature Park is home to the thermal pools and terraces, as well as the ancient Greek city of Hierapolis. The layout of the park can be overwhelming, so we’ll do our best to break it down.

You should know that there are three entrances to the park: the town entrance, the north entrance and the south entrance. The town entrance is the best way to explore the park. You’ll start from the base of the terraces and work your way up.

The north entrance, or the one at the top of the hill, is where the tourist buses arrive and park. We highly suggest skipping this entrance and climbing upwards to beat the crowds. Finally, the south entrance is a great option if you’re visiting Pamukkale for the day and have a rental car. This is only advised if you need somewhere to park, otherwise skip!

As always, we recommend getting there early! Check out their operating hours schedule as these change often depending on the season. Tip: We didn’t try all entrances, but we’ve heard that different entry points have different opening times. The town entrance is the earliest to open every morning – another reason we love that option.

As you enter from the town entrance, you’ll immediately spot a park-like area to your left. Although we didn’t explore it ourselves, we could see that there were several man-made pools, paddle boats for rent and a resting area. Just something to keep in mind!

The best part of visiting the travertines is hiking through them and enjoying this bit of nature. For the most part you’ll be asked to do so barefoot. This of course is done in an effort to preserve the thermal pools and formations.

As you make your way up, you’ll find small seating areas and benches to enjoy the view from the top. Make sure to stick around for sunset.

Many visitors don’t realize that past the terraces lies the ancient Greek city of Hierapolis. Your visit to the archeological site is actually included in your entry ticket to the park. The best thing to do and enjoy there is the view atop the Hierapolis Theatre. The park also includes an archaeology museum, remnants of a Byzantine church, and other ruins.

To wrap up your visit, take a dip in the Antique Pool, also known as Cleopatra’s Pool. Within the Hierapolis-Pamukkale complex is this artificial pool that’s said to have been a gift from Mark Antony to the Egyptian Queen, Cleopatra.

We suggest packing a towel, a bathing suit, non-slip shoes and snacks while exploring the park. You can easily spend an entire day in the complex and it will be nice to have these items handy.

Downtown Pamukkale

The downtown area is comprised of one main street. As you can imagine, it’s not bustling with fine-dining options. Most of the restaurants are small family-owned shops. Our favorites were the White House Restaurant & Café and Kayaş Restaurant and Bar.

Traveling through Turkey? Make sure to read up on must-do’s in Istanbul and don’t miss out on visiting the beautiful Cappadocia – here’s everything you need to know before traveling to Cappadocia and riding hot air balloons.

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