When I arrived in Turkey, I had a list of three things that I simply had to do while I was there.
1. Explore Istanbul and its neighbourhoods, its food, its mosques and its awesomeness.
2. Take a hot air balloon ride over the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia.
3. Visit the bizarre landscape of Pamukkale.
As you know, I love visiting unique and bizarre destinations and Pamukkale would have to be my strangest one yet.
Pamukkale means “cotton castle” in Turkish and it’s not hard to see why. Stretching over a mile and a half, the dazzling white travertines and hot springs of calcium carbonate look incredibly out of place against the very green Turkish countryside. To say that Pamukkale stands out would be a huge understatement.
After falling in love with Istanbul within approximately three minutes of arriving, I knew that Pamukkale was going to have to be seriously impressive in order for it to be a highlight from my time in Turkey.
We were visiting as a detour on our way down to Fethiye and fortunately our minivan driver dropped us off at the lower entrance. There are two entrances to Pamukkale — the upper one, where the tour buses vomit dozens of tourists onto the top few terraces every couple of minutes or at the bottom, where much fewer people enter.
By starting at the bottom and spending the majority of our time hanging out in the pools there we found it exceptionally easy to escape the crowds. Dave lazed around in the warm waters and amused himself watching me stumbling around like a baby giraffe, attempting not to fall into a pool.
As much as I like to avoid crowds and tour groups as much as possible, after a few minutes in Pamukkale I actually found myself doing the exact opposite.
For the Russian and Eastern European women visiting Pamukkale it was simply not enough to just paddle in the pools and take photos of the terraces. No, instead they draped themselves seductively over the terraces and pouted beneath waterfalls in bikinis while their boyfriend trailed around after them taking photo after photo after photo…
I laughed. A lot.
This was a strange place.
Aside from all of the ridiculous posing, I actually really enjoyed my time at Pamukkale. Splashing about in the water helped to cool me down on a hot summer’s day and the landscape was gorgeous and unlike anywhere else I’ve visited.
The highlight for me would have to be the terraces at the very top. You were unable to swim in these pools as they are formed naturally (the lower ones were man-made) and so the terraces themselves were much more pristine, the difference in colours caused by different minerals in the water.
As we finished up our exploration, Dave pottered off to look at some ruins and I took the opportunity to nap for an hour a while before wandering around some of the dry terraces. Water is regularly diverted from one side of the valley to the other in order to give the calcium carbonate a chance to harden and form travertines.
With our time in Pamukkale drawing to a close, there was just enough time to leave the park through the top entrance, realise it would take over an hour to walk down to the bottom in 40 degree heat, give up and pay a ridiculous amount of money to take a cab back down.
Usually when I finally manage to visit a place that I’ve always wanted to see, I find myself leaving feeling disappointed, that it hadn’t met the high expectations I’d created in my mind as I’d imagined over and over how amazing it would be.
It was with great surprise then, that I found Pamukkale to be so much more awesome than I’d expected. Wandering barefoot over the travertines, paddling in the pools and cooling off under the waterfalls made for a fun few hours — and the bizarre setting helped to make it even more enjoyable.
Even with the crowds and the crazy posing, it was definitely worth going out of our way to visit.
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You’re making me regret not going to Pamukkale now! I heard a lot of mixed reviews about it from other folks while I was travelling in Turkey, so opted out of going and headed from Canakkale-Selcuk-Fethiye without stopping off there.
Yeah, I can understand why some people might not be overly excited by it — as it’s quite small and can get crowded in the afternoons — but I thought it was so impressive! It’s one of the few unique landscapes in the world, so I would recommend stopping there for that reason alone!
Amazing landscape
Isn’t it?! I thought it was such a cool spot and it was hard to believe that it wasn’t manmade.
I’ve never even heard of this place…. Now I really want to see it for my own eyes! The photos are stunning.
Then my job here is done :-) I hope you do get to see it one day, as it’s such a remarkable place!
I had no idea there are two entrances. Thank you for pointing this out.
No problem! The bottom entrance was far better, so I’d definitely recommend starting there :-)
This place is amazing. I have been there three times and it still amazes me. There’s nothing like this in other countries, so Pamukkale is quite unique. There is also an ancient city called Hierapolis at the top of Pamukkale, which is also stunning. And 15 minutes from Pamukkale there’s a natural thermal hot spring in Karahayit, which is also nice to see. So If you guys have the opportunity, you should really visit Denizli (town) in Turkey. You will be stunned by the natural beauty of this city.
Oh wow, you must really love this part of Turkey, then! But I absolutely agree with you: the fact that you can’t experience anything like this anywhere in the world only adds to how magical it feels to be there. And yes, Hierapolis is absolutely amazing, too!
Just added this to our Turkey plans! Looks amazing! What time of year were there, we plan on being in Turkey August/September hopefully it looks just as amazing then!
I was there at the end of August so it’ll be perfect for you guys! It might be hot, but you should hopefully have blue skies to make your photos really pop.
August or September are good times to visit. But it can be very hot in those months, with temperatures reaching up 35/40 degrees. So you need to be well prepared for that.
I read a lot of travel blogs, and I have never seen this place even mentioned. Looks super cool. So happy you wrote about it so I can add it to my list of places I must get to!
In that case, I’m glad to have introduced you to somewhere new, Koren! :-) Do come back and let me know if you make it out there — I’d love to know what you think of it!
Fantastic photos Lauren. I plan to return back there this year just to see the pools again because they are so amazing.
Oh, thank you so much, Natalie. Isn’t it such a spectacular spot? I definitely would swing by again on a future visit to Turkey.
Bloody hell – that is one seriously stunning looking place. I had never even heard about it before your post! Thanks for the intro…
It’s wild, isn’t it? I’m surprised it isn’t more well-known, to be honest, as it’s such a beautiful, interesting part of the world.
It looks like the setting for a Sci-fi movie. Very different. Hope I can see it for myself someday.
I absolutely agree with you. It really did feel like being on a movie set, especially as the travertines pop up out of nowhere and are surrounded by typical Turkish countryside. It’s hard to believe they naturally formed like that!
Really regret missing Pammukale on my visit to Turkey last year. Only visited for a short period of time, so I only explored Istanbul, Ephesus, and Cappadocia. You really should drop by Cappadocia the next time you’re there. One of my most favorite places, definitely.
Absolutely! Cappadocia is my biggest oversight when it comes to Turkey travel, but we ended up running out of time before we could get there. I’ll be making it the main focus of my next trip to Turkey, though, that’s for sure!
SO COOL. This is one of the reasons I need to get back to Turkey soon.
It’s such a vast country that there’s too much to fit into one trip! But you should definitely put Pamukkale on the list for your next visit :-)
This is absolutely crazy, it’s so weird to see people in bare feet and shorts in a place like this – I had no idea it even existed… I need to go xx
It’s really such an unusual place. I agree that it almost looks as though the travertines are made of snow and ice, so it looks so jarring to see the sunshine and summer clothes!
Since meeting so many wonderful people from Turkey in my travels, I’ve added it to my countries to visit list, and now I have a definite site, as well. Pamukkale looks phenomenal, and your photos are truly amazing! I am curious to know if the smell of the minerals permeates the air (like the springs in Aachen, Germany) and what walking on the travertine rocks feels like. It looks so smooth…and precarious!
It actually doesn’t smell at all! Calcium carbonate doesn’t have a scent, so the air wasn’t sulphurous-smelling or anything.
This place looks amazing! I love otherworldly landscapes – the salt flats in Bolivia and the high altitude drive in to Chile was similar in its other worldliness, and some areas of the Galapagos Islands look like Mars! Hadn’t heard of this before reading your post, so I’m glad to be introduced to somewhere new.
Oh, absolutely! I think the Bolivian salt flats would probably blow Pamukkale out of the water!
I grew up in Germany where there are a lot of Turkish restaurants. Almost every second one is called Pamukalle. Now I know why, because it is probably the most beautiful place in Turkey!
Oh, how funny! Yes, it’s definitely a beloved spot here in Turkey.
Wow that place looks amazing! Can’t believe I’ve never heard of it before!
I have also been surprised by how few people have heard of Pamukkale, as it’s such a unique destination!
Great shout. I love seeing pics of awesome places without having heard of them before.
I’m glad you enjoyed the read, and that I could introduce you to somewhere new :-)
What a stunning and bizarre place. In some photos it looks like snow and in some it looks like a beautiful white beach.
Either way it looks fascinating and a definite place to visit.
So true! I love how you can’t fully tell from the photos whether it’s a hot or cold destination — well, the photos without people in them, of course!
I really enjoyed Turkey, and Pamukkale was gorgeous! We actually started at the top because we figured it would be easier to walk down instead of up. Like you said, there were a few tour groups at the top, but once we got past the first couple of pools, there weren’t many people at all. The tour groups aren’t given enough time to walk down the whole thing and back up to where the buses are parked, so it worked out for us being on our own. Glad you had a good time and it didn’t disappoint!
That’s good to hear! And good to know that you don’t get to walk the full length of the pools if you’re visiting as part of a tour group — it sounds like you’re definitely going to get the best experience if you visit independently.
I feel the same way! Pamukkale was the most anticipated destination in Turkey and it surpassed every expectation.
Wish you got a chance to walk through the travertines at night. We watched the sunset and then mosied down to the lower entrance – no one else was around and it felt like we were on another planet!
I’m delighted to hear it surpassed your expectations, Carmela! I would love to see the travertines at night, but we weren’t spending the night in the area, so could only visit at midday. Next time, though!
I’ve been there and really enjoyed it. But there is so much to Turkey. I only had a month there and that was nowhere near enough. Need to go back there!
It’s such an incredible country, with so much to see and do! I spent six weeks there on my very first visit and could have easily stayed for twice as long.
Fantastic pictures. What was your total time spent at Pamukkale? In August I’m taking overnight bus from Cappadocia to Pamukkale then afternoon bus to Fethiye. Is 3-4 hours enough? My dilemma is where to store my luggage while at Pamukkale?
Hi Pat,
Four hours is absolutely enough time — in fact, it’s probably too much time! Pamukkale is actually quite small, so you could traverse your way through all of the pools in an hour or so. With one additional hour for the ruins of Hierapolis, you’d be pretty much done in the area.
There’s a bus station in Denizli that holds luggage for visitors to Pamukkale! We used it and it was absolutely fine.
I have really enjoyed reading your website. I was looking for a post about what it is truly like to visit Ephesus and Pamukkale. Great photos and I love your sense of humor in the writing. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Jeff. Thanks so much! I’m glad you enjoyed reading through my Turkey articles, and hope you have a great time while you’re there!
Hey, Lauren. Did you make it Cappadocia? And if yes – how was that?
Not on this trip, but I will be visiting on my next one, that’s for sure!
Really beautiful! Breathtaking! Simply out of this world!
Isn’t it so amazing?! Are you planning a trip to Pamukkale?