Pamukkale
A white pillowy landscape makes up these travertine terraces filled with hot spring water.
Pamukkale, which is the name given to the natural attraction and the small town that surrounds it, translates to “cotton castle” in Turkish. It is most well known for its white travertine terraces which fill with hot spring water to create these remarkable bright white and blue pools. On top of the terraces sits the ancient Greek city of Hierapolis. Entry to Pamukkale gives you access to the travertine pools, ancient city ruins and hot springs. Pamukkale and Hierapolis Ancient City are both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
This was one of the stops I was most looking forward to in Turkiye. It’s sort of located in the middle of nowhere, so I was making a special trip to visit this spot. Initially, I booked to stay 2 nights in Pamukkale in case the weather was bad on one of the days (I visited in March and the weather could still be cold and rainy). Fortunately, the day I arrived was blue-skied and a sunny 18°c. There wasn’t much else I wanted to do in the area, so I left after 1 night and moved to my next destination a day early.
How to get to Pamukkale
Public transport: To get to Pamukkale you first need to get to the city of Denizli. From here you catch a local bus to Pamukkale which takes around 30mins. Denizli is easy to reach by bus and many bus routes come through here. (Check out my Türkiye travel guide for more information about bus routes and booking). When you arrive at Denizli Otogar (bus station), head to bus stop 76 on the basement floor and catch a local bus (dolmus) to Pamukkale. The top floor has all the different intercity bus company stands, so if in doubt head here and ask for directions. If you look like a tourist locals will likely point you in the right direction.
Car: You can drive to Pamukkale, and parking in the area is easy and mostly free.
Tour: There are plenty of day-trip and overnight tours to Pamukkale from many different destinations across Türkiye. Just bear in mind that this will be a long day out as Denizli is not particularly close to many other main tourist towns.
I travelled to Denizli from Istanbul on an overnight bus (10 hours). It meant I arrived in Denizli around 9am, and into Pamukkale around 10am. I then headed straight to the travertines and was done by the end of the day. In this way, it’s possible to make this a fleeting day trip, but it’ll be tiring.
* Note: The dolmus between Denizli and Pamukkale runs roughly every half-hour from 7am. (Unfortunately, I don’t know how late they run). The first dolmus from Denizli leaves at 7am, and the first bus from Göreme leaves at 7:30am. Therefore be careful how you plan your journeys in and out of Pamukkale.
Pamukkale Travertine Terraces & Hierapolis Ancient City
There are 3 entrances:
North gate: This gate is furthest from the travertines and requires you to walk through most of the ancient ruins before reaching the cafes, ancient pool hot springs, or travertine terraces. It has a car park.
South gate: This is the most popular gate for tour companies and people driving. It takes you close to the cafes, ancient pool hot springs, and travertine terraces. It has a car park.
Lower gate: This is the entrance from the town. If you are staying in town this is the easiest entrance to enter from and doesn’t require any public transport. There is no car park here, but you can park along the roads or in town. This entrance requires you to walk uphill through the travertines which you have to do barefoot (about 10 mins). Because the tour companies don’t come through here, this area of the travertines is often quieter.
Entrance as of March 2024 costs 30 euros. You can pay in lira, they will convert the price for you. And you can pay cash or card despite what some of the signs say. Entry includes access to the travertine terraces and the ancient city ruins, and can only be used for a single entry (you cannot leave and return later).
The park is generally open between 8am - 7pm, although this changes with the seasons due to daylight hours and tourist season. Different gates also have different opening times with the South gate opening early from 6:30am, while the Lower and North gates opening at 8am.
Up-to-date information on pricing and opening times can be found on the muze.gov.tr website.
Pamukkale Travertine Terraces
There are multiple pools that make up the terraces. The ones along the main travertine pass are the ones you are allowed to access. Others around the park are not to be stepped into and there is clear signage and patrol officers to let you know.
Along the main travertine terrace, the top pools are the most popular as they are closest to the cafes and other attractions, and this is usually where tour groups come. As such they are the most busy. I recommend making your way to the lower pools, these are the ones you will first come across if entering from the Lower gate from town. Not as many people walk down to these, so they are quieter.
The top pools are the warmest, as the water is filled from the hot springs. As you move to the lower pools, the water cools and these lower pools are much colder.
You are allowed to swim in these pools, although they are pretty shallow so it’s more likely that you will be sitting in them.
While visiting in March, the travertines weren’t that busy. I was able to get photos of empty pools, and being Spring, not many people were dressed in swimwear to get into the pools so they remained largely empty. I’ve seen images of the pools in Summer and they are so busy that you can barely see the water from amongst the crowds. I definitely think visiting in ‘shoulder season’ is a good time to go.
The terraces themselves are formed by the calcification of the hot spring water to form these white limestone pools. You can read more about the terraces from Turkiye’s culture website.
Hierapolis Ancient City
The grounds above the terraces are expansive, and filled with the ruins of the ancient city of Hierapolis. The natural hot springs drew ancient people from the Greco-Roman era to settle here. As a result, there are many ancient Greek and Roman ruins that you can explore.
If coming from the North entrance, then your natural path will be to walk past the majority of the ruins as you make your way towards the travertine terraces and cafes.
The park is large, and while it is possible to visit all the ruins, it will take a while, with lots of walking under the hot Turkish sun. It is possible to take golf-buggy tours which leave periodically from the centre of the park, in front of ‘Cleopatra Antique Pools’. The frequency of these tours depends on the season, but when I visited at the end of March they were running every 30 minutes. These golf buggies will drive you down to the North gate and then take you back up to the centre of the park, making brief stops at the main ruin attractions along the way.
The main ruins you won’t want to miss are:
Ancient theatre (Hierapolis Antik Tiyatrosu)
Frontinus Gate
Pluto’s Gate (Ploutonion)
St. Philip Martyrium Church
Throughout the grounds, there are bathrooms and some stalls selling drinks, although the main area for refreshments is at the centre either in the Cleopatra Antique Pools complex or at the top of the travertine terraces.
Cleopatra Antique Pools
If you don’t end up dipping in the travertine terraces, there is a hot spring pool that you can swim in. It is named so as it’s believed that Cleopatra, Queen of Eygpt, swam in these pools. It costs extra to swim in these pools (200 TL) and lockers are free to use but require a deposit. Towels are not provided so make sure to bring your own.
The pool looked really cool as they’ve built the pool and modern amenities around the original ruins, so you will find fallen columns and rocks in the pool itself. The pool itself is shallow and the water is warm, as comes directly from the hot springs.
Around the pool are plenty of amenities, including changing rooms, toilets, lockers, cafes, restaurants and souvenir shops. Most of the food on offer is Westernised and a little over-priced, but nothing you wouldn’t expect. You are also welcome to sit in this area even if you’re not swimming or eating.
Pamukkale town
The town of Pamukkale is pretty small and mostly caters to tourism. There are plenty of cafes, restaurants and hotels on offer, although not all of these will be open during the off-season.
The main reason people come to Pamukkale is to visit the travertine terraces and Hierapolis. But there are a handful of other things you can do in the surrounding area. Some of them are just the usual tourist attractions, like ATV rentals and horse riding, but I will try to include attractions that are more specific to the area:
Experience Hierapolis and Pamukkale from a different angle. You can book a hot air balloon ride (weather permitting, it needs to be warm enough), paragliding or a helicopter ride.
Take a stroll around Pamukkale Natural Park. This park also has swimming pools (although they were empty when I visited in March 2024) and a lake that you can rent boats from.
Make a day trip to Salda Lake. If you can’t make it to the southern beaches, this is a great alternative. White sand and blue water in the middle of a valley. Gorgeous.
If Hierapolis wasn’t enough, you can explore the Greek ancient city of Laodicea, situated between Denizli and Pamukkale.
Karahayit is a small spa town just outside Pamukkale. It is popular with the locals who go there to enjoy the warm hot springs. Many of the hotels have spas where you can enjoy these waters, or you could visit the Karahayit Red Springs. Similar to Pamukkale travertines, these travertines are red/orange in colour, due to the high iron content, and warm. The water is much shallower so you can’t really swim, but entrance is free!
Need to knows
Come early morning and late afternoon/evening to avoid the crowds and tour buses.
Special Recommendations
Food: N/A
Attractions: Travertine Terraces
Accommodation: Bellamaritimo Hotel
R’s take
This is such a gorgeous and amazing place. The locals in the area were all friendly and helpful and not overly pushy. Felt comfortable and safe walking around at night.
Pluto’s Gate (Ploutonion)
View from Lower Gate
Ancient theatre (Hierapolis Antik Tiyatrosu)
Breakfast for 1 at Bellamaritimo Hotel (included in the price)
Beyti kebab from White House Restaurant
Where to stay in Pamukkale
You want to stay in Pamukkale town itself. From here, the entrance to the travertines and ancient city are walking distance from the town and within the town are many restaurants, shops and services.
You’ll find almost all accommodation options are in Pamukkale. I tried to book a hotel in Denizli so that I could get an early morning bus out, (earlier than the dolmus would have been running), but I really struggled to find anywhere available.
What to wear to Pamukkale
Wear something you are comfortable walking around in and suitable for the weather. It can get breezy near the top so warm layers may be needed in cooler months, and in the summer you will need sun protection as there is very little shade.
You are not allowed to wear shoes while walking along the white travertine terraces, but maybe swim shoes are permitted. It’s not slippery but can be a bit rough on your feet.
You should bring swimming stuff if you plan to swim in the travertine terraces or the Cleopatra Antique Pool (hot springs pool). Make sure to bring a towel as there are none available to rent.
When to visit Pamukkale
Pamukkale is open year-round, however, it may close in the Winter due to poor weather (such as snow).
I think the best time to visit is during the ‘shoulder season’ (March, April, September, October) just outside the main tourist seasons (May - August). This is because Pamukkale is a very popular destination and gets extraordinarily busy in peak season. Visiting in the quieter months may mean it’s colder, but you will have more space to yourself to enjoy the natural beauty and take pictures. Visiting in ‘shoulder season’ (March, April, September, October) still gives you a shot of some great warm weather.
How many days do you need to spend in Pamukkale?
If your main reason for visiting the region is to visit the travertine terraces, then one day is more than enough time. You may be able to squeeze this into a day trip if you are going on a tour or if have your own car. But if you are relying on public transport I would suggest staying for a night (although it is entirely possible to visit for a day using public transport: Book an overnight bus to Denizli, spend the day in Pamukkale, and book an overnight bus that night back out).
I originally booked 2 nights in case I had bad weather (in the run-up to my visit I had been checking local weather and there were a few rainy days since I was visiting in March). However, the day I arrived was a gorgeous one, and I just cancelled my second night and headed out the next day.
If you want to visit some of the other attractions in the area, 2-3 days should be enough to do that whilst taking it easy.
Which entrance to Pamukkale should I use? / Where should I park for Pamukkale?
The entrance you use depends on the main attraction you are visiting and where you are coming from.
If coming from the town / if walking, use the Lower Gate entrance. It’s a short walk from the centre of town but has little parking.
If coming by car it’s better to use the North or South Gates as they have car parks. If you are more interested in seeing the ruins, parking at North Gate is better as it’s closer to the ruins and therefore avoids the crowds and tour busses around the travertine terraces. If coming for the terraces, park at the South Gate which is closer to the pools. In general, the South Gate is more popular as it’s closer to all the amenities, including the terraces, cafes, Antique Pool, and ruins. However, it is also more likely to be busy as this is where the tour busses park up too.
What is Pamukkale made of? / How was Pamukkale formed? / Why is Pamukkale white?
The water from the naturally occurring hot springs contains high amounts of calcium hydrocarbonate. When this mixes with the oxygen in the air, combined with its warm temperature, it causes the water to form a precipitate (i.e. it causes the calcium hydrocarbonate dissolved in the water to become solid again). Initially, it precipitates as a gel and then solidifies as it cools to form the white rock we see.
The travertines are not always filled with water, in fact, this is something that the park controls themselves. This is why some pools are filled with water and some are not. They control this so not to allow algae or pollution to build up, and to also allow the travertines in other areas to harden (from their gel form).
I got all this information from Türkiye’s culture website, which you can read here.