If you are looking for a great place to relax and spend time in the hot springs in Turkey, this is your place. The city itself is rather small. There are a few hotels in the city of Pamukkale but the fun of this area is having a thermal spa hotel.
Lodging
The thermal spa hotel is a great way to experience the geological activity of the area. Most of these hotels offer a swimming pool, hot spring, generally some sort of food buffet, all included in the price. Just 10 minutes north of the city, technically in the town of Karahayıt, you’ll find a bunch of thermal spa hotels. Pick one that suits your style. We stayed at Richmond Pamukkale Thermal Resort and while I cannot say it was the best place we’ve ever stayed, it was decent for the price. They serve you a full buffet for both breakfast and dinner. They have a nice, large outdoor swimming pool and two thermal baths. However, the resort feels like it is a few years past its prime with small things wearing down. It’s not 5 star luxury but overall it is ok for a night or two.
Main Attractions: Hierapolis, Travertines of Pamukkale, and Cleopatra Antique Pools
The main attraction in the town is the travertines (white mineral pools) on top of the hill. It was slightly confusing to us before we went to understand how to get in, what parts are connected, and where to go first but I promise it’s pretty easy. Originally built by the Seleucid empire (Macedonian Greeks), Rome took over and rebuilt the Hierapolis after an earthquake as a huge city nestled between a mountain on one side and the travertines on the other. The ruins of the Hierapolis are really well preserved which include things like a great theater, the gates to Hades, and the place where they martyred Philip, one of Jesus’ 12 disciples.
Currently to enter these attractions, you need a ticket and can enter at one of three gates. First, the south gate is closest to all the attractions. You drive up to the top of the hill, pay 80tl for parking, and enter the park. Come early if you choose this option as all the tour buses come to the south gate so it gets crowded and parking is limited here. The second option is to park for free down at the bottom of the hill in the gravel parking lot and walk. You can’t miss the gate to enter here because of the sign and it’s the only entrance on the main road. You do have to walk a ways uphill for this option. Also with this choice, you have to walk barefoot through all the travertines (hard, crunchy rock mineral water) that can hurt your feet and you have to carry your shoes with you. To return, you will have to walk through it all again. We barely walked all the way one way through the travertines so I can’t imagine walking the whole way barefoot twice. The third option is to park at the north gate. While the parking lot here is almost always empty, it’s for a good reason. Here you will have to trek a ways (3-5km) to get to the main attractions. It’s doable but definitely a longer hiking option.
The museum pass is accepted at all three gates. The ticket price is €30 per person to enter. All three places (Hierapolis, Travertines of Pamukkale, and Cleopatra Antique Pools) are located inside the park. After entering, you walk through the ruins of the Hierapolis to get to the Travertines. However, I recommend going to the Travertines first as it’s the picture perfect spot so it gets crowded. Then make your way back through the Hierapolis afterwards so you can fully enjoy it. At the Travertines, you take your shoes off and walk as far as you want through the pools. The ground can be either smooth or super sharp. We walked pretty far and although our feet were slightly in pain afterwards, it went away pretty quickly later that day. It’s like walking through a rocky beach. They do not allow shoes or socks in the pools.
After you’ve had your fill in the Travertines, walk around the ruins of the Hierapolis. We loved the big theater because they have the main stage and front wall up. A lot of theaters we’ve seen don’t have the wall at the front still intact so it’s definitely a great way to see what it would have been like. There is only one way to enter the theater and it’s from the very top so make the trek up the hill.
Also we loved seeing the Gates to Hades. When it was originally built, they thought it was the tunnel to the underworld because there was naturally occurring CO2 coming up from the earth at this specific tunnel. This gas would kill people and animals. So they used this site to make sacrificial offerings. Finally, we saw the spot where Philip, one of Jesus’ disciples, was martyred. The Hierapolis is steeped in history and fascinating to read about. I’d recommend you look some information up before you go. While the information panels give a little, so much more is available online.
The Cleopatra Antique Pools are located inside the park so you will walk right past it as you walk through the Hierapolis ruins. There is an additional ticket needed to swim here, purchased at the pool’s entrance. It’s unclear if Cleopatra ever did swim here but it’s true that the Hierapolis had thermal baths in this location due to all the geological activity in the area (hence the travertines). We did not swim here because if you are staying in a thermal hotel that has a swimming pool and thermal bath, it’s basically the same experience. However if you do decide to go, you must bring your swimsuit and towel to swim in pools.
When to go: early morning is great if you are able. If you go super early (6-7am), you can see a few hot air balloons over the pools which is amazing. (If you are looking for hot air balloons, check out our article on Cappadocia). Also any time before 8am, the cool morning air and shade is nice in the summer. However, sunset is another picture-perfect time to go as the blue and white from the pools contrast with the red and orange in the sunset. Midday is crowded and hot so try to avoid going then if possible.
Additional Things to Do In Pamukkale Area
Laodicea Ancient City is another captivating ancient city. This one seemed much larger than Ephesus and holds particular interest for Christians as Laodicea was one of the 7 churches written to in the book of Revelations in the Bible. You can actually stand in the church of Laodicea, walk through the narthex, see the baptismal, and see the tile work on the floor. It’s very impressive. Because the city is so large and well excavated, you can walk through the city, see the housing areas, the agora (marketplace), walk through the temples, and even stroll down a street with pillars erected to make you get a sense of what it was like. On one of the streets there is a huge painted wall that is still intact. They’ve taken great care to preserve the wall as it’s so unique. We haven’t seen anything else like it in all the ancient cities we’ve visited. The entrance is included in the Turkey Museum Pass.
We also drove around the town of Denizli and honestly it was so cute. There was so much greenery in the city. We found a lovely lunch spot which I would recommend: Lokum Steak House. You pick out the meat you want (beef or lamb) and they grill it up. It was so delicious! While they didn’t speak much English, they tried so hard to help us and it was such a pleasant experience with such delicious food. 10/10 recommend eating here!
Again, since we were looking for places that accepted the Turkey Museum Pass, we found ourselves at two museums in the downtown part of Denizli that are hit or miss for me. Denizli Ataturk Ethnography Museum is a small house where the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, once slept while visiting the town. The house is now a small museum dedicated to the outfits and history of the people. Just across the street is the Denizli Kent Müzesi (Denizli City Museum) which is a new facility dedicated to the history of just this town. The museum even smelled like a fresh new coat of paint. It was slightly interesting but not worth your time if you are rushed.
So overall, Pamukkale is a nice stop. It’s so different from anything else in Turkey. The thermal baths and Travertines are the two main attractions here. You can definitely do it in one day as the city is so small and doesn’t offer much outside these two main attractions but if you want to take it slow and enjoy, two days is just fine.
