The natural wonders in Turkey travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

The rock formations of Pamukkale are a series of natural shelves and ridges, terraces that have been turned white from the solidified chalky calcium deposit sleft behind as the thermal waters tumble into further basins clinging to the cliff edge below. These impressive mineral hot springs are somewhat similar to the Mamoth Hot Springs in Yellostone Ntl Park, but those are much bigger and more impressive. There you are welcome to take a bath in the various natural ponds. The first thing you will see is a rock platform over 100 m in height rising up from the plain. The slopes of this hill, which look from a distance like a great white speck, are covered with large numbers of pools and terraces. As you come nearer, you will begin to see this natural phenomenon, which resembles a frozen waterfall, in greater detail.

Pamukkale is one of the most extraordinary natural wonders in Turkey. The scientific explanation is that hot thermal springs pouring down the hillside deposit calcium carbonate, which solidifies as traversing. If you take off your shoes, you can gingerly roam the terraces or paddle in the pools. The Turks have dubbed this geological fairyland Pamukkale, or “cotton castle“. Here, in a landscape fascinating in its own right, the action of various mineral springs which contain calcium oxides has left fantastic concretions on the traversing structures. The resulting effect is spectacular: these mineral-rich waters have dripped down over a series of terraced levels designing bizarre solidified cascades, dazzling in their radiance and changing their color according to how the sunlight strikes them.

Pamukkale is a very famous tourist attraction of Turkey, and tourists travel from the coast of Antalya and the Aegean Sea to this place as it is one of two World Heritage Sites in Turkey, together with Hierapolis. Only a few other places in the world are somewhat similar. Deriving from springs in a cliff almost 200 m high overlooking the plain, calcite-laden waters have created at Pamukkale an unreal landscape, made up of mineral forests, petrified waterfalls and a series of terraced basins. At the end of the 2nd century B.C. the dynasty of the Attalids, the kings of Pergamon, established the thermal spa of Hierapolis. The ruins of the baths, temples and other Greek monuments can be seen at the site. The big attraction is a vast white cliff side with scallop-shaped basins of water and frozen waterfalls. It looks as if it’s made out of snow or cloud or balls of cotton. The Turks have dubbed this geological fairyland Pamukkale from pamuk for cotton and kale for castle. For thousands of years a deep underground spring has been pouring out streams of hot, mineral-saturated water. As it has flowed down the mountainside the steaming water has hollowed enormous circular basins in the earth, and the water’s rich mineral content has coated them in a smooth layer of dazzlingly-white calcareous rock. To the ancients such beauty could only mean that the place was sacred to the gods. Built near the natural hot springs, the grand city of Hierapolis attracted a steady stream of pilgrims, who came to bathe in the curative waters. Pamukkale is located 250 km from Izmir and 20 km from Denizli. Most of the hotels are in Karahayit, 5 Ian north of Pamukkale. The water is 42-56 C, the pH is 5.98, similar to Pamukkale, but the water has more iron content.

The Pamukkale hot springs flow at a rate of 400 liters per second. The various facilities can accommodate about 6,000 people a day which amounts to 600 liters of water per person per day.
Pamukkale is both, a magical and spectacular natural site, unique in the world and with its ancient ruins it is perhaps the most attractive spot for tourists.