What and where is ‘Pamukkale’?

Pamukkale is a small town located in west-central Turkey – It’s about equidistance between the airports of Izmir, Bodrum and Antalya but inland and a couple of hours drive from the Mediterranean coast. The town neighbors the ancient Roman settlement of Hierapolis, a spa city that was thought to be founded around 190BC.

What’s special about Pamukkale?

The most obvious and famous feature of the town is the naturally formed, mineral rich, thermal spas which sit in a beautiful travertine terrace, formed on the hillsides around the town. Over thousands of years, minerals from the flowing water have formed ledges and created pools which collect the ‘geo-heated’ water in a step-like organization.

The 36C pools are a World Heritage site and the famous nature of this location leads to Pamukkale being the top tourist destination in the whole of Turkey, attracting over 2million visitors every year.

The word ‘Pamukkale’ translates in Turkish as ‘Cotton Castle’ on account of the snow-white carbonite minerals, which over millennia, have set to form the tiered pools.

Not only is the geology and nature a fascinating feature, but this old Roman town is teeming with history and culture. The Roman ruins are plentiful and include some impressive showpiece monuments. Notably, a well-preserved amphitheater sits outside the town which plunges deep into the centre providing excellent views of the events that it must have hosted back in the Roman era. Scattered throughout are pillars, columns and shells of buildings which have been preserved remarkably well.

Sarcophagi fill a 2km stretch around the town providing an eerie, but architecturally impressive sight. One of the other Roman legacies is a thermal pool which is filled with submerged Roman columns, this is supposedly the result of an earthquake that collapsed nearby structures into the crystal-clear waters.

How to get to Pamukkale?

Flying is the quickest and most efficient way of initially reaching Turkey from the UK. Landing at Izmir, Bodrum and Antalya all leave sizeable distances to cover to reach Pamukkale.

• Izmir: 3hr 21 by car
• Antalya: 3hr 10 by car
• Bodrum: 3hr 42 by car

These distances can take between 8-10hrs by coach – which do run from these airports to Pamukkale and nearby Denizli depending on the season.

The preferable destination to land in is Denizli Airport (DNZ), which Pegasus and Turkish Airlines fly into a couple of times a week for between £200-£300 for an economy ticket. Denizli is just a 13 minute drive from Pamukkale, so despite the reduced number of flights (when compared to IZM/BOD/AYT) it’s worth seeking that out if you’re looking to avoid a long drive. That said, the Denzli airport is around 60km outside of Denzli in a town called Çardak, so it’s not quite as convenient as it first seems!

Fortunately, Turkish Airlines meet every flight with a free shuttle bus which transports into the town of Denizli. From there, a taxi is a good option to make the 16km journey to Pamukkale. Of course, we have you covered for that!

Where to stay in Pamukkale?

With Pamukkale being such a popular tourist attraction there’s no shortage of accommodation options. Booking.com, Hotels.com, TripAdvisor, Expedia, Agoda, Hotelscombined, Laterooms and Trivago (amongst many others!) all have great breadth of options whether you’re seeking something lavish or something cheap and cheerful!

So, let’s start planning and get it ticked off the bucket list!

Want a more indepth look? Here's a video from @FinnSnow which shows off the Pamukkale attractions in all their glory!