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Türkiye is a perfect destination for cavers and spelunkers, with nearly 40,000 caves across the country. Exploring the underground lakes, stalactites, and stalagmites of these fascinating geological structures is one of the most thrilling adventures you can have — as you enter this mysterious subterranean world, it is impossible not to feel like you're in a fantastic film set. Read on to learn about six of Türkiye’s most magnificent caves to explore...

Altınbeşik Cave: The Biggest Underground Lake

Antalya, the heart of the Turkish Riviera, is a popular destination for adventurers, with many large and small caves bearing traces of human history. Altınbeşik Cave, in Ürünlü village, is the region’s first world-famous cave. The cave, a natural wonder with a distinctive three-level structure, contains Türkiye's largest and the world's third-largest underground lake. Boat trips on the lake allow the cave's entrance to be explored, which appears as an oasis amid the surrounding pine forests. At the end of this floor, you’ll be treated to a breathtaking view of 44-metre vertical travertine formations. Professional cavers can use specialised equipment to climb to the second floor above these travertines, which is filled with ponds; the top floor features large rock blocks.

Damlataş Cave: The Fascinating World of Stalactites

Damlataş Cave, in Antalya’s Alanya district, is one of the first places that comes to mind in discussions on cave tourism in Türkiye. Named for its dramatic stalactites, the cave’s base is accessed via a cylindrical cavity after passing through the 50-meter passage at the stalactite-filled entrance. In addition to its impressive stalactites, the cave is also known for its air, which is believed to be beneficial for sufferers of respiratory conditions. Some asthma patients undergo 21-day treatments, sitting in the cave each day for a set period while under medical supervision.

Karain Cave: The Centre of Palaeolithic Life

Also in the Antalya province is Karain, one of the country's most significant natural caves and an important archaeological site featuring Palaeolithic Age findings. Karain is also Türkiye's largest cave to hold findings indicating human habitation from the Palaeolithic through the Roman periods; some of the remains found in the cave are believed to be the oldest known human-made artworks in Anatolia. Karain Cave is also on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.

Ballıca Cave: A Healing Geological Heritage

Tokat's Ballıca Cave, dating back 3,5 million years, is a popular attraction in the Black Sea region. The cave's geological landscape is unique on a global scale, containing stalactites, stalagmites and columns, curtain travertines, cave pearls, dripstone pools, and unique onion stalactites. The cave, which retains its mystery due to its unexplored sections, features eight halls where all the cave formations identified thus far can be seen. Exploring the parts of the cave open to visitors is like embarking on a journey that surprises and excites at every turn. Added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2019 due to its brightly coloured calcite formations, the cave also serves as a treatment centre for asthma and shortness of breath because of its negative ion air, which is free of dust and pollen.

Karaca Cave: Gümüşhane's Underground Palace

Karaca Cave is a popular attraction in Gümüşhane, a picturesque city in Türkiye's Eastern Black Sea region. The cave contains enchanting stalactites, stalagmites, pictographs walls, wall travertines, cave flowers, cave pearls, elephant ears, travertine pools, and colourful cave roses. This fossil cave, developed in limestones with numerous cracks, was formed by intertwining four distinct halls resembling an ellipse. Two of these halls were further divided by wall dripstones formed by leaking water over time, bringing the total number of halls to six.

Dupnisa: The Famous Cave System of Thrace

Dupnisa Cave in Kırklareli, the famous province in Türkiye's Thrace region, is a hidden treasure in the fertile Demirköy district. Dupnisa, Thrace's first and only tourist cave, welcomes tens of thousands of visitors each year, who see the cave’s two floors and its three interconnected caves of marble. The upper part of the structure, which has been evolving for approximately four million years, comprises the Kuru and Kız Caves, while the Sulu Cave welcomes visitors on the lower floor. Dupnisa features a variety of colours ranging from milky white to red and brown and contains impressive stalactites, stalagmites, columns, curtains, flag drop stones, and drop stone pools that reach massive sizes. The cave is home to 11 different bat species, and certain areas are closed to visitors between November 15 and May 15 to allow the bats to breed.

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Photo: provided by the Embassy of the Republic of Türkiye in Turkmenistan