Pamukkale was a place we had heard the name of, but didn’t really know much about. We’re pretty light on the planning at the best of times and being a short trip, a lot of of our attention had been focused on the seeing the ‘big three’ – Istanbul, Cappadocia, Ephesus – then checking out our family friends in Alacati for the final few days. All we knew of Pamukkale was that there were some hot springs (good, we like those), some ruins (history and culture – also good) and a hillside covered in white stuff called the Cotton Castle (confusing – better check it out!). So with that knowledge, we figured on a one-night stopover to have a quick look around on the way from Cappadocia to Alacati – job done! but then we received a message from Koray, a local citizen of Pamukkale who had seen come across our Facebook and made a decision to show us just how much the little town had to offer! He even used to organize our accommodation and connect us with the local mayor’s office! This sounded great, so we added an extra day to our time in this now slightly a lot more appealing place.
Pamukkale, Turkey – natural hot spring travertines
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Table of Contents
How to get to Pamukkale
Our hotel in PamukkaleCheck prices and availability of hotels in Pamukkale in Booking.com
Meeting the Mayor of Pamukkale
Pamukkale Travertines and Hierapolis
How to get to Pamukkale
Getting to Pamukkale from Cappadocia was easy, we simply flew from Kayseri airport to Denizli airport. internal flights are very cheap in Turkey and can cost as little as $20 each way, or even less if you book way in advance.
Check out some of the cool and cheap excursions you could do in Kayseri.
Buses are also very good in Turkey and you can travel the entire country quite cheaply and in comfort. one of the best companies is Pamukkale Turizm, which we used to travel to Izmir.
Check the location of your accommodation as a lot of of the higher-end hotels are not in Pamukkale itself, but in one of the 2 closest small towns, which are all with 5 minutes of each other. getting around is easy with local minibuses driving back and forth all day, which cost only several Lira.
When we arrived at Denizli airport, Koray had set up a private airport taxi for the one hour drive to our hotel in the small town of Karahayit, just a few minutes from Pamukkale itself. You can also take a group shuttle from the airport, which will be a lot cheaper.
Our hotel in Pamukkale
Check prices and availability of hotels in Pamukkale in Booking.com
Koray and the Mayor’s office of Pamukkale genuinely had really organized the best accommodation for us in the whole area! Doga Thermal hotel and day spa is probably the newest five-star hotel in the region and is built like a modern palace, created around a central swimming pool, day spa and outdoor natural thermal pool.
The hotel comprises 5 floors of luxury rooms set up in a large oval around a five-story atrium which lights the indoor pool and Jacuzzi day spa in the middle of it.
On the ground floor is a day spa with a dry sauna, Turkish steam room, ice fountain and even a salt therapy room! The real attraction is outside though – the huge thermal pool is always at least 40 degrees Celsius and is fed by the natural hot spring which runs underneath the entire area. Locals say that studies of the water here show up to double the beneficial mineral content compared to thermal springs in other, a lot more famous, European countries. people of all ages come here to benefit from the natural health properties of the water here, often in combination with other treatments like physiotherapy.
Our room was very big with a private balcony and all the mod cons like climate control and cord TV. The shower room featured a solid stone designer basin, a rainforest shower and a bathtub with a window onto the bedroom (in case you like to share…).
Dinner in the hotel restaurant was a big buffet with all kind of local Turkish and international food, plus an remarkable range of colorful deserts.
Breakfast was just as amazing, with real home-made Turkish yogurt and natural honey which looked like it was taken straight from the hive!
Pamukkale, Turkey – Doga Thermal day spa Hotel
Pamukkale, Turkey – Doga Thermal day spa Hotel
Meeting the Mayor of Pamukkale
The next day, Koray had arranged for us to meet with the mayor of Pamukkale, so we could find out a bit a lot more about what makes the area so special.
We spent the whole morning in the outdoor thermal spa, kicking back and trying to soak up as lots of of the magic minerals as possible to keep us going until the nextnullnull