Pamukkale
Pamukkale is an area in Turkey with geothermal springs, which have no analogues anywhere in the world. The unique resort and stunning natural attraction is located in the southwest of the country, 20 kilometers from the city of Denizli. The complex of 17 mineral springs, known since ancient times, is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and represents the edge of the ancient volcanic plateau, rising above the plain for 100 meters.
Video: Pamukkale
” title=”YouTube video player” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” allowfullscreen> Contents- Highlights
- Why go
- Sights
Infrastructure - Useful information
- How to get there
Highlights
Not so long ago Pamukkale was only a day trip destination, but with the advent of hotels and health centers on its territory, streams of tourists rushed here. All the hotels have spas, where recovery sessions are conducted by highly qualified medical specialists.
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Why go
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Sights
Archaeological investigations continue in the territory of the ancient polis to the present day.
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Infrastructure
The resort is home to the large Pamukkale Thermal Baths complex, open daily from 08.00 to 20.00, admission costs $6.5.
.At the top of the slope is another health center Karhait, very popular with tourists, because for healing procedures here is used water from three different springs.
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The Pamukkale Museum, located in a complex of ancient thermae, is open on all days except Monday, from 08.00 to 20.00, with an entrance fee of about $1.
.In Pamukkale you can choose a hotel of any category available to you: from budget hostels to luxury hotels.
.Some hotels in Pamukkale:
.- Tripolis**** – a large comfortable hotel with its own thermal pool and health center. Price from $60 per room.
- Pamuksu Hotel*** – spacious panoramic pool; national and vegetarian cuisine; massage services. Room rates from $35 per room.
- Melrose Viewpoint – 700 meters from the springs, price from $45 per room.
- Hal-Tur Hotel – great views of the travertines; Turkish, vegetarian and Asian cuisine; private thermal springs and pools; room rates from $50.
Finding a catering establishment to your liking in Pamukkale is not a problem – the town has a good selection of cafes and restaurants.
.There are a fair number of souvenir stores in the resort, offering cotton, leather, onyx and ceramic products.
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Useful information
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There are two ways to get to the springs: climb the mountain from Pamukkale near the lake or go through the entrance located near the northern necropolis of Hierapolis. In the first case, visitors take off their shoes at once (this is controlled by a strict guard), and in the second – you will have to take off your shoes directly near the travertines, to which there is a long walk through the ruins of the ancient city.
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If you decide to go to Pamukkale as part of an organized group, then know that the cost of the tour offered by the hotel guide will be 2 or even 3 times more expensive than a similar proposal in the street agency. Remember that the medical insurance you purchased not from the tour operator, but from the insurance company, and it is valid throughout the country. If your hotel guide insists that you will be deprived of medical care in case of an accident during an excursion with a third-party tour company, he is being sly and simply does not want to lose his commission.
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Be prepared that on any tour, you will definitely be taken around factories and stores where the goods on offer are sold at much higher prices than elsewhere. On the way back there will be obligatory stops at wineries, so you will not have much time for the excursion around the resort, although you will pay a considerable amount of money (80-120$) for visiting it. In addition, you will come to the sightseeing at lunchtime, when there are concentrated tourist flows, and it will be quite difficult to appreciate the beauty of the place. Therefore, it is better to buy excursions only with a visit to Pamukkale or go there on your own early in the morning.
.Going to the resort, be sure to take dark glasses, as the snow-white coating of the slope reflects sunlight, noticeably irritating to the eyes, a bag for shoes, a towel, otherwise, if you bathe in the pool of the Egyptian queen, you will have to buy it in a local shop at a fabulous price, swimsuit, sun cape, drinking water.
.The best time to visit the springs is spring or early fall, when there are no crowds of tourists and it’s not as hot.
.In Pamukkale, Denizli and Buldan (30 kilometers from the resort) you can buy fine cotton products – hats, tablecloths, clothes, curtains, stoles.
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How to get there
By airplane – Istanbul and Denizli are connected by direct air service, with a flight time of 1 hour 10 minutes and flights twice a day. A ticket costs between 40 and 120 liras, depending on the airline. Planes arrive at Chardak airport 65 kilometers from Denizli, from where shuttles (10 liras) and cabs (70 liras, at night the cost increases by 50%) go to Pamukkale. It is more profitable to order a cab online, for example, in KiwiTaxi – you will know the exact fare and you can cooperate with fellow travelers.
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By bus – from Antalya’s central bus station Otogar, there are flights through Denizli every half hour starting at 07.30 and ending at 01.30. The distance of 224 kilometers the bus covers in 3-4 hours. If you have purchased a direct ticket to Pamukkale, then at the bus station in Denizli you will be transferred to the bus to your destination, you do not need to pay anything else. If you have paid only to Denizli, you will need to take a direct bus from there to Pamukkale.
.The bus service also connects Denizli with many resort towns in Turkey – Kemer, Alanya, Marmaris and others.
.If you are traveling by car, you should take the D350/E87 and D585 highways. From Denizli you need to turn left on D320 and follow the signs for Hierapolis, Pamukkale.
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