Pamukkale is a destination which has been on my bucket list ever since the first time I saw a photo of the so called ‘Cotton Castle’ in Turkey. It is located an hour from Aphrodisias and is a world famous site with 17 incredible natural thermal springs with calcite-laden waters that flow from 520 ft high cliffs! Pamukkale is made up of carbonate mineral forests, petrified waterfalls and a series of terraced basins which create a surreal and unique icy-white landscape that is truly breathtaking! It is a pretty incredible experience to tick a destination off that has been on your bucket list for as long as you can remember and I am so grateful to Neyzen Travel for allowing us to do just that!
At the end of the 2nd century BCE, the dynasty of the Attalids who were the kings of Pergamon, established a thermal spa in Pamukkale and built the ancient city of Hierapolis above it. The site unfortunately featured considerable damage in the mid 20th century with the building of hotels and roads directly on the site which prompted UNESCO to step in and after quite extensive restoration, both Pamukkale and Hierapolis are today protected World Heritage Sites.
We began our day visiting the ruins of Hierapolis which is an enormous site where you are able to walk among the ruins and visit ancient baths, temples, Greek monuments, a theatre, library, gymnasium and the world’s largest necropolis! The height of the ancient city provides majestic views across the unique landscapes and countryside which surround Hierapolis and Pamukkale.
From Hierapolis we walked down to the stunning, almost surreal site of Pamukkale. Initially I was a little disappointed because of the large crowds which I felt took away from the incredible site and so we quickly walked past the top pools without stopping to swim. I was so glad that we did because there are more pools halfway down and near the bottom of the site which we had all to ourselves as most people don’t take the time to walk the whole way down! Pamukkale is one of the most surreal and beautiful places I’ve ever visited and whilst it is very popular and quite touristy I am so glad we visited and so glad we took the time to walk all the way to the lower pools where I had the special Pamukkale experience I’d always dreaming of!
Muge, our fantastic tour guide and driver gave us the option of either taking the quicker highway route to Bodrum or taking us on a beautiful, scenic route along the coastline. We of course took the scenic route and the scenery was truly breathtaking. Turkey’s natural beauty has absolutely blown us away and seeing the gorgeous coastline with our own eyes had us incredibly excited for our upcoming cabin charter yachting trip!
We also stopped for lunch in a gorgeous little seaside town called Akyaka where we had a fantastic seafood lunch. We’ve fallen in love with Turkish cuisine and have not had a single bad meal during our two weeks of travel! Everything is freshly made and cooked using the freshest and highest quality produce and we’re a little worried the rest of our travels won’t compare after how spoilt for choice we’ve been here!
Every aspect of our Turkey Land Tour with Neyzen has been beyond incredible and we cannot recommend this amazing company any higher for anyone wanting to visit Turkey on a fantastic customised tour! The final stop on our land tour is beautiful Bodrum which we’re really excited to explore before we set off on our luxury gulet to explore the Turkish coastline and the gorgeous Greek Island of Simi. As always we’ll be sharing our amazing experiences on the blog so stay posted! x
Want to read more travel posts on Turkey?
Istanbul, Bodrum, Turkey Sailing, Aphrodisias, Ephesus, Assos, Troy, Pergamon, Gallipoli.
