Places

Derinkuyu is Cappadocia's deepest underground city, plunging roughly 85 metres through as many as eighteen carved levels. Set beneath the quiet town of the same name about 29 kilometres south of Nevşehir, this is the most staggering of all the region's underground cities, precisely because of its scale and depth. Where the short version says eight floors and room for 20,000 people, the reality on the ground is even more humbling: a vertical labyrinth of stairwells, ventilation shafts, stables, kitchens, cellars, a wine and oil press, and near the bottom a cool, barrel-vaulted hall widely believed to have served as a religious school or church. Eight levels are open to visitors today, and the descent is genuinely deep. The story below is one of ingenuity born of danger. Carved and enlarged over many centuries into the soft volcanic tuff, Derinkuyu sheltered early Christian communities hiding from raids and armies passing through Anatolia. Each level could be sealed off from within by massive circular rolling-stone doors that only the people inside could move. A single ventilation shaft, doubling as a well, runs more than 50 metres down, which is how thousands of people, along with their animals and food stores, could survive underground for long stretches. Much of the complex was forgotten for generations and famously re-entered the historical record in 1963, when a local resident is said to have knocked through a wall in his house and discovered a passage leading into the vast hidden network. Walking through, you descend past level after level while the daylight vanishes and the air holds at a steady, cool temperature. You will see the deep well shaft, the rolling stone doors guarding each floor, blackened kitchen ceilings, storage rooms, animal stables near the surface, and that large cruciform hall on a lower level. It is claustrophobic in places, and honest travellers should know it: some connecting tunnels are low and narrow, and short stretches are walked completely crouched over. This is not the place for anyone with serious claustrophobia, heart or breathing trouble, or very small children who tire quickly on steep stairs. Getting there is easy enough. From Nevşehir, about 29 kilometres away, frequent minibuses (dolmuş) run south toward Niğde and stop at Derinkuyu, dropping you a short walk from the entrance in the town centre. From Göreme or Ürgüp there is no direct minibus, so most visitors come by car, taxi, or on a guided Green Tour, which typically bundles Derinkuyu with the Ihlara Valley, Selime, and often nearby Kaymaklı Underground City, roughly 10 kilometres north and thought to connect to Derinkuyu by a long tunnel. By car from Göreme it is around 45 minutes. Aim to arrive right at opening in the morning. The stairwells are single-file and back up quickly once the coach groups arrive, so an early start means you descend in relative calm rather than shuffling nose-to-tail. The constant cool temperature also makes Derinkuyu a perfect refuge on blazing summer afternoons. Most people spend between 45 minutes and 75 minutes inside, though photographers and history lovers can happily stretch it longer. A few honest practical tips. There is a small entrance fee, and it opens in the morning, so build your day around a morning or early-afternoon visit. Bring a light layer, because the depths stay cool year-round no matter how hot it is above. Wear sturdy shoes with grip, since the worn steps can be slick. Remember that the climb back up is the genuinely tiring part, so pace yourself and rest on the way out rather than rushing. If tunnels underground make you uneasy, the wider, slightly shallower Kaymaklı nearby is a gentler alternative. Either way, Derinkuyu offers one of the most unforgettable, almost cinematic experiences in all of Cappadocia, a reminder of just how resourceful and resilient the people who carved this hidden world truly were.

Kaymaklı Underground City is Cappadocia's widest cave city, a sprawling network of tunnels carved deep beneath a quiet farming town. Of all the underground cities in Cappadocia, Kaymaklı is the one we most often recommend to first-timers and to anyone who feels uneasy in tight, dark spaces. It is wider and more spacious than nearby Derinkuyu, with rooms that spread outward around big ventilation shafts rather than plunging straight down. Four of its eight known levels are open to visitors, and while you will still need to stoop and squeeze through some low passages, the layout feels more forgiving and much easier to navigate. This is a place where you genuinely understand how a whole hidden community once lived below ground. The story here is remarkable. The soft volcanic tuff of the region is easy to carve but hardens on contact with air, so over many centuries people hollowed out an entire world beneath the surface. Early Christian communities expanded these tunnels to shelter from raids, sealing themselves inside with enormous round rolling stone doors that could only be closed from within. You can still see these huge millstone doors in place, along with soot-blackened kitchen ceilings, stables set near the entrance so animal smells stayed shallow, deep storage rooms, wine and oil presses, and small chapels carved from the rock. Clever ventilation shafts, some doubling as wells, kept fresh air moving through every level. Kaymaklı is even thought to connect to Derinkuyu, roughly nine kilometres away, by a long underground tunnel, a reminder that these were not isolated hideouts but a networked system. Getting here is straightforward. Kaymaklı sits about 19 kilometres south of Nevşehir on the road toward Derinkuyu and Niğde. From Nevşehir you can catch a frequent minibus (dolmuş) running the Nevşehir–Derinkuyu line, which stops right in the town of Kaymaklı. From Göreme or Ürgüp the easiest options are a rental car, a taxi, or a guided Green Tour, which usually bundles Kaymaklı with the Ihlara Valley, Selime, and Derinkuyu in one full day. By car from Göreme it is roughly a 30 to 40 minute drive, and there is parking beside the entrance. The city is open daily and, like most sites in the area, opens in the morning. It stays at a cool, constant temperature year round, which makes it a welcome escape on hot summer afternoons and means you will want a light layer even in high season. Try to arrive early, soon after opening, to descend before the large tour groups fill the single-file passages, which back up quickly. Most visitors spend around 45 minutes to an hour underground, a little longer if you like to linger and read the signs. A few honest tips from us. Wear closed, grippy shoes because the worn stone underfoot can be slick, and the low ceilings mean a bumped head is a real risk for taller visitors. The passages can be poorly lit in places, so watch your footing on the stairs. There is a small entrance fee paid at the gate, and hiring a local guide or joining a tour genuinely adds a lot, since without one the rooms can blur together and the clever engineering is easy to miss. If you are choosing between the two famous cities, Kaymaklı is the wider, more spacious and easier one to move through, while Derinkuyu is deeper and more dramatic; if depth and tight spaces bother you, Kaymaklı is the kinder choice, and doing both in one day can feel repetitive. Above ground, the town itself is modest and workaday, so treat this as an underground destination rather than a place to wander for meals. Pair it with the Ihlara Valley for a scenic hike, or simply combine it with Derinkuyu if you are curious to compare the two. Either way, Kaymaklı offers one of the most tangible, atmospheric glimpses into how people survived, worshipped, and hid beneath the strange and beautiful landscape of Cappadocia.

Mazı Underground City is one of Cappadocia's quietest and least-visited rock-cut refuges, hidden beneath a sleepy village south of Ürgüp. While busloads of visitors pour into Kaymaklı and Derinkuyu, Mazı stays refreshingly calm, which is exactly why locals keep sending curious travelers here. You often have whole galleries to yourself, free to run your hand along walls that people have been carving into the soft volcanic tuff over countless generations. What makes Mazı special is how much room it gives you to actually look. The passages are wider and less claustrophobic than in the famous cities, so instead of shuffling along in a queue you can pause, crouch into a chamber, and understand how the place worked. The stables are the highlight: large rock-cut rooms with feeding troughs, or mangers, carved straight into the stone, a reminder that whole communities sheltered here with their animals during raids. You will also find a sizeable church, living quarters, storage rooms, deep ventilation shafts, and the classic circular rolling stone doors that could be pushed across a corridor from the inside to seal the city against attackers. Mazı was built for defense, with entrances that could be closed off quickly, and standing beside one of those millstone-shaped doors you really feel the ingenuity of the people who dug it. The city dates back a very long way, with documented remains from the Roman and Byzantine periods, expanded and reused over many centuries by later Cappadocian communities and early Christians. It has around four known levels, and while it is not as deep as Derinkuyu, it feels rawer and more honest, less polished for tourism and closer to how these hidden cities must have felt when they were first discovered. Getting to Mazı takes a little effort, which is part of why it stays quiet. The site sits beside Mazı village, roughly 18 kilometers south of Ürgüp. The easiest option is to drive or take a taxi, and combining it with the Soğanlı Valley churches to the south makes a rewarding half-day loop away from the crowds. Public transport is limited, so if you are relying on dolmuş or minibus you should ask at the Ürgüp otogar about services toward the villages that day and confirm return times before you set off, because connections can be sparse. Many travelers simply hire a driver for a few hours or add Mazı to a private tour. From Göreme or Nevşehir it is a longer trip, but still very doable as a day out if you have your own wheels. You can visit at almost any time of day and rarely have to worry about crowds. Mornings are pleasant and cool, and because the site is small you only need about 30 to 45 minutes to explore it properly, longer if you love poking into every corner. There is a small entrance fee, and the site generally opens in the morning and closes in the late afternoon, though hours can shift with the season, so it is worth checking locally. A few honest tips. Bring a layer, because underground it stays cool and slightly damp even when the surface is baking. Wear shoes with grip, as the stone floors can be uneven and a bit slick. Lighting is basic and some corners are dim, so a phone torch is genuinely useful for reading the carvings. Facilities are minimal compared with the big sites, so bring water and do not expect a café or gift shop. If you are traveling with someone who finds tight spaces difficult, Mazı is a gentler introduction than Kaymaklı, but there are still low passages and steps. Above all, come with the right expectation: this is not a slick, signposted attraction but a genuine, atmospheric piece of underground Cappadocia, and that quietness is the whole reward.