Imagine travertines created by calcareous hot spring waters cascading down the mountain, creating a stunning landscape. These white calcium pools and blue water make for a unique sight in Pammukale, Turkey. Pamukkale translates to ‘cotton castle’ in turkish. Its a Unesco site and sure lives up to it.
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| Travertines filled with water |
We were obliged to take our shoes off as we entered the site. But had to be watchful of the sharp mineral rocks in the thermal pool. Most of these breath taking cotton castles are very shallow and you can have one all to yourself. We did take a bath in these warm natural calcium thermal pools.
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| People treading their way in the maze of pools |
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| Aqua blue water makes for a brilliant scene |
While you are at Pamukkale make a visit the Cleoptra pools to relax while surrounded by ancient ruins. There are columns left below in the pool to add a touch of old times. The Hierapolis amphitheatre is right next and the scale of it will blow your mind.
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| Hierapolis amphi theater |
There are street vendors just outside the entrance who sell delicious turkish ice cream, aka Dondurma. Its very different than the usual ice cream in that its chewy. One of the ingredient in it, the mastic gum gives the ice cream the chewiness and its elastic texture. We couldn’t just stop at one.
Pamukkale is a 3 hour drive from Izmir which is well connected to Istanbul by flights.
