Pamukkale is a town located in the west of Turkey and is known for its mineral-rich thermal waters. These waters flow down the Travertine Terraces, next to Hierapolis, a Roman spa city that was founded in 190 B.C. The area gets around two million visitors a year due to it being made a Unesco World Heritage site. The Pamukkale thermal spas are Turkey’s most visited attraction.
Temples, bathhouses and hot springs can all be explored in the Pamukkale spa, as well as the remains of the Greek-Roman spa city, Hierapolis. This is where tourists can bathe just like the Romans did in the Antique pool with 36° mineral water, surrounded by submerged columns. Visitors comment mostly on the breathtaking views of the vivid blue water next to the white snow, which gives Pamukkale a name that translates as ‘Cotton Castle’. You can also walk barefoot across the Travertine and into the icy cold waters.
Pamukkale isn’t just about the thermal pools, there’s also a Hierapolis Archaeology Museum just next door, which used to be the Roman baths. In this museum, Bronze Age artefacts, as well as those found below the regions of Pisidia, Lydia and Caria, are showcased.