Cappadocia’s underground cities: Derinkuyu, Kaymaklı and Özkonak
Derinkuyu, Kaymaklı and Özkonak are underground cities the Ministry of Culture and Tourism runs as museum sites in Nevşehir province: refuges carved down into soft tuff. The table puts their hours, entry fees and distances from Göreme side by side, each from our records with its status.
Derinkuyu, Kaymaklı and Özkonak side by side
Underground cities in Cappadocia: opening hours, entry fee for foreign visitors, straight-line distance from Göreme and visit length, each from our records with its status.
Site | Opening hours | Entry, foreign visitors | From Göreme, straight line | Visit | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08:00–18:00 | €13 per person | 31 km | About 1 hSample data | ||
| 08:00–18:00 | €13 per person | 21 km | About 1 hSample data | ||
| 08:00–18:00 | €6 per person | 18 km | About 45 minSample data |
Derinkuyu or Kaymaklı: which should you visit?
Derinkuyu Underground City
The ministry’s description of Derinkuyu dwells on its depth: a ventilation shaft that doubled as a well, churches, a missionary school and shared kitchens. Only a small part of it is open to visitors.
Kaymaklı Underground City
Kaymaklı differs in plan: low, narrow, sloping passages gathered around ventilation shafts, a church near the top and a floor of storerooms, wineries and a grinding stone. The ministry counts it as the widest underground city explored in the region.
Özkonak Underground City
Özkonak, near Avanos, is the one with narrow, elongated openings that let people on different floors talk to each other, unlike Kaymaklı and Derinkuyu. Each page gives its own hours, fee and status.
Photos: MusikAnimal, opens in a new tab, CC BY-SA 4.0, opens in a new tab
What is an underground city?
Cappadocia has a great many underground settlements of different sizes, most of them carved downwards into soft tuff. They were dug as safe refuges in case of threat or attack, and they stay cool in summer and warm in winter.
Rooms connect through long galleries and maze-like tunnels, and the passages were kept low and narrow to slow an enemy down. The levels nearest the entrance were usually stables, because animals were hard to take lower.
Underground cities on a cancelled balloon morning
Being inside the rock, they are what the planner’s Plan B looks for first when a balloon morning is cancelled: that day starts with indoor places until lunch. More in if your balloon flight is cancelled.
Each underground city in detail
The drive from Göreme to each, not counting parking and the walk in:
- Derinkuyu Underground Cityabout 34 min by car
- Kaymaklı Underground Cityabout 26 min by car
- Özkonak Underground Cityabout 31 min by car
Plan your days around these places
Going at opening? Choose your month, and the planner builds your days around opening hours and a balloon morning.