# Derinkuyu Underground City, Cappadocia > Derinkuyu is the deepest of Cappadocia’s underground cities open to visitors: about 85 metres down, with eight levels of tunnels, stables, kitchens and chapels cut into soft volcanic rock. Allow 1–1.5 hours inside. Foreign visitors pay about €13; it is open daily 8:00–18:00, with the last tickets at 17:15. It is a 45-minute drive from Göreme. Web page: https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia/derinkuyu-underground-city - City: [Cappadocia](https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia), Turkey - YesGo score: 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 1 h 15 min - With kids: Fine with kids - Ticket (foreign visitors): ≈ €13 - Museum Pass Cappadocia: Valid here — no separate ticket needed - Opening hours: 8:00–18:00, last tickets 17:15 - Closed: Never — open every day - Where to buy: At the gate, or an e-ticket from the Turkish Ministry of Culture museum site - Time needed: 1–1.5 hours inside - Getting there: Bus from Göreme to Nevşehir, then the Derinkuyu dolmuş, ≈ 40 min - Address: Bayramlı Mah. Şemşili Yolu Sok. 15, Derinkuyu, Nevşehir - Coordinates: 38.37340, 34.73503 - Facts checked: 30.10.2026 ## Key facts - **≈ 85 m** — deep — the deepest underground city open to visitors in Cappadocia (source: Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism (muze.gov.tr); English Wikipedia) - **8 levels** — open to visitors — only part of the whole city (source: Kültür Portalı, Turkish Ministry of Culture; History.com) - **≈ 10%** — of the underground city can be visited; the rest is closed (source: Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism (muze.gov.tr)) - **1963** — a local man renovating his house broke through a basement wall and found the way down (source: English Wikipedia; History.com) - **1965** — opened to visitors (source: Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism (muze.gov.tr); Kültür Portalı) - **55 m** — ventilation shaft that also served as the city’s well (source: Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism (muze.gov.tr); English Wikipedia) - **Up to 20,000** — people, with livestock and food — an estimate of its capacity (source: English Wikipedia; History.com) - **8–9 km** — tunnel believed to link Derinkuyu with Kaymaklı (source: English Wikipedia; History.com) - **8th–7th c. BC** — first rooms possibly cut by the Phrygians (source: English Wikipedia; History.com) - **780–1180** — greatly enlarged during the Arab–Byzantine wars (source: English Wikipedia; Russian Wikipedia) - **1923** — the last Christian residents left in the Greek–Turkish population exchange (source: English Wikipedia; History.com) ## Derinkuyu Underground City tickets and opening hours Foreign visitors pay about **€13** at the gate. Turkey now prices its main museums for foreigners in euros, but the Ministry of Culture page does not list Derinkuyu’s fare, so we mark the figure as “verifying”. Cards are accepted, and lira usually are too, at the day’s rate. The site is open **every day from 8:00 to 18:00**, and the ticket office closes at **17:15**. There is an official e-ticket, but the queue at the gate is rarely more than a few minutes, so buying ahead is optional. Planning the [Göreme Open-Air Museum](https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia/goreme-open-air-museum), [Ihlara Valley](https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia/ihlara-valley) and Kaymaklı too? Do the maths on the **Museum Pass Cappadocia** — it covers Derinkuyu and pays off after three or four paid sites. For Derinkuyu alone it is not worth it. > **Is Derinkuyu claustrophobic?** Yes, in places. Some passages are waist-high, the stairs are steep and you go down as far as the eighth level. If you struggle with tight spaces, bad knees or a bad back, try nearby [Kaymaklı](https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia/kaymakli-underground-city), where the tunnels are wider. There is no step-free access, so wheelchairs and pushchairs cannot go in. ## How to get to Derinkuyu from Göreme 1. Easiest: a **Green Tour** from Göreme. It usually includes Derinkuyu or Kaymaklı, Ihlara Valley and lunch, with transport and entry sorted. 2. On your own: from Göreme bus station (otogar) on Turgut Özal Meydanı, take the municipal bus to Nevşehir — about 20 minutes. 3. In Nevşehir, change to a dolmuş (shared minibus) marked **Derinkuyu** — about 40 minutes; it passes Kaymaklı on the way. 4. Get off in Derinkuyu town centre and follow the “Yeraltı Şehri” signs — the entrance is a few minutes’ walk. 5. By car or taxi it is about 40 km via Nevşehir, roughly 45 minutes. Return dolmuşes stop in the early evening, so ask the driver for the last one. ## Is Derinkuyu Underground City worth visiting? Yes, if it is your first time in Cappadocia. Nothing else explains so well how people survived here for centuries, and you feel the depth in your legs on the way back up. It is also one of the few sights in the region that works just as well in rain, summer heat or snow. Skip it if tight spaces make you anxious, or if you have already done Kaymaklı — a second underground city feels like a repeat. And don’t expect to roam a whole city: only around a tenth is open, the route follows arrows, and at midday it can be crowded. ## Who built Derinkuyu, and why? The city is cut into volcanic tuff beneath the modern town of Derinkuyu in Nevşehir province. Tuff is soft when you carve it and hardens in the air, so people could dig deep with almost no supports. The first rooms may date from the Phrygians in the 8th–7th centuries BC; it grew into a real city under the Byzantines. During Arab raids, roughly from 780 to 1180, locals retreated underground with their animals and food, sealing the passages from inside with **rolling stone doors**. It was still used until 1923, when Cappadocia’s Greek Orthodox Christians left in the population exchange. Then it was forgotten, until a resident knocked through a basement wall in 1963. Visitors have been allowed in since 1965. ## What to see inside - **Stables** near the entrance — animals lived on the upper levels, keeping their smell and warmth away from the families below. - **Kitchens, a winery and a room for boiling pekmez** (grape molasses); the kitchens seem to have been shared between families. - **Rolling stone doors** — round, man-sized slabs rolled out of a niche to block a passage from inside. - **The ventilation shaft**, 55 metres deep, which brought air to every level and doubled as a well. - **The barrel-vaulted hall on the second level**, thought by some to have been a religious school. - **The church on the lowest level** — the deepest point of the route, at the end of a long, steep staircase. - **The start of the tunnel towards Kaymaklı** — only the first stretch is visible; the rest is sealed. ## Derinkuyu vs Kaymaklı: which underground city? | | Derinkuyu | Kaymaklı | | --- | --- | --- | | Best for | Feeling the depth, ≈ 85 m | Wider tunnels, closer to Göreme | | Distance | ≈ 40 km from Göreme | 9 km closer, on the same road | | The descent | Long, with steep stairs to the church | Shorter, more horizontal passages | | Who it suits | Anyone happy in tight spaces | Families and the claustrophobic | | Foreign visitor ticket | ≈ €13 | ≈ €13 | | Time needed | 1–1.5 h | ≈ 1 h | They are built the same way, and the second one in a row rarely surprises. Pick one: depth at Derinkuyu, comfort at Kaymaklı. ## Before you go down: checklist - [ ] I’ll reach the ticket office before 17:15, journey included - [ ] Comfortable shoes with grip - [ ] A layer — it is cool underground even in July - [ ] A small bag — big backpacks catch in the tunnels - [ ] Phone charged — night mode beats flash down there - [ ] Museum Pass, if I’m buying one for all of Cappadocia - [ ] Next stop decided: Ihlara or back to Göreme ## Cappadocia’s historic sites compared Every historic site in Cappadocia rated by YesGo. - [Derinkuyu Underground City](https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia/derinkuyu-underground-city) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 15 min · ≈ €13 for foreign visitors - [Pigeon Valley](https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia/pigeon-valley) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free - [Uçhisar Castle](https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia/uchisar-castle) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · About 400 TL - [Göreme Open-Air Museum](https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia/goreme-open-air-museum) — YesGo score 34/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · €20, Dark Church extra - [Paşabağ (Monks Valley)](https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia/pasabag-valley) — YesGo score 34/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · €12 — shared ticket with Zelve - [Avanos](https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia/avanos) — YesGo score 31/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · Free; workshops and shows paid - [Kaymaklı Underground City](https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia/kaymakli-underground-city) — YesGo score 25/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · €13, under 8 free - [Ihlara Valley](https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia/ihlara-valley) — YesGo score 19/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · ≈ €15 (paid in lira) ## Southern Cappadocia in a day Pigeon Valley views in the morning, the underground city at midday and a walk through the Ihlara canyon after lunch. 1. [Pigeon Valley](https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia/pigeon-valley) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free 2. [Derinkuyu Underground City](https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia/derinkuyu-underground-city) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 15 min · ≈ €13 for foreign visitors 3. [Ihlara Valley](https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia/ihlara-valley) — YesGo score 19/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · ≈ €15 (paid in lira) > **Go at opening time** From late morning until lunch the Green Tour groups arrive and the narrow stairs jam. At 8:00, or after 16:00, it is much quieter below — just remember the ticket office shuts at 17:15. ## Good to know Derinkuyu is also the name of the town above, with its own hotels and bus station. In Turkish, “derin kuyu” means “deep well”; the old Greek name was Malakopi. Cappadocia has other underground cities, but Derinkuyu and Kaymaklı are the largest and easiest to visit. ## Tips - One underground city per trip is enough — choose Derinkuyu or Kaymaklı; the second feels like a rerun. - Pair it with a walk in Ihlara Valley, about an hour further along the same road south. - The signs inside are brief. Join a tour or read “What to see inside” before you go, or much of it will be just tunnels. - Follow the arrows: side passages are closed, and walking against the flow on the stairs is the main way to get stuck. - Don’t eat down there — there are no bins and the air is already heavier than at the surface. - Use your phone’s night mode rather than flash: in a narrow tunnel the flash dazzles you and everyone behind. ## Questions ### How much is the Derinkuyu Underground City entrance fee? About €13 for foreign visitors — we are still checking this against an official price list. The Museum Pass Cappadocia is valid here. ### What are Derinkuyu Underground City opening hours? Every day from 8:00 to 18:00; the ticket office closes at 17:15. There is no weekly closing day. ### How do I get to Derinkuyu from Göreme? Take the bus to Nevşehir (about 20 minutes), then a dolmuş marked Derinkuyu (about 40 minutes). By car it is about 45 minutes. A Green Tour is the easiest option. ### Is Derinkuyu worth visiting? Yes, if you have never been inside a Cappadocian underground city. If you have already seen Kaymaklı, or tight spaces bother you, you can skip it. ### Derinkuyu or Kaymaklı — which is better? Derinkuyu is deeper and more dramatic; Kaymaklı is closer to Göreme, with wider tunnels. For depth, Derinkuyu; with small children or claustrophobia, Kaymaklı. ### How deep is Derinkuyu Underground City? About 85 metres, according to the Turkish Ministry of Culture. Eight levels are open to visitors — roughly a tenth of the city. ### Is Derinkuyu claustrophobic? In places, yes: some tunnels are low enough that you walk bent over, and the stairs are steep. Most people manage fine, but it is not for anyone who panics in tight spaces. ### How many people lived in Derinkuyu? It is estimated to have sheltered up to 20,000 people with their livestock. People did not live there permanently — they went down when raiders came. ### Who built Derinkuyu Underground City? The first rooms may have been cut by the Phrygians in the 8th–7th centuries BC. The Byzantines turned it into a city and greatly enlarged it during Arab raids between 780 and 1180. ### Can you visit Derinkuyu with kids? Yes — school-age children usually love it. With toddlers it is hard work: the passages are low, the stairs steep and there is no way through with a pushchair. ## How we checked Opening hours, closing days, address, depth, the opening year and the share open to visitors come from the official Turkish Ministry of Culture page. The ministry does not show the foreign visitor fare, so the €13 figure comes from 2025–2026 guides and visitor reports and is marked “verifying”; we don’t quote a Museum Pass price. Hours differ too: guidebooks say 8:00–17:00 with last tickets at 16:15, the ministry 8:00–18:00 with last tickets at 17:15 — we show the official times. Sources give anything from 8 to 18 levels in total; eight are open to visitors. The Kaymaklı tunnel and the 20,000-person capacity are estimates and are presented as such. We leave out the “ancient aliens” theories, which have no sources. The bus and dolmuş route is marked “verifying”. ## Sources - Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism (muze.gov.tr): Derinkuyu Yeraltı Şehri — hours, address, depth and history, 30.10.2026 - Kültür Portalı, Turkish Ministry of Culture: Derinkuyu Yeraltı Şehri - English and Russian Wikipedia: Derinkuyu underground city; Wikidata Q1328958 - History.com: Derinkuyu, Turkey — underground city - Italian Wikivoyage: Derinkuyu; Enuygun — foreign visitor fare, 2025–2026 - Lonely Planet — the Nevşehir–Derinkuyu dolmuş --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.