# Kaymaklı Underground City, Cappadocia > A city carved into soft volcanic rock beneath the village of Kaymaklı, about half an hour’s drive south of Göreme. Tickets are €13 for foreign visitors, under-8s go free and the Museum Pass Cappadocia is valid. Open daily from 8:00 — until 17:00 in winter, 19:00 in summer. One hour covers the four open levels. Web page: https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia/kaymakli-underground-city - City: [Cappadocia](https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia), Turkey - YesGo score: 25/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 1 h - Opening hours: Daily: 1 April–1 October 8:00–19:00, last tickets 18:15; 1 October–1 April 8:00–17:00, last tickets 16:15 - With kids: Fine with kids - Ticket (foreign visitors): €13 (age 8 and over) - Children: Under 8 free - Museum Pass Cappadocia: Valid — 3 days, 10+ sites in Nevşehir and Aksaray - Museum Pass price: €65 - Summer hours: 1 April–1 October: 8:00–19:00, last tickets 18:15 - Winter hours: 1 October–1 April: 8:00–17:00, last tickets 16:15 - Closed: Never — open every day - Open to visitors: 4 of the 8 levels, lit - Getting there: ≈ 30 min by car from Göreme, or dolmuş via Nevşehir - Address: Belediye Cad., Cami Kebir Mah., Kaymaklı, Nevşehir - Coordinates: 38.46000, 34.75227 - Facts checked: 30.10.2026 ## Key facts - **8 levels** — below ground — four are lit and open to visitors (source: Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Türkiye (Türkiye Müzeleri); Küre Encyclopedia) - **1964** — the year it opened to tourists (source: Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Türkiye; English Wikipedia) - **UNESCO, 1985** — part of the Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia (source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre; English Wikipedia) - **Rolling stone doors** — millstone-shaped slabs rolled across passages and bolted from inside (source: Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Türkiye; Küre Encyclopedia) - **Volcanic tuff** — the soft rock that every room, tunnel and shaft is cut into (source: Küre Encyclopedia; English Wikipedia) - **Hittites or Phrygians** — the top level is dated to the Hittite period by the Ministry; other sources credit 8th–7th-century BC Phrygians (source: Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Türkiye; English Wikipedia) - **Roman and Byzantine** — the periods when the city was dug deeper into a multi-level refuge (source: Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Türkiye; Küre Encyclopedia) - **About 100 tunnels** — run under village houses — some are still used as cellars and stables (source: English Wikipedia; Showcaves) - **A chapel** — with a nave and two apses on the second level (source: English Wikipedia; Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Türkiye) - **57 holes** — in an andesite block on the third level — possibly used for working copper (source: English Wikipedia; Showcaves) - **Anaku** — the village’s Greek name before the 1923 population exchange (source: English Wikipedia; Küre Encyclopedia) ## Kaymaklı Underground City tickets and opening hours Foreign visitors pay **€13** from age 8; younger children are free. The site is open **every day from 8:00** — to 19:00 from April to September (last tickets 18:15) and to 17:00 from October to March (last tickets 16:15). The Ministry of Culture sets the price in euros and the ticket office charges the lira equivalent at the day’s rate, so a card is easiest. There is no need to book: you buy at the gate, and the only queues form when tour coaches arrive. The **Museum Pass Cappadocia** is valid here. It covers three days and more than ten museums and sites in Nevşehir and Aksaray provinces and costs €65 (not valid for night museum visits). Add up the sites you will really visit — the [Göreme Open-Air Museum](https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia/goreme-open-air-museum), Kaymaklı, Derinkuyu, Ihlara Valley — and buy it only if the total is higher. > **Low, narrow passages** Between levels you walk bent double, single file, sometimes almost crouching. If tight spaces bother you, stay on the upper chambers, where the exit is always close. Wear closed shoes with grip and leave big backpacks in the car. ## Kaymaklı vs Derinkuyu: which is better? | | Kaymaklı | Derinkuyu | | --- | --- | --- | | Character | Wider, roomier levels | Deeper, more stairs down | | Open to visitors | 4 of 8 levels | More levels, further down | | Passages | Low but short | Long descents, tighter | | Ticket | €13, Museum Pass valid | Own ticket, Museum Pass valid | | Time needed | ≈ 1 hour | 1–1.5 hours | | From Göreme | ≈ 30 min | ≈ 40 min, 9 km further south | | With kids or older travellers | Easier | Harder | You don’t need both — they are built the same way. Short on time, travelling with kids or nervous about tight spaces? Pick Kaymaklı. Want the sense of real depth? Go to [Derinkuyu](https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia/derinkuyu-underground-city). Many Green Tour day trips include just one of them, so check which. ## How to get to Kaymaklı from Göreme 1. By car or taxi: from Göreme through Nevşehir, then south on the Niğde road — about 30 km, ≈ 30 minutes. There is parking by the entrance. 2. Without a car: from Göreme bus station (Turgut Özal Meydanı), take a bus or dolmuş to Nevşehir — about 20 minutes. 3. In Nevşehir, change at the village dolmuş stand to a minibus for Kaymaklı or Derinkuyu — about 30 minutes, roughly every half hour during the day. 4. Get off in the centre of Kaymaklı village: the entrance is a couple of minutes’ walk from the main street, behind the souvenir stalls. 5. Return the same way to Nevşehir. The last minibuses leave in the early evening — ask the driver for the time. ## Is Kaymaklı Underground City worth it? Yes, for most first-time visitors to Cappadocia. It is the easiest underground city to see well in an hour: the rooms are large, the route is lit and the stairs are gentler than at Derinkuyu. Skip it only if you have already seen Derinkuyu or if tight spaces are a real problem for you. Kaymaklı is also the better choice with children or older travellers, and on a day already packed with the Ihlara Valley walk — it fits neatly on the same road south. ## What is Kaymaklı Underground City? Beneath the village, **eight levels** were cut into soft volcanic tuff: living rooms, stables, storerooms, kitchens, wine and oil presses, wells, ventilation shafts and a chapel. The top four are lit and open. The Ministry of Culture dates the first level to the Hittites; Romans and Byzantines later dug it deeper. Villagers hid here for weeks when armies crossed the plain. Passages were sealed with round stone doors that rolled in a groove and locked from inside. The last people to use it as a refuge were the village’s Greek Christians, before the population exchange of 1923. ## What to see inside - **Rolling stone doors** at the entrances to the levels — look for the groove they rolled along. - **The stable on level one**, with feeding troughs carved straight into the wall. - **The chapel on level two** — a nave, two apses and benches along the walls. - **Kitchens and presses on level three**, their ceilings blackened by smoke. - **The block with 57 holes** — guides explain it differently; the usual answer is copper working. - **Ventilation shafts** — stand under a grate and feel the air coming down. - **Level-four storerooms** with pits for clay jars, enough supplies for months. ## Before you go: checklist - [ ] I’ll reach the gate before 16:15 in winter or 18:15 in summer - [ ] Closed shoes with good grip - [ ] A light layer — it is cool underground even in summer - [ ] A small bag instead of a big backpack - [ ] Decided whether the Museum Pass Cappadocia pays off - [ ] Know how I’m getting back: car, taxi or dolmuş ## 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 A morning in Pigeon Valley, the underground cities, then a walk in the Ihlara canyon. 1. [Pigeon Valley](https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia/pigeon-valley) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free 2. [Kaymaklı Underground City](https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia/kaymakli-underground-city) — YesGo score 25/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · €13, under 8 free 3. [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 4. [Ihlara Valley](https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia/ihlara-valley) — YesGo score 19/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · ≈ €15 (paid in lira) > **Come at opening time or late afternoon** Green Tour groups arrive towards midday, and then people queue in the narrow passages. At 8:00 or an hour before closing the ticket office is empty and you can stand in the chambers in silence. ## Good to know Kaymaklı is the name of the village above the underground city — and of neighbourhoods in other Turkish towns. The tunnel said to link Kaymaklı with Derinkuyu is not open to visitors and is not part of the route. ## Tips - One underground city is enough for most people — choose Kaymaklı or Derinkuyu rather than doing both. - Pair Kaymaklı with a walk in the [Ihlara Valley](https://yesgo.io/turkey/cappadocia/ihlara-valley) — it is the same road south. - Bring a light layer even in July: it feels cool underground all year. - Hold small children’s hands in the passages — the steps are uneven and the light is dim in places. - Tall travellers have the hardest time between levels: go slowly and mind your head. - Signs are few inside; don’t wander into unlit tunnels — they are closed for a reason. ## Questions ### How much is the Kaymaklı Underground City ticket? €13 for foreign visitors aged 8 and over; under-8s are free. You pay in lira at the day’s rate, and the Museum Pass Cappadocia is valid. ### What are Kaymaklı Underground City opening hours? Every day. 1 April–1 October: 8:00–19:00, last tickets 18:15. 1 October–1 April: 8:00–17:00, last tickets 16:15. ### Kaymaklı or Derinkuyu — which is better? Kaymaklı is wider and easier, takes about an hour and suits families. Derinkuyu is deeper and more dramatic. If you get anxious in tight spaces, choose Kaymaklı. ### Is it worth visiting both underground cities? Usually not: they are laid out the same way and the second feels repetitive. Do both only if the history really grabs you. ### How long do you need at Kaymaklı? About an hour for the four open levels, plus around 30 minutes each way by car from Göreme. ### How do I get to Kaymaklı from Göreme without a tour? Bus or dolmuş to Nevşehir, then a Kaymaklı or Derinkuyu minibus from the village dolmuş stand — about 30 minutes. A taxi or hire car is simpler. ### Is Kaymaklı OK if you are claustrophobic? The chambers are lit and fairly roomy, but the passages between levels are low and narrow. Stay on the upper levels and avoid the midday rush. ### Can you visit Kaymaklı with kids? Yes — children usually love it, and under-8s are free. Leave the stroller outside: there are steps and low passages inside. ### How deep is Kaymaklı Underground City? It has eight levels, of which four are open. It is shallower but wider than Derinkuyu; no reliable single depth figure is published. ## How we checked Fares, hours, the lack of closing days, the open levels and Museum Pass validity come from the official Ministry of Culture and Tourism page. The Museum Pass Cappadocia price (€65) is from the same Ministry page. Sources disagree on who dug the first level — the Ministry says the Hittite period, Wikipedia (citing the Ministry) says 8th–7th-century BC Phrygians — so we show both. The tunnel to Derinkuyu is mentioned by Wikipedia and guidebooks but is neither open nor surveyed as a route, so we treat it as tradition. We give no depth or population figure: no reliable one exists. Minibus timetables change by season and are marked “verifying”. ## Sources - Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Türkiye (Türkiye Müzeleri): Nevşehir Kaymaklı Underground City — fares, hours, levels, Museum Pass, 30.10.2026 - UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia - Küre Encyclopedia: Kaymaklı Yeraltı Şehri - English and Russian Wikipedia: Kaymaklı Underground City; Wikidata Q118948370 - Showcaves.com: Kaymaklı Underground City - Lonely Planet: Kaymaklı Underground City — minibuses from Nevşehir --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.