Bus tickets from Bodrum to Denizli (5 hours) cost 30 lira per person. From Denizli you have to take the local bus towards Pamukkale (10 minutes) which cost 3,50 lira per person. The place is a must-see apparantly because of its unique geological formations and historical remains, so I was very curious how we were going to experience it. We had always two essential things during long bus journeys; food/drinks and many serials/movies on Farhang’s laptop to keep us entertained.
I must say it was kinda stressful when the bus stopped for toilet breaks. Me and Farhang had to go both, but couldn’t go at the same time because one of us had to watch over our daypacks. I went first as soon as possible and when I came back I already saw people running back towards the bus. So when Farhang went after me, I asked the bus driver to wait for a while. Although Farhang was back on time, nobody even checked or asked if someone was missing or not.
We finally arrived at Denizli and walked towards the local buses. It was almost getting dark and we hadn’t booked anything for the night because we hoped to just hop from one hotel/hostel to the other till we found a good price. When we arrived at the end station, it was already dark. Almost directly a man approached us to offer a room in his hotel. We didn’t trust it and walked in some hostels/guesthouses to inform about the prices until we found a suitable one. The stormy weather made the search kinda exciting I must say, but before it started pouring we were already in the hostel.
I was excited to see Pamukkale since I had heard so many good things about it through my sister and friend who had been there couple of months ago. We decided to leave in the evening next day since one day would be enough to see the formations which only takes 5 hours or so to walk through. Entrance fee is 25 lira. Wearing sandals/shoes is prohibited so right after we stepped on the formations, we felt the nice cold water pouring under our bare feet (only at the beginning, because at higher points it had different temperatures). We slowly walked up and the whole scenery was just magnificent. There were these beautiful travertine terraces and little thermal pools (many are artificial though). The water from the hot water springs contains calcium carbonate which is left behind at the bottom as soft sand/jellyish. Many people were putting it on their body for its apparently benefits for the skin, eyes and rheumatism.
Since we had no clue it was allowed for anyone to swim in, I was not dressed properly. Farhang had his short pants on, so it was easy for him to just take off his shirt and join the crowd. And there was me, standing in the hot sun, just able to go in till my knees. On top of that, Farhang gave me all of his gear to carry for him so he could swim. Just great. We got up till the highest point and enjoyed the view and took couple of pictures until it was time to walk down again. We ate freshly made lahmacuns with ayran and headed back towards our guesthouse to get our backpacks.
Recommendation? Yes, Pamukkale is beautiful. But make sure you go when it’s not very crowded. All those tourists/big crowds actually spoil the scenery, there is no silence and peace like there should be on such places.
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