Cappadocia Underground Cities: Derinkuyu, Kaymaklı and How to Visit

Cappadocia’s underground cities are rock-cut settlements and refuge spaces, not conventional cities hidden beneath the modern landscape. They are networks of rooms, corridors and functional areas excavated into workable volcanic tuff. The surviving spaces vary by site: a visitor may see storage rooms, animal areas, kitchens or communal spaces, while wells, shafts, religious rooms and barriers appear in particular complexes rather than everywhere. “Underground city” is useful shorthand, but it should not suggest that every settlement was planned as one complete subterranean town.

What are Cappadocia’s underground cities?

The best-known examples, Derinkuyu and Kaymaklı, are part of a wider archaeological landscape in central Cappadocia. Their passages connect rooms and levels, and their layout reflects practical needs: moving people and animals, storing supplies, accessing air and water, and closing off routes when necessary. Some interpretations describe periods of refuge or temporary occupation; that is different from claiming that large populations lived permanently below ground.

Why could they be built here?

Cappadocia’s volcanic landscape includes relatively soft tuff that can be cut with hand tools and then remain stable when the excavation is shaped carefully. That geology allowed people to carve both the familiar valley architecture above ground and extensive spaces below it. The point is not that the rock made excavation effortless: shafts, load-bearing rock, drainage, air movement and circulation still had to be managed. For the region’s wider landscape and surface settlements, see Explore Cappadocia.

Who built them? What is known—and what is uncertain?

There is no responsible single-sentence answer that names one definitive original builder for all Cappadocian underground settlements. Their histories were likely layered: spaces could be enlarged, adapted and reused by different communities over long periods. Popular accounts alternately credit Hittites, Phrygians, early Christians or Byzantines, but a repeated attribution is not the same as direct archaeological proof of a site’s first excavation.

The cautious distinction is between possible early origins and later documented use. Archaeology can identify construction techniques, phases, objects and modifications, while written and religious history helps explain some later communities in the region. It does not turn every proposed origin story into a certainty. We therefore avoid presenting a precise age, founding civilization or “rediscovery” anecdote as settled fact where the authoritative evidence is not clear.

Why were underground settlements used?

The spaces could support more than one activity. Storage and food preparation are tangible functions; animal areas and communal or religious spaces are documented in some sites. Narrow routes and closable passages also support a defensive or refuge interpretation. The balance probably changed by place and period. It is safer to describe underground cities as adaptable spaces used during times of insecurity and for practical support than to describe them as permanent underground homes for a fixed number of people.

How did an underground settlement work?

Ventilation, storage and movement

Vertical shafts and openings helped move air through parts of the complexes, while rooms and niches provided places for storage or work. Corridors can be low, narrow and uneven because they were cut for a purpose rather than designed as a modern public building. Stairs and changes of level organize movement between excavated areas. The ventilation photographs in the gallery are useful evidence of a physical feature visitors can recognize, but they do not prove that every shaft served one identical system.

Rolling stone doors

The large circular stones set beside some passages are commonly understood as barriers that could be moved across an entrance or corridor. Their position and form support a defensive interpretation: a passage could be restricted without sealing the entire settlement. The exact operation and use of every stone should not be embellished into a trap or secret mechanism. Think of them as robust passage-control features whose practical role is clearer than every detail of their history.

Derinkuyu Underground City

Derinkuyu is the most prominent name in many Cappadocia itineraries. The visit is a route through carved rooms, constricted corridors, stairs and changing levels, with the sense of moving through a connected system rather than viewing one isolated chamber. Its interest lies in the relationship between circulation, storage, air shafts, barriers and communal spaces—not in an unverified headline number.

Depth, levels and population claims

Online descriptions frequently present “18 levels,” a particular depth, or a capacity of “20,000 people” as if each were a measured fact about the visitor route. Those figures are not interchangeable: a number may refer to a reported extent, identified or accessible levels, or a repeated estimate. Because official and secondary descriptions do not always use the same definition, this guide does not turn those viral numbers into exact facts. Check the Turkish Museums portal for current official visitor information and site-specific notices.

Kaymaklı Underground City

Kaymaklı offers a different way to understand the same broad idea: rooms and passageways are encountered as a sequence of practical spaces, with narrow circulation and carved architectural details shaping the visit. The accessible route is a visitor path through a much larger archaeological setting, not a complete map of every excavated or suspected space. Its large rooms, storage areas, animal-related spaces and stone barriers make it especially useful for reading how functions were distributed through rock.

Derinkuyu vs Kaymaklı: which should you visit?

Neither is universally the “best” underground city. Choose based on the experience you want and the route your day can support:

• Choose Derinkuyu if you want a strongly vertical, route-based experience associated with a major documented complex and are comfortable with stairs, constricted passages and changing levels.
• Choose Kaymaklı if you want to study how rooms, work areas and barriers relate to one another along a visitor circuit, while still expecting low ceilings and narrow movement.
• Compare the practicalities before leaving Göreme. Distance, transport, opening arrangements, crowding and the portion open to visitors can change. A tour may include one site, but verify the itinerary rather than assuming which city it visits.

The useful comparison is physical and logistical, not a simplistic “deep versus wide” slogan. Both are archaeological sites with constrained routes, and neither should be judged from a single dramatic photograph.

What does visiting feel like?

Expect narrow passages, low ceilings, stairs, uneven rock surfaces, limited natural light and groups moving through the same constrained spaces. Bottlenecks can occur where a corridor or stair is tight. Once inside a section, turning around may not be as easy as it is in a conventional museum. Wear shoes with secure grip, dress in layers, carry water and keep your hands free where possible; use a compact bag rather than bringing bulky luggage.

Claustrophobia

If you strongly dislike enclosed underground spaces, this may not be an enjoyable attraction. Look carefully at photographs of the route, ask the official site or your guide what is currently open, and make a personal decision before entering. This is practical planning, not a medical assessment; nobody can promise that a visitor will feel comfortable in a narrow, busy passage.

Mobility and accessibility

Stairs, uneven floors, low ceilings and narrow passages create real mobility barriers. Conditions and visitor routes can change, so contact the relevant official museum service before travelling if access is important to your plans. Do not assume that a site described as open is step-free or suitable for every mobility need.

Other underground settlements

Derinkuyu and Kaymaklı are not the only underground settlements in Cappadocia. Özkonak, Mazı and Tatlarin are among the other names encountered in archaeological and visitor information, but their access and current visitor arrangements differ. They are best treated as part of the region’s wider pattern of rock-cut settlement, not as interchangeable attractions or a checklist to complete.

Tunnels, connections and tourism folklore

Stories about a long secret tunnel connecting Derinkuyu and Kaymaklı circulate widely online. A claim repeated by tour copy is not enough to establish a fully documented, walkable connection, and precise tunnel lengths are especially unreliable when the underlying evidence and definitions vary. This page does not present a city-to-city tunnel as proven visitor fact. The same discipline applies to dramatic basement-wall “rediscovery” stories: they are not necessary to understand or plan the visit, so we omit them unless an authoritative source confirms the details.

Planning a visit from Göreme

Tickets, hours and closures

Admission, opening hours, maintenance closures and visitor routes are changeable. Check the Turkish Museums portal and current official notices for Derinkuyu or Kaymaklı before setting out; do not rely on an undated ticket page or reseller. If you are joining a regional Green Tour, confirm which underground city is included.

Transport and time

From Göreme, options include independent transport, a taxi, local transport where current connections work for your itinerary, or an organized regional tour. Allow time for the journey, entry arrangements, waiting and your own pace underground; there is no single sensible duration for every traveler. Combining an underground city with other southern Cappadocia stops can be efficient, but do not let a packed schedule force you through a route that feels physically uncomfortable.

Underground cities vs Göreme Open Air Museum

These experiences complement rather than replace each other. The Göreme Open Air Museum is primarily a surface landscape of rock-cut religious architecture and churches with frescoes. Underground cities focus on subterranean circulation, storage, refuge possibilities and the organization of functional space. Visit both if you want to understand how Cappadocian communities adapted different kinds of volcanic rock to different needs.

Are Cappadocia’s underground cities worth visiting?

They are a strong fit for travelers interested in archaeology, rock-cut architecture, historical adaptation and the practical systems behind a place. They are a weaker fit for anyone who strongly dislikes confined spaces, repeated stairs or uneven routes. Read the current visitor information, choose the site whose logistics and physical conditions suit you, and treat uncertainty as part of an honest history rather than a gap to fill with a more dramatic story.

Further reading: UNESCO: Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia · Turkish Museums