Cüceler Cave

On the road to Sapadere Canyon, a small cave where people heading for the canyon stop off. Inside, a lit path threads between stalactites and stalagmites. The air is ten to twelve degrees cooler than outside, which you notice with your first step in midsummer. Anyone on the Sapadere tour can take in both on the same day.

The cave was opened to tourism in the summer of 2012. Reports from the opening describe the visitor path, the work inside and the lighting being done together, so the trail you walk today did not come with the cave; it was prepared later for people coming to see it. It lies some thirty-seven kilometres inland from the centre, on the canyon road.

Inside, several galleries open into one another, with stalactites and stalagmites lining both sides of the path. Stalactites grow downwards from the lime left by water seeping through the ceiling, stalagmites build upwards where the drops land, and when the two finally meet they form a column of stone. The temperature gap with the outside is most noticeable in summer: a short cool break on the hot Taurus road before you reach the canyon.

On our Sapadere tour, Cüceler is an optional stop and its entrance fee is not part of the tour price. The same day includes stops at a banana grove and in Sapadere village, an hour in the canyon to walk and swim and lunch by the stream, so the cave is a short interlude within it. Whether you go in is entirely up to you.