The story of Ballıca Cave

Ballıca Cave holds onion-shaped stalactites found in no other cave in Turkey. Its formation is thought to have begun about 3.4 million years ago, and in some sections it is still growing. Also known as İndere, the cave stays between 17 and 24 degrees in summer and winter, with humidity above 55%.

Once inside, you climb 19 m up and then descend 75 m. Look for leek- and macaroni-shaped stalactites, columns, pools, cave roses and cave pearls, and notice stalactites with no stalagmites beneath them. Beside the Mushroom and Column halls, the New Hall keeps remains of plastered walls from use at some point in history. Colonies of dwarf bats live here; you are more likely to hear and smell them than see them.

Open to visitors since 1995, the cave was declared a Nature Park with 483 ha in 2007 and added to UNESCO's World Heritage Tentative List in 2019.