Stuff I wish I’d known…
Firstly, Pamukkale is a must a visit. The views from the top
of the Cotton Castle are incredible. It’s a very small town, you need no longer
than a day there.
The walk to the top is very easy and makes for a dramatic
photo session, so have your camera at the ready. When you begin walking the
trail, you have to go barefoot – but it’s fine, the water isn’t cold, even in
October.
It costs just 20 Lira to see the “Cotton Castle.” And you can
practically walk to it from any hotel in town. Once you’re done climbing to the
top, you can do some hiking in the surrounding area.
It’s well worth spending about 2 hours walking around, seeing the old ruins, and enjoying the fantastic landscape.
It’s well worth spending about 2 hours walking around, seeing the old ruins, and enjoying the fantastic landscape.
The only place to buy drinks and snacks from is at the outlet
at the hot springs, mentioned below. But you can also take your own so remember
to pack some water.
I would suggest not going to the hot springs which you find
when you climb the top of the castle. It’s an additional 32 Lira, which
although isn’t not too much, I couldn’t really see the advantage of going. It has just one
pool that isn’t very big, free lockers to keep your stuff safe, a largish restaurant, and
an ice-cream stand serving some good gelato.
Don’t go to Pamukkale expecting great food. It’s a
town built for tourists, so you have lots of people outside restaurants trying
to lure you in. But that’s fine. You’ll be more than happy with the food in
cities like Istanbul or Cappadocia.
Because the town attracts a lot of tourists, you’ll find
endless bus companies to book your outgoing journey with so there's no need to stress about having your outbound journey pre-booked.
