ديرينكويو أم كايماكلي: أي مدينة تحت الأرض تزور؟

Choose Derinkuyu if you want depth, at about 85 m, and Kaymaklı if you prefer a shorter visit that is closer to Göreme. Both are run by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, both charge foreign adults €13, and both open every day from 08:00. Most first-time visitors only need one of them, because the experience inside is similar: stables, kitchens, wine presses, ventilation shafts, stone doors that could be bolted from the inside, and a church, all cut into soft tuff. If you want the underground city as part of a full day out, our Green Tour with Derinkuyu, Ihlara and Selime takes you into Derinkuyu.

Below is a side-by-side comparison, then the details that decide it for most people: depth, how tight the passages feel, crowds, tickets and which of our tours visit which city.

Derinkuyu and Kaymaklı side by side

Figures come from the Ministry's listings on muze.gov.tr and turkishmuseums.com; road distances from OpenStreetMap routing.

Choose Derinkuyu if you want depth

The reason to pick Derinkuyu is the descent. The Ministry gives its depth as about 85 m, and although only around a tenth of the city is open, the visitor route goes down long stairways past the third and fourth floors to a church at the lower level. It is the visit that best answers the question most people arrive with: how far down did people really live? A ventilation shaft about 55 m deep, also used as a well, gives you a sense of the scale.

The practical points:

• Time: allow more than for Kaymaklı, because of the depth and the stairs, and more again if a group is ahead of you on a narrow flight.
• Effort: this is the harder of the two on the knees, as every step down has to be climbed back up.
• Location: Derinkuyu is 30 km from Nevşehir on the Nevşehir–Niğde road, on the southern side of the region. That makes it the usual partner for a day at the Ihlara Valley and Selime Monastery, which is exactly how our Cappadocia Green Tour runs.

For the history and the rooms floor by floor, see our Derinkuyu Underground City page.

Choose Kaymaklı if you want a shorter, easier visit

Kaymaklı suits people who want to see an underground city without committing to a deep descent. The Ministry says it has eight floors, of which four are lit and open, and describes it as one of the largest underground settlements in the region. Do not expect roomier tunnels, though: the Ministry also notes that its passages are low, narrow and sloping. The open floors still include the essentials: stables, a church, storerooms, wine presses and kitchens, and stone doors that could be bolted from the inside.

The practical points:

• Time: a shorter visit, since you only go down four floors.
• Effort: steep steps in places, but less climbing in total than at Derinkuyu.
• Location: Kaymaklı is 20 km from Nevşehir and about 30 km by road from Göreme, so it fits into a half day, or the end of an afternoon after the northern valleys.
• The village: the city sits right under a working village, and the Ministry notes that residents still use some of the spaces as cellars and stables.

For the history and what each floor holds, see our Kaymaklı Underground City page.

Claustrophobia, stairs and who should skip

Both cities have low, narrow passages and steep steps cut into the rock. You will bend down in places and wait to let people pass in others. With steps throughout, neither works for wheelchairs or pushchairs.

• If you are nervous in tight spaces: neither city is roomy, and the Ministry notes that Kaymaklı's passages are low, narrow and sloping. Kaymaklı is still the shorter visit, with only four floors open. Stay on the upper floors, near the entrance, and you can turn back quickly.
• If you have bad knees or back problems: the long stairs at Derinkuyu are the hardest part of either visit. Kaymaklı involves less climbing in total, but still has steep steps.
• If you are tall: expect to stoop in both, and go slowly.
• If you are travelling with small children: non-Turkish children under 8 enter free; keep them close in the passages.

The Ministry notes that underground settlements in the region stay cool in summer and warm in winter, so bring a light extra layer on a hot day. Wear shoes with grip for the stone steps.

Crowds and the best time to go

Both cities are on the main day-tour routes. Our Green Tour with Selime, for example, marks 09:00 as the suggested start on its booking form and goes to Derinkuyu straight after the Göreme panorama, while our Yellow Tour ends its day at an underground city. If you have your own transport, arriving at opening, at 08:00, is the simplest way to get ahead of the groups.

The narrow passages are what make crowds matter here. A full group in a narrow passage means queuing on the stairs, which is uncomfortable if you are already uneasy underground. If you are visiting with a private driver, ask to be at the gate early. A guide also explains what each room was used for, which is the difference between a walk through tunnels and an understanding of how people lived here.

Tickets, opening hours and the Museum Pass

According to the Turkish Museums listings, both cities charge foreign visitors aged 8 and over €13, the same for children aged 8 to 18, while non-Turkish children under 8 enter free. Turkish adults pay 200 TL, while Turkish citizens under 18 and those aged 65 and over enter free.

Hours follow the same pattern at both: 08:00 to 19:00 from 1 April to 1 October, with the ticket office closing at 18:15, and 08:00 to 17:00 from 1 October to 1 April, with the ticket office closing at 16:15. The Ministry lists both as open every day.

The listings for both cities mention the Museum Pass Cappadocia, at €65 for three days and valid at more than 10 museums and sites in Nevşehir and Aksaray provinces. The Ministry's MuseumPass page adds that the three days start from your first museum visit and that each site can be entered once. It is not valid for night museum visits. If your plan includes several Ministry sites, such as the Göreme Open-Air Museum, compare the pass with separate tickets and check which sites are on its current list before buying.

On our day tours that visit an underground city, the entrance ticket is included, so you do not need to buy one separately.

Getting there from Göreme, and doing both

By road, Kaymaklı is about 30 km from Göreme, around half an hour of driving according to OpenStreetMap routing, and Derinkuyu about 40 km, around 35 minutes. The two are only about 10 km apart by road, so seeing both is easy by car.

Is it worth doing both? In our experience, one is enough for most people. The rooms and features are similar, and a second underground city on the same day can feel like a repeat. The exceptions are travellers with a particular interest in archaeology or early Christian Cappadocia, and anyone who wants to compare their layouts, which the Ministry says differ in plan. The Ministry estimates there are 150 to 200 underground settlements in Cappadocia, so the two big ones are only the best-known part of a much larger picture.

If you are staying several days, see our Cappadocia 2-day itinerary and things to do in Cappadocia to fit the underground city around a balloon morning and the valley walks. Choosing a base first? Our guide to where to stay in Cappadocia covers Göreme, Ürgüp and Uçhisar.

Tours that cover this

We checked each tour page to see which underground city it includes:

• Cappadocia Green Tour with Ihlara, Derinkuyu, Selime and lunch: Derinkuyu, plus the Ihlara Valley walk and Selime Monastery, about 7 hours, from $80 per person.
• Cappadocia Green Tour: Derinkuyu or Kaymaklı, plus a canyon walk in Ihlara and lunch in Belisırma, from $77 per person. Ask which city when you book if you have a preference.
• Cappadocia South (Yellow) Tour: the Red and Rose valleys, Çavuşin, Pigeon Valley and an underground city that the page does not name, from $50 per person.
• Cappadocia Red Tour with Paşabağ, Zelve and Avanos: no underground city. It covers the northern valleys instead, about 6 hours, from $80 per person.

The Red and Green tours work well on consecutive days, one underground and in the south, the other among the fairy chimneys in the north. See Cappadocia Red Tour, our comparison of the red, green and blue tours, or our Cappadocia destination guide. For a day built around a single underground city at the hour you choose, ask about a private Cappadocia tour.

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