Соляне озеро як денна поїздка з Каппадокії: рожевий сезон, захід сонця, Султанхани

The main visitor area at the Salt Lake (Tuz Gölü) is about 175 km from Göreme, just under 2 hours each way by road, so a trip from Cappadocia takes most of a day, with nearly 4 hours of driving for a couple of hours at the lake. Go in July or August for the best chance of pink water and a white salt crust together, and late in the afternoon if you want the mirror effect at sunset. The usual stop is a large visitor area on the D750 highway near Şereflikoçhisar, where you can walk straight out onto the salt. Our private Salt Lake trip from Cappadocia covers the drive with your own vehicle and driver.

Below: where you actually stand on the lake, what it looks like in each season, walking on the salt, sunset timing, and whether to add a Seljuk caravanserai such as Sultanhanı on the same day.

The trip in numbers

The lake is shallow and very salty, and it is also an industrial site: Wikipedia notes that three mines on the lake produce 63% of the salt consumed in Turkey. It was declared a specially protected area in 2001.

Where you actually stand on the lake

The lake is huge, but day visitors usually see it from the same place: a roadside visitor area directly on the D750 Ankara–Adana highway at Acıkuyu, on the Ankara side of Şereflikoçhisar and about 20 km from the town by road. OpenStreetMap shows car parks, toilets, restaurants and souvenir shops there, and The Art of Wayfaring also describes the main rest stop as north of the town. From there you walk off the edge of the car park and onto the salt.

This matters for two reasons. First, the drive: Şereflikoçhisar is in Ankara province, well outside Cappadocia, which is why the trip takes almost 2 hours each way. Second, expectations: Wikipedia places the main flamingo breeding colony on a group of islands in the southern part of the lake, far from the highway stop, so you should not expect to see the birds up close. My Turkey Adventure advises against trying to approach the colonies.

What you get at the visitor area is the flat white crust, shallow water in places, and, in summer, a pink or reddish tint in the brine. Do not expect the drone views of patterned pink pools you may have seen online; from the shore you see the lake at eye level.

When the lake is pink, white or wet

The colour depends on the season and on how much water is in the lake. Scientists quoted by Hürriyet Daily News link the red and pink tint to a microscopic alga, Dunaliella salina, and a pigment called beta carotene: the alga multiplies as the water gets saltier, and the colour deepens in summer. In winter, as the water level rises, the redness disappears.

No one can promise a particular colour on a given day. A dry year, a wet spring or a windy afternoon all change what you see. If the pink is the whole point of your trip, go in high summer and treat anything outside July and August as a bonus.

Walking on the salt

Yes, you can walk on it, and that is the main thing people do at the visitor area. A few practical points, mostly from My Turkey Adventure's visitor notes:

• Shoes: wear old trainers, waterproof shoes or sturdy sandals. The salt is corrosive and will ruin leather shoes.
• Rinse afterwards: bring a bottle of water to rinse the salt off your feet and shoes at the car park.
• Sun: there is no shade on the lakebed, and the white surface reflects the light. Sunglasses, a hat and sun cream matter more here than on most Cappadocia day trips.
• Water: there is no drinking water out on the lake, so carry your own.

Stay near the visitor stop where others walk. This is a working salt lake and a specially protected area, not a beach.

Sunset at the lake

My Turkey Adventure recommends late afternoon and sunset for the best light, when the wet parts of the lake act like a giant mirror. This is the strongest argument for timing your trip around the evening rather than the middle of the day.

The catch is the drive back: leaving the lake at sunset means almost 2 hours on the road to Cappadocia in the dark. On a private trip you can ask for the timing to be adjusted. Our listing gives a standard pickup at 10:00 with a return around 16:00, but the booking form offers start times from 08:00 to 14:00, so you can ask for a later start in writing if you want to be at the lake for the evening light. Sunset is much later in summer than in winter, so plan the pickup around the date you travel.

If you cannot make sunset, mid-morning is the next best choice. Midday in summer is the harshest light and the hottest time to be on the salt.

Adding a caravanserai: Sultanhanı or Ağzıkarahan

People often ask whether they can combine the Salt Lake with Sultanhanı, the Seljuk caravanserai on the old road to Konya. You can, but it makes a much longer day than most expect.

According to Wikipedia, Sultanhanı was built in 1229 under the Seljuk sultan Kayqubad I, restored and extended in 1278, and covers about 4,900 m², which makes it the largest medieval caravanserai in Turkey. It sits about 40 km west of Aksaray on the Konya road. Its marble entrance gate is about 13 m high, and the small mosque raised in the middle of the courtyard is described as the oldest example of its kind in Turkey.

Ağzıkarahan is a closer alternative. Wikipedia dates its covered hall to 1231, also under Kayqubad I, and its courtyard to 1240. It lies between Göreme and Aksaray, so it adds far less driving. It is listed on our Salt Lake trip as an optional extra stop, at extra cost.

• Göreme – Salt Lake – Göreme: about 350 km, just under 4 hours of driving. The standard trip.
• Göreme – Ağzıkarahan – Salt Lake – Göreme: about 357 km, a little over 4 hours of driving. A small detour, listed as an optional extra on our trip.
• Göreme – Sultanhanı – Salt Lake – Göreme: about 445 km, over 5 hours of driving. A long day; ask us for a quote.

Driving figures are from OpenStreetMap routing and do not include stops. Sultanhanı is not part of our Salt Lake listing, so if you want it, ask us whether it can be added and what it would cost before you book. If you are heading west to Konya anyway, Sultanhanı fits more naturally on that journey; see our Konya destination guide.

How the day runs from Cappadocia

On our Salt Lake trip, the listing includes:

• pickup and drop-off at hotels in central Cappadocia (hotels outside the centre are not included);
• an air-conditioned private vehicle and a driver for the route;
• about six hours in total, with a standard pickup at 10:00 and return around 16:00.

Food and drinks are not included, and a private guide or photographer can be added as options. The lake is a place to walk and take photos rather than a site with a story told room by room, so a driver is enough for many visitors. If you want history at the caravanserais, a guide is worth adding.

Is it worth the drive? If you have three or more days in Cappadocia and have already done the main valley tours, yes. It is a completely different landscape from the fairy chimneys. If you only have two days, put the Red Tour and the Green Tour first, and keep the lake for a longer trip. Our Cappadocia 2-day itinerary and things to do in Cappadocia show how the days fit together, and where to stay in Cappadocia helps if you are still choosing a central hotel for pickup.

Tours that cover this

• Private Salt Lake (Tuz Gölü) trip from Cappadocia: private vehicle and driver, about 6 hours, from $107 per person.
• Cappadocia Green Tour with Ihlara, Derinkuyu, Selime and lunch: the other big day out towards Aksaray province, with the Ihlara Valley walk and Selime Monastery, about 7 hours, from $80 per person.
• Cappadocia Red Tour with Paşabağ, Zelve and Avanos: the northern valleys and fairy chimneys, about 6 hours, from $80 per person.
• Private Cappadocia Red Tour: a private version of the northern valleys day, from $161 per person.

For the wider region, see our Cappadocia destination guide and the Cappadocia daily tours from Göreme.

Frequently Asked Questions