How many floors does Kaymaklı Underground City have?

Kaymaklı has eight underground levels in total, but only the top four are open to visitors. The accessible floors include stables, kitchens, storage rooms, a church, a winery, and living quarters. Excavation continues on the lower levels.

Is Kaymaklı or Derinkuyu better?

Both are remarkable. Derinkuyu is deeper (85 m, 8 accessible floors) and more vertical — better for visitors who want the dramatic descent. Kaymaklı is wider and more horizontal — easier walking, less claustrophobic, and the tunnels are slightly less tight. The two cities were connected by a 9 km underground tunnel. We recommend Kaymaklı for first-time visitors and travellers concerned about narrow spaces.

What is the entrance fee for Kaymaklı?

Approximately €13 (around 450 TL) as of 2026. The Turkish Museum Card is accepted. Tickets are purchased at the on-site booth; there is no advance booking system.

Is Kaymaklı suitable for claustrophobic visitors?

It is more manageable than Derinkuyu but still involves narrow tunnels and low ceilings in places. The wider horizontal layout means you are never trapped in a long vertical descent. Visitors with mild claustrophobia generally cope well. Those with severe claustrophobia should consider the surface visit only.

How long do you need at Kaymaklı?

Allow 45 minutes to an hour to walk through all four accessible levels at a relaxed pace. Most guided tours spend about 60 minutes underground including time for explanations at the church, winery, and ventilation shaft.

Kaymaklı Underground City: Cappadocia's 4-Level Ancient Refuge

What is Kaymaklı Underground City?

Kaymaklı Underground City is one of more than 36 known subterranean settlements in Cappadocia and one of only two — alongside Derinkuyu — that have been fully excavated and opened to the public. Located in the centre of the town of Kaymaklı, about 20 km south of Nevşehir, the city descends eight floors into the volcanic tuff. The top four floors are open to visitors and contain stables, kitchens, storage rooms, a church, a winery, and entire residential districts.

Together with Derinkuyu, Kaymaklı is believed to have once sheltered tens of thousands of people during times of invasion — most famously during the Arab–Byzantine wars of the 7th to 10th centuries, when early Christian communities used the underground cities as long-term refuges from raiding armies.

The Four Accessible Levels

Unlike the vertical descent of Derinkuyu, Kaymaklı's layout spreads horizontally — making it the widest of Cappadocia's underground cities. Each level had a specific function:

First level: Stables for livestock, placed at the top so animals did not have to be brought far underground. Low ceilings and feeding troughs are still visible.
Second level: A church and several living spaces. The church has a barrel-vaulted ceiling and traces of carved decoration.
Third level: The most complex floor — storage rooms, a winery with grape-pressing basin, kitchens with chimneys, and the largest cluster of residential rooms.
Fourth level: Additional storage and the famous andesite block — a perfectly circular millstone used to seal the city against invaders.

The Rolling Stone Doors

One of the most remarkable engineering features in both Kaymaklı and Derinkuyu is the rolling stone door — a half-tonne disc of stone that could be rolled across a tunnel from the inside, sealing the city against attackers. The doors could only be operated from within, and a small hole in the centre allowed defenders to fire arrows or pour boiling oil onto anyone trying to force entry. Several of these doors are still visible in their original positions throughout the city.

Ventilation and Water

Kaymaklı contains around 100 ventilation shafts that brought fresh air to all floors. Some shafts also functioned as water wells, and a few extended only partway down so that an attacker who discovered one could not poison the entire city's water supply. The ventilation network is so effective that even on the lowest accessible floor the air remains breathable and the temperature stays a constant 13–15°C year-round.

Kaymaklı vs. Derinkuyu

Kaymaklı is wider; Derinkuyu is deeper. Kaymaklı's horizontal layout makes it easier walking and less claustrophobic — better for first-time visitors, families with younger children, and travellers who are nervous about confined spaces. Derinkuyu is more dramatic and goes deeper (85 m and 8 accessible floors versus 4 floors at Kaymaklı), so visitors who want the maximum underground experience often choose Derinkuyu.

The two cities are believed to have been connected by a 9 km underground tunnel, though only short sections of this tunnel have been excavated. Most guided tours visit one or the other; visiting both on the same day is possible but tiring.

Practical Information

Kaymaklı Underground City is open daily from 8:00am to 7:00pm in summer and 8:00am to 5:00pm in winter. The entrance fee is approximately €13 (450 TL) as of 2026; the Turkish Museum Card is accepted. There is a car park, a small visitor centre, toilets, and several cafés and souvenir shops in the surrounding town centre.

What to wear: Comfortable shoes with grip — the floors are uneven and sometimes damp. A light jacket is useful even in summer, as the underground temperature is much cooler than the surface.

Best time to visit: Early morning, before tour buses arrive, or late afternoon. The underground city is exactly the same temperature and light at any hour, but the surface car park and ticket queue are much quieter outside peak times.

Getting there: Kaymaklı is 20 km south of Nevşehir on the road to Derinkuyu. The town has its own minibus connections from Nevşehir; private taxis and guided tours are the most convenient option.

Visit Kaymaklı on a Guided Tour

Kaymaklı is featured on the Cappadocia Hidden Gems Day Tour. A guide is genuinely useful underground — the lighting is dim, the signage is minimal, and understanding what each room was used for (and how the rolling stones, ventilation shafts, and church were actually used) transforms the experience.

Kaymaklı Underground City