Derinkuyu Underground City: Cappadocia's Deepest Ancient City

Derinkuyu Underground City is one of more than 200 underground settlements hollowed out beneath Cappadocia, and the largest and deepest one open to visitors. Carved entirely by hand from the region's soft volcanic tuff, it descends 85 meters underground through 8 levels that travelers can explore today, with archaeologists believing the full network may reach 18 or more floors.

This was no simple hiding place. It functioned as a complete subterranean town capable of sheltering up to 20,000 people, together with their livestock and food stores, for months at a time. Early Christians used it to escape persecution, and later generations retreated here during Arab raids, sealing the entrances behind enormous round stone doors that could only be moved from the inside.

Each level was designed for a specific purpose, from living quarters and kitchens near the top to stables, storage rooms, wine and oil presses, communal halls, and chapels deeper down. A remarkably advanced ventilation system of 52 shafts kept fresh air circulating to the lowest floors and doubled as wells, which is what made such long stays underground possible.

As you descend, the route winds past stables, storage chambers, communal kitchens with soot-blackened ceilings, wine and oil presses, and small chapels carved straight into the rock. Look for the large circular millstone doors at passage entrances, which residents rolled across tunnels to lock out intruders.

The deepest accessible level holds a cruciform church and a long ventilation shaft that drops the full height of the city. The scale and engineering are the real highlights here, so take your time imagining thousands of people living, cooking, and worshipping in this hand-carved warren.

Derinkuyu lies about 30 km south of Goreme. The easiest option is to join a Green Tour, which usually combines Derinkuyu (or Kaymakli) with the Ihlara Valley and Selime Monastery in a single day.

If you prefer independence, you can rent a car, hire a taxi, or take a public dolmus (minibus) from Nevsehir, which serves the route regularly. Driving yourself gives you the most flexibility to arrive early and beat the tour-bus crowds.

The passages are narrow, low, and steep in places, with handrails along the steeper stairways. Visiting the open levels takes roughly 45 to 60 minutes at a relaxed pace.

Because of the tight tunnels and stairs, the site is not recommended for visitors with serious mobility issues. The air stays cool and humid year-round, so a light layer is useful even in summer.

Both are world-class underground cities and you usually visit one, not both, on a tour. Derinkuyu is deeper and more dramatic in scale, plunging far below ground with that famous deep ventilation shaft.

Kaymakli is wider and shallower, with broader rooms spread across each level and lower ceilings. Derinkuyu tends to draw more visitors, so Kaymakli can feel a little less crowded. Either makes an excellent half-day stop.

For most travelers, yes. Derinkuyu is one of the most extraordinary feats of ancient engineering in Cappadocia, and walking through a hand-carved city 85 meters underground is an experience you can't get from photos.

If you are deeply claustrophobic, the tight passages may be a challenge, but the lighting and ventilation make the open route manageable for the vast majority of visitors.