In the first 3 months of this year, 35 thousand people visited Altınbeşik Cave, which has been opening its doors throughout the year for two years in Antalya's İbradı district.
Altınbeşik Cave, which has been opening its doors 12 months of the year for two years in Antalya, was visited by 35 thousand people in the first 3 months of this year. The cave, which can be visited by boat in the deep blue turquoise waters of the underground lake, has attracted great attention from local and foreign tourists. The lake, which is turquoise in color due to its soda water, offers a visual feast to its visitors with the lights filtering into the cave.
The cave, which is located within the borders of the Ürünlü Mahallesi of Antalya's İbradı district, is now open throughout the year. The cave, which was closed from time to time only in rainy weather, was visited by 35 thousand people in three months.
Local and foreign visitors who see the beauty of the cave with the excursion boats and where an average of 350 people hosted per day, were amazed by this heavenly place.
Hasan Yaman, the manager of the Altınbeşik Cave, said that Altınbeşik Cave is located in Antalya's İbradı District, near Ürünlü Mahallesi, and that it is the third largest underground lake cave in the world and the largest in Turkey. He said that the lake, which is turquoise in color due to its soda water, offers a visual feast to its visitors with the lights filtering into the cave. Pointing out that it is the third cave in the world and the only cave in Turkey where boat tours can be made, Yaman said, “We have tours with boats. We go inside with boats for 200-250 meters. Normally, the length of the cave has a length of 65 kilometers. Since it has 3 floors, other sections are entered by professional teams.
Yaman pointed out that the cave attracts great attention with each passing day, especially by foreign visitors. Yaman said, "We make the visitors take a 200-meter boat tour. During the period when the cave was open, we reached 100 thousand visitors in a period of about 10 months. This was the first record. We hosted visitors from all over the world. We will increase this number in the coming years."
“The cave has been open throughout the year for 2 years”
Stating that the cave will remain open for 12 months of the year, Yaman said, “In previous years, the cave was serving until a certain month of the year. The management of the cave has been in İbradı Municipality for 2 years, which was previously in the metropolitan municipality. At that time, the cave was completely closed during the winter season. After the management of the cave has passed to our municipality, we are now accepting visitors for 12 months at the request of our mayor. With the instructions of our Mayor, we have been keeping our cave open to visitors for 2 years. This winter was our second winter season. Last year, the number of visitors in the winter season was less. Because everyone thought it was seasonal. We saw the benefit of it this year. Now everyone knows that the cave is open for 12 months and we had a good season this winter. In the first three months of the year, 35 thousand visitors visited the cave. 20 thousand foreigners and around 15 thousand local tourists visited the cave."
“Mostly, foreigners visited”
Pointing out that there has been a great increase in the number of foreign tourists with the recovery of tourism after the pandemic, Yaman said, “There has been a great increase in the number of visitors this year. During the winter months, the Germans visited the most, followed by the Russian tourists. As a municipality, we have seen the benefits of staying open for 12 months.”
“The water level of the cave has increased”
Saying that there is a decrease in the water level of Altınbeşik Cave in the summer months, Yaman said, “With the rise of the underground waters because of the rains, the water level of the cave also rises. Currently, our water level has increased by 5 meters with the rains in the winter season. With the increase in the water level of the cave, the water flows out of the cave and offers another beauty. We are currently experiencing the most beautiful moments in terms of water level. Our cave is beautiful in every season. We can take our visitors to the last point of the cave with boats."
"Altınbeşik Cave"
Altınbeşik Cave is operated by İbradı Municipality for 5+5 years with the protocol signed by Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks and İbradi Municipality. The cave bears the traces of millions of years of process. Altınbeşik Cave, which is 13.5 kilometers away from İbradı district and 4 kilometers away from Ürünlü village, with a length of 5 thousand 500 meters, takes its name from Altınbeşik Hill located on its upper part. The cave, which is 450 meters above sea level, was found in 1966 by the founder and Honorary President of the Turkish Speleology Association, Dr. Temuçin Aygen, and was declared a national park in 1994. Altınbeşik Cave, which offers sights worth seeing with its stalactites and stalagmites, attracts the attention of visitors with its white travertine and pond formations. Tourists, who come to the cave, where the water depth reaches 40 meters in some places, have the opportunity to see the impressive nature by rented boats.