Visiting hot springs in Turkey has long been part of the country’s rich heritage. From thermal pools to Turkish baths, which are similar to Roman baths, you’ll find a range of soaking options. The former are sourced from hot spring aquifers, while traditional baths may not be, but are still a very healthy and relaxing experience.
List of Thermal Springs in TUR
In Turkey, you’ll often see hot springs referred to as thermal pools. This is commonplace outside of the United States. Western Turkey holds most of the country’s mineral spring soaking options, though you’ll find some to the east as well. If you’ll be visiting “the land of four seasons”, you oughta add one of these hot springs to your itinerary.
Map of Thermal Springs in TUR
- Click on a blue pin to view hot springs pool.
- Click the upper right corner to view the Iceland Hot Springs Map in a new window.
Guide to Turkey’s Natural Hot Springs
Turkey is a country with a long history of hot springs bathing. In the ancient world, the city of Hierapolis was the dominant city of hot springs tourism.
Called the “cotton castle,” Hierapolis, now Pamukkale, was a paradise for people seeking healing in the highly mineral-enriched water. Here, the water that is held in shelf pools made of solid rock, looks white and steamy in the distance but clear and turquoise up close. Pamukkale, located in the western half of Turkey, is just one of the many beautiful bathing spots in this grand country.
Keep in mind that Turkey is a majority Muslim country, and many of the thermal baths there are wrapped into the Hammam experience, which features steam rooms often supervised by attendants and smaller spaces for soaking or showering.
In the West
The western half of Turkey holds the majority of the country’s mineral springs. On the coast, in the town of Mugla, you’ll find the Black Island Hot Springs. Here you can bathe in hot springs that bubble up from a small cave, which is accessible to swimmers.
A local boat tour company makes it easy to access the springs via the sea. The rocky outcroppings and closeness of the cave ceiling make this a truly unique mineral bathing experience.
Also in the west, you’ll find Afyon Gazligol Basaranlar Thermal Hotel, which claims they’re located in, “the geothermal center of our country.” Unlike other resorts where you bathe publically, at Afyon Gazligol Basaranlar Thermal Hotel there’s a personal mineral spa in every room.
The hotel complex is family-friendly with playgrounds and sports complexes for every member of your group. However, it’s apparent that healing water is at the very heart of the hotel. There are Turkish baths, saunas, steam rooms, and thermal mud treatments on offer every month of the year.
Also in the western half of the country, you’ll find:
- Pythia Thermal Spa
- Cleopatra Antique Pools
- Patalya Thermal Resort Hotel
- Kaynarca Bayanlar Hamami
- Hotel Lidya Sardes
- Date Sarikaya Springs
- Oylat Thermal Springs
In the East
On this side of Turkey, you’ll find Balykly Thermal Spa, a hotel and treatment center where you’re promised results for skin diseases like psoriasis with spring water therapies. This region also has a claim to Erzincan Municipality Thermal Plants and Hasankale Thermal Springs. At the latter guests have the option to soak in renovated pools or steam in the sauna.
Visit Turkey
People have been seeking healing in the hot springs of Turkey since the age of the ancient Greeks. In fact, there are several Grecian heritage sites where you can take in both the vast culture and bathe in the mineral springs. The hammam culture is healthy and widespread. These hammams, where soaking without swimsuits is not just accepted but expected in the bathing areas, are separated by gender.
Learn more about visiting Turkey on our sister site, La Vida Nomad.
