Narlıkuyu
Get in
- Narlıkuyu is located on the highway D400, the major highway which traverses whole length of Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Narlıkuyu lies 65 km west of Mersin, the provincial capital, 27 km west of Erdemli and 20 km east of Silifke, other important cities of the region. The road to both directions are wide (2 lanes per direction) and in a very good condition.
- Buses and minibuses from Mersin heading for Silifke, Gülnar, and other points west pass through and accept passengers for Narlıkuyu.
Get around
Heaven and Hell chasms and the Asthma Cave is located about 3 km north of the (current) highway. There is no public transport to there from the town centre, or from the highway junction for that matter, but you can walk that gently-ascending slope or try hitchhiking. When coming in from out of town (from Mersin, for example) ask to be dropped off at Cennet-Cehennem (pronounced jayn nayt jay hayn naym) to get off at the junction of the road leading to the chasms instead of the town centre. There is also a carpark free of charge at the entrance of the site.
See
A ticket valid for Heaven and Hell costs 5 TL, but rock bottom budget travellers might consider viewing Heaven from the roadside above immediately on the edge of the cliff for free (it is not possible to go down inside the chasm without a ticket, though), and cross their fingers for having the ticket control in front of the viewing balcony of Hell unmanned — which sometimes is the case.
HeavenOf the two chasms which were formed when ceilings of two underground caves collapsed, this bigger one resembles a green, peaceful heaven with evergreen shrubs and trees growing on its bottom. It is possible to reach the bottom, which also has ruins of a monastery, by climbing down ancient stairs (452 of them, and as every descent has an ascend, it is not advisable for those having heart and respiration problems, especially in summer).
HellA post-apocalyptic abyss full of sharp stalagmites when compared with Heaven, the bottom of this 78-metre deep pit is, however, full of deep green -even emerald green- plants which look even more peaceful and exotic than Heaven's. This was where Zeus was believed to imprison Typhon in ancient times. Unlike Heaven, it is not possible to go down into the Hell, with only a balcony-like viewing area hanging over the cliff of the pit.
Asthma CaveEntrance is from the basement of one of the shops in the area.
Eat
Along the road to Heaven-Hell, there are a number of open-air "restaurants" consisting of replicas of the tents of local nomadic Yörük tribes. Most offer Turkish cheese-pancake (gözleme) and ayran, the yoghurt drink.
Drink
Connect
Go next
- Kızkalesi (Maiden's Castle), a castle located on an islet off-shore, is only a few km east of Narlıkuyu.