The Altınbeşik Cave has broken its highest visitor record since 2004.

The Altınbeşik Cave, located near the Ürünlü neighborhood of İbradı district in Antalya, is the world’s third largest underground lake cave and the largest in Turkey and Europe, drawing a significant influx of local and foreign visitors, breaking visitor records. While 130,000 people visited the cave in 2023, this number surpassed 140,000 in the first eight months of this year.

Local and foreign visitors exploring the beauty of the cave on boats over the turquoise waters were captivated by this paradise corner of Antalya. While visitors were suffering from the scorching heat of Antalya, the fact that the temperature here was only 17 degrees made them reluctant to leave the cave.

“It attracts great interest”
Ulaş Ünlüsoy, the person responsible for Altınbeşik Cave and an employee of İbradı Municipality, stated that the cave is managed by İbradı Municipality and has garnered tremendous interest from local and foreign visitors. Ünlüsoy mentioned that Altınbeşik Cave is the largest underground lake cave in Turkey and Europe, ranking third in the world, saying, “We host around a thousand visitors daily here, including tourists from all 81 provinces of Turkey and foreign tourists. Generally, German tourists are more predominant among foreign visitors. Additionally, we welcome thousands of visitors from all over Turkey.”

“Achieved the highest number of visitors to date”
Ünlüsoy pointed out that they have hosted more than 140,000 visitors so far in the first eight months of 2024, stating, “Altınbeşik Cave has been open to tourism since 2004. We broke our own record in the first eight months. Since the cave was opened to tourism, we have reached the highest number of visitors in the first eight months with 140,000 visitors. People are flocking in from everywhere.”

“17 degrees only exists there in Antalya”
Ünlüsoy noted that the temperature of 17 degrees in Antalya is only found inside Altınbeşik Cave, explaining, “Guests come from temperatures of 30-35 degrees, while the temperature in our cave remains a constant 17 degrees all year round. It does not change in summer or winter. Even if it is cold outside in winter, the inside remains at the same degree.”

“The water is carbonated”
Ünlüsoy stated that the turquoise blue waters of Altınbeşik Cave come from underground waters that travel 65 kilometers from Lake Beyşehir, saying, “This is carbonated water. This place has many features. The water is healing. The cave has a breath-opening quality. We try to host our visitors in the best way by providing a 20-minute boat tour.”

“A magnificent cave”
Rana Betül Yılmaz, a 10-year-old who came to Antalya on holiday with her family and visited Altınbeşik Cave, said, “We came to Antalya for a holiday from Bursa. We came to visit Altınbeşik Cave. We said we shouldn’t leave without seeing this place while we were in Antalya. The interior is truly wonderful. It is a magnificent cave located in the Taurus Mountains. The inside is magnificent. It is unexpectedly cold inside. I recommend everyone to see this place.”
Six-year-old visitor Ali Kağan Yılmaz expressed, “We came here from Bursa. The inside is magnificent; while it is hot outside, it is icy inside. It was very beautiful, I can’t describe it.”

“The coolness of the cave makes one reluctant to leave”
Fadime Güler, who visited Altınbeşik Cave from Beyşehir district in Konya, stated, “We came with my family from Beyşehir to see the cave. They praised this place a lot to us. We were really curious. We especially came to see this place with my family. We are very happy that we came. This is a place worth visiting. I recommend everyone to see this place. Especially when the outside temperature is quite high, the inside is cool, and one does not want to leave.”