Yalan Dünya Mağarası

Yalandünya Mağarası


Useful Information

Location: At Beyrebucak Köyü, near Gazipaşa. Turn off from Manavgat-Anamur Yolu (highway) about 8 km south of Gazipaşa.
(36.221442, 32.401104)
Open: All year daily 9-18.
[2020]
Fee: Adults TRL 7.
[2020]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst cave ExplainSpeleotherapy
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension: L=450 m, T=28 °C, H=70%.
Guided tours: self guided, D=30 min, L=450 m.
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography: Caner Ozansoy, Hamdi Mengi (2006): Mağarabilmi ve Mağaracilik, Cave Science and Caving, 335 pp, numerous photos in colour. p 278 mention with 4 photos.
Address: Yalan Dünya Mağarası, Beyrekbucak Mahallesi̇ Yalandünya Mağarasi No:61, 07900 Gazi̇paşa/Antalya, Tel: +90-532-740-3356.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1960 first explored by Dr. Gajac.

Description

Yalan Dünya Mağarası (Wrong World Cave) is named after Yalan Dünya hill, where it is located in. It is famous for extraordinary speleothems, including various cave lakes, rimstone pools, and a huge amount of cave pearls. But the passage is also very dark, probably a result of visits with open fire, torches or candles. The cave has a second natural entrance about 100 m from the show cave entrance, which is a huge opening in the ceiling 17 m above the floor. In the biggest chamber archaeological remains, especially shards, have been discovered.

The cave is equipped with electric light and some stairs for the drops, but the path is uneven and we suggest sturdy shoes. There are only few rails, so we guess it is not suitable for elderly or visitors which are not surefooted.

Yalan Dünya Mağarası is the longest cave in the world. The total length is 4 km but in the 1950s the passage collapsed and the rest of the cave became inaccessible. So only 450 m are still accessible.

This is the modern legend, which is actually told for half of the caves in Turkey. All of them are the longest cave of the world, all of them are much longer than the explorers say. And all of them have healing properties. We guess that's marketing the Turkish way. However, the next legend seems to be older and explains the name of the cave.

A long time ago, a man lived in the cave, which stretched for four kilometers into the Taurus Mountains. He lived in the cave and avoided other people, but one day he went out. While the young man was walking on the slope of the hill where the entrance to the cave was, he saw a girl. The young man and the beautiful girl fell in love with each other as soon as they saw each other. They met secretly in the cave at every opportunity and lived their love. But one day the young girl went into the cave to meet her boyfriend, but could not find him any more. A section of the cave had collapsed and separated the lovers from each other. The young man was trapped deep inside the cave and the young girl was devastated by being separated from her lover. A villager who heard the story made the comment "false world" (Yalan Dünya) and that's how the hill and the cave got their name.