Maraspoli Mağarası

Useful Information

Location:	70400 Ermenek. (36.641656, 32.892056)
Open:	closed. [2026]
Fee:	closed. [2026]
Classification:	Karst Cave Hallucinations
Light:	Electric Light
Dimension:	L=3,750 m.
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Maraspoli Mağarası, 70400 Ermenek.
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

Description

Maraspoli Mağarası is a cave which is widely published, and said to be "open to visitors year-round". Pictures show a river cave with electric light and wooden bridges. They also show a concrete tunnel with large water pipes and other installations. Also, the pages tell either that it is the longest cave of the world or the third-longest cave of the world. Some give a length of 196 m. Some say it’s the third-largest by volume, other say it’s one of the world’s largest underground water sources. Some tell it’s the longest cave of Turkey. On our list of Turkeys longest caves it is listed on rank 11 with a length of 3,750 m. So obviously Turkey has 10 even longer "longest caves of the world". The only world record we can see is "the cave about which the most nonsense is spouted worldwide". We decided to list it anyway, just to help people not getting tricked by all those nonsensical pages. This is quite important as some of those pages are from the Turkish government and look quite reputable.

The Maraspoli Mağarası is also called Ermenek Maraspoli Mağarası, because it is actually located inside the city Ermenek. In a way the city was actually built around this cave. The point is, that this cave is a river cave and a resurgence. The water was collected and used to provide drinking water for the people. As a result the village developed on the slope below the cave, so the drinking water flows down to the houses by gravity. When the area was first electrified, the water was used to produce hydroelectric power, so there is actually a high amount of water from the spring, enough to drive a hydroelectric power plant. Later the area was connected to the countrywide electric grid, but some water mills are still in use.

The cave has a green iron door, with two massive pipes on the left wing. The pipes contain the drinking water, they start at a dam in the cave river which is about 200 m from the door. This passage was supported with concrete and looks more like a mine tunnel. This first section of the cave was developed and is maintained by the local council. The tunnel is not accessible, it is technical infrastructure of some importance, which is closed and there are no tours at all. But the door and the pipes in front can be freely visited, they are right at the road. We would recommend visiting the cave entrance and have a look at the impressive infrastructure, if you are already in town. Otherwise, it’s not worth the drive.

This part of the cave is the lower level. There are also upper levels, and they are fossil passages with speleothems It seems there are some passages of decent size. There is a second entrance to the upper level further up the hill, right below the ruined castle. We are actually not sure if it’s a castle or simply a barn, the information about the site is as misleading and sparse as about the cave. However, there is a shelter at the foot of this cliff which faces west. It was apparently used as a shelter, refuge, and dungeon in ancient times. There is an entrance to the upper level which is gated, because it is a vertical shaft and quite dangerous without the right equipment.