Damlataş Cave

Damlataş Cave sits at the base of Alanya's castle promontory and was accidentally unearthed in 1948 during harbour construction works. A local resident, Galip Dere, had read about the therapeutic properties of cave air in Germany and commissioned studies confirming a beneficial effect on the respiratory system — he then widened the entrance and publicised the find to newspapers across Turkey. The cave maintains a constant temperature of 23 degrees Celsius with high humidity, drawing visitors with asthma who use the air as a natural inhalation treatment. Inside, densely packed stalactites and stalagmites are lit with coloured lighting. The cave is compact and a visit typically takes 15 to 20 minutes, making it an easy stop alongside the adjacent Cleopatra Beach.