Kaymaklı Underground Labyrinth

Located 20 kilometers south of Nevşehir beneath the modern town of Kaymaklı, this subterranean marvel was opened to visitors in 1964 and represents one of Cappadocia’s largest underground refuge complexes. While Derinkuyu is famed for its extreme vertical depth, Kaymaklı is celebrated for its wide architectural breadth, featuring expansive subterranean stables, communal cellars, and interconnected family living apartments. Four of the eight excavated underground levels are illuminated for public exploration. The first level houses stables and animal mangers; the second level preserves a subterranean church with an altar and baptismal font alongside living quarters; the third level contains the community's primary infrastructure: industrial-scale wineries, oil storage jars, food larders, and an ancient andesite copper smelting workshop. Narrow, sloping corridors enabled subterranean villagers to vanish entirely beneath the surface whenever marauding invaders approached.