İnsuyu Cave

İnsuyu was discovered in the 1950s and opened in 1965 as the country's first show cave, and it runs about six hundred metres of lit walkway past stalactites, columns and, its distinguishing feature, a series of small underground lakes - nine of them originally, filled with clear cold water and giving the cave its name, water place. The largest, Büyük Göl, is the set piece. The problem is that the water table has fallen: groundwater extraction for agriculture on the Burdur plain has drawn levels down over decades, several of the lakes have dried and the cave has been closed to visitors for extended periods while conditions were assessed, reopening when water returned. What you see therefore depends entirely on the year and the season. Spring, after winter rain, is when the lakes are fullest. Confirming the current status before driving out is not optional advice here.

What you actually see

• The underground lakes - when water levels allow.
• The lit walkway - six hundred metres through the galleries.
• The formations - stalactites, columns and flowstone.
• The dried basins - where lakes have retreated.

When to go

Spring, when the water table is highest. Check the cave is open before travelling - it has closed for long periods when the lakes dried.

Honest expectations

Access is unreliable and the lakes may be absent or much reduced. It is one hour at most. The falling water table is a genuine and worsening problem, not a seasonal quirk.

Nearby

Burdur and its museum, holding Sagalassos sculpture, are 13 km away; Sagalassos itself is east at Ağlasun.