Karaca Cave

Karaca sits at around fifteen hundred metres in the mountains above the Harşit valley, and although it is not large - the visitor route runs a few hundred metres - it is generally rated among the most heavily decorated caves in Turkey. The chambers are dense with stalactites, stalagmites, columns, draperies and travertine pool rims, with a good deal of it still actively forming and wet, and coloured in creams, oranges and greys from mineral content. Walkways and lighting were installed in the 1990s. The cave is high enough that the drive up from the main road is a steep climb through pine and past villages, with a wide view back over the valley from the entrance terrace. As at other caves in the region there is a local claim about the air being good for asthma, which belongs to folklore rather than medicine. Gümüşhane itself has an old town, and the Trabzon-Erzurum road over Zigana passes nearby.

What you actually see

• The dense formations - curtains, columns and pool rims.
• The active travertine - wet, still-forming deposits.
• The lit walkways - the route through the chambers.
• The valley view - the Harşit basin from the terrace.

When to go

May to October; the access road is difficult in winter snow. The cave is a constant temperature inside and unaffected by weather.

Honest expectations

The road up is steep and winding. Walkways are wet and involve steps. It is small - an hour covers it. Health claims about the air are folklore, not guidance.

Nearby

Torul and its castle are below; the Zigana pass and Trabzon are north, Gümüşhane east.