Near Narlıkuyu, a road winds north for 2km to several caves (🎫 75 TRY) – sinkholes carved out by a subterranean river and places of great mythological significance. The mammoth underground Chasm of Heaven (Cennet Mağarası) – 250m long, 110m wide, and 70m deep – is reached by 450-odd steps. On the way up, you can use the newly built lift. Right in front of the cave mouth are the tiny remains of the 5th-century Byzantine Chapel of the Virgin Mary, used for a short time in the 19th century as a mosque. At the furthest end of the colossal grotto is the Cave of Typhon (Tayfun Mağarası), a damp, jagged-edged, devilish theatre. Locals believe this to be a gateway to the eternal furnace, and the 1st-century AD historian Strabo mentions it in his Geography. According to legend, the cave’s underground river connects with the hellish River Styx – this seems plausible when you hear the underground current thundering below. Up the hill is the Pit of Hell (Cehennem Mağarası) with its almost vertical walls that you view by stepping out onto a heart-stopping glass platform extending over the 130m-deep pit. This charred hole is supposedly where Zeus imprisoned the 100-headed, fire-breathing monster Typhon after defeating him in battle.
Parking location – Narlikuyu: 36.451661N 34.106303E (🚻)