Buzluk Cave: Harput’s Ice Cave

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1. What is Buzluk Cave?
2. How do you get to Buzluk Cave?
3. When is the best time to visit Buzluk Cave?
4. What is the history of Buzluk Cave?
5. What is Buzluk Cave famous for?
6. What can you see at Buzluk Cave?
7. Frequently asked questions about Buzluk Cave
8. What do the official records say about Buzluk Cave?

What is Buzluk Cave?

Buzluk Mağarası, the “Ice Cave” (a buzluk is an ice-house, from buz, ice), is a cave on the hillside north-east of Harput, 11 km from Elazığ. It behaves the opposite way to the seasons. The 2002 inventory explains that because of its geomorphology, the climate and the way air circulates in it, ice forms naturally in summer, in layers, as icicles and stalagmites and in places as ice like honeycomb, while in winter the air inside is warm.

The inventory describes it as one of those rare places where history and nature are found together, since it combines the natural beauty of its surroundings with its position in historic Harput.

How do you get to Buzluk Cave?

The cave is about 11 km from Elazığ city centre, on the north-eastern side of the Harput hill; take a taxi, or combine it with a visit to Harput by car. Elazığ Airport (EZS), about 12 km from the city, has daily flights from Istanbul and Ankara. Steps lead down into the cave, which can be wet and slippery, so wear shoes with grip and bring a warm layer even in summer.

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When is the best time to visit Buzluk Cave?

Summer. The ice is the reason to come, and it forms in the hottest months, which is also when the cool air of the cave is most welcome. In winter the cave is warm and the ice is gone. On a hot day the drop in temperature as you go down the steps is immediate. Check locally that it is open before making the trip.

What is the history of Buzluk Cave?

The inventory states that the cave is as old as the history of Harput, and that the Ottoman provincial yearbooks (salname) trace it back to the Urartians, the first rulers of Harput.

In 1990 the provincial tourism directorate built steps and installed lighting in the cave, and the inventory then counted it among the ten caves in Türkiye open to visitors.

Caves where ice survives through summer are rare and usually depend on cold air settling in a chamber that warm air cannot easily reach. The inventory attributes Buzluk’s ice to exactly these factors: the shape of the cave, the local climate and the circulation of air through it. Its position just outside Elazığ, on the same hill as Harput, makes it an easy visit.

What is Buzluk Cave famous for?

Ice in summer. The reversal of the seasons inside the cave.

The lake and its legends. The provincial culture directorate records that deep inside the cave there is a lake. In one story, a bride went down to the lake with other women, slipped and fell in; the women could not save her, but after a while her henna-stained finger rose from the water. Her husband came every day to the lake to mourn her, playing his saz, and later other bards began to come too, so the water became known as Ozan Gölü, the Bards’ Lake. In another tale, a bard fell in love with a fairy and followed her into the cave; when he found her bathing in the lake she leapt into the water and vanished, and he threw himself in after her and never came back.

What can you see at Buzluk Cave?

Ice formations. In summer, layers of ice, icicles and ice stalagmites, and in places ice like honeycomb.

The cave chambers, reached by the steps built in 1990.

The setting. The cave is on the slopes of the Harput hill, with views over the countryside.

Nearby. Harput Castle and the Great Mosque are on the same hill.

Combining it with Harput. The cave takes about an hour including the walk in and out. Spend the morning in Harput, at the castle, the Great Mosque and the Sara Hatun Mosque, and come to Buzluk in the heat of the afternoon, when the contrast between the air outside and inside is greatest. Back in Elazığ, the Lake Hazar beaches are a good way to finish a summer day.

Frequently asked questions about Buzluk Cave

What do the official records say about Buzluk Cave?

The Buzluk Caves are north-east of the historic town of Harput, 11 km from Elazığ. It is known from the yearbooks that the history of the cave is as old as the history of Harput, reaching back to the Urartian period, the first owners of Harput. Because of its geomorphological structure, climatic conditions and air circulation, in the summer months ice forms naturally in the cave in layers, as stalactites and stalagmites, and in some parts even as ice layers resembling honeycomb, while in the winter months, on the contrary, warm air forms.

The cave, whose steps and lighting were built by the Tourism Directorate in 1990, is among the ten caves that can be visited in Türkiye. With the natural beauty of its surroundings and its location in the historic town of Harput, the Buzluk Caves are one of our rare tourist areas where history and nature are intertwined. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Elazığ Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)