Karaca Cave: Dripstone Halls Above the Harşit Valley

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

What is Karaca Cave?

Karaca Cave (Karaca Mağarası) is a show cave in the hills above the Harşit valley, near Torul in Gümüşhane province. It is not large, about 105 m long and covering some 1,500 m², but it is packed with formations: stalactites and stalagmites, columns, curtain-like flags, walls that look like organ pipes, cave flowers and pearls, and stepped travertine pools.

It is the most visited cave in Gümüşhane, and for many people driving between Trabzon and Erzurum it is the one stop they make in the province. A lit path leads through all the chambers.

How do you get to Karaca Cave?

The cave is in the territory of Cebeli village, about 17 km north-west of Gümüşhane city. A 4 km side road branches off the Gümüşhane–Trabzon highway (D885/E97) around the 12th kilometre out of Gümüşhane and climbs to the cave entrance. By car it is a short drive from the city; there is no regular public transport to the entrance, so without a car take a taxi from Gümüşhane or Torul.

From Trabzon Airport the route runs south through the Zigana Tunnel and Torul, making the cave an easy stop on the way to or from the coast.

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When is the best time to visit Karaca Cave?

The cave can be visited all year. Inside it has its own microclimate, cooler than outside in summer and warmer in winter, so it makes a good escape from summer heat in the valley. In winter, check that the access road is clear of snow. Opening hours are seasonal; confirm locally before making a special trip.

What is the history of Karaca Cave?

People in the surrounding villages had always known about the cave, but it was the research of geological engineer Şükrü Eröz between 1983 and 1990 that led to its development for tourism, with further studies by Prof. Dr. Remzi Dilek and a team from Karadeniz Technical University. After the Ministry of Culture and Tourism was informed and the cave was officially registered, it opened to visitors in 1996.

The cave is a fossil cave: no stream flows through it today and there is no significant air circulation. Humidity rises from about 65% at the entrance to about 75% inside. That stable, still environment is what has allowed such delicate formations to grow.

What is Karaca Cave famous for?

• The density of its formations, which the 2002 inventory calls beauties rarely seen elsewhere.
• Colour. The travertines range from white to dark blue, thanks to iron and magnesium in the water.
• Dripstone pools up to 1 m deep in the inner chambers, and cave roses on some of the formations.

What can you see at Karaca Cave?

Four chambers, or six. The cave developed horizontally as four roughly elliptical chambers joined together. Two of them are divided in half by walls of dripstone formed by water seeping through cracks, so the cave can be counted as six chambers.

Stalactites, stalagmites and columns. Hanging from the ceiling, rising from the floor and, where they meet, joined into columns.

Flags and organ walls. Thin curtains of calcite hanging from the ceiling and walls with vertical ribs like organ pipes.

Cave flowers, pearls and travertine steps. Small delicate formations on the walls and floor, and terraces of travertine where water once pooled.

Dripstone pools. In the inner chambers, pools up to a metre deep.

Outside. There are restaurants and small shops near the entrance; Gümüşhane’s pestil and köme are sold all along the main road. The view from the car park looks over the valley towards Torul.

Practical tips. Paths can be wet and slippery, so wear shoes with grip. Touching the formations is forbidden; they grow only a fraction of a millimetre a year. A visit takes about 30–45 minutes.

Other caves nearby. If Karaca whets your appetite, Gümüşhane has more. Akçakale Cave, about 10 km east of the city in Akçakale village, was discovered in 1996 at 1,585 m and drops 95 m between its entrance and its deepest point. Arılı Cave, about 1 km from Arılı village west of Torul, has a narrow entrance opening into chambers up to 10 m high, with stalactites and stalagmites from white to dark blue. Neither is developed like Karaca, so ask locally about access.

Common misconceptions about Karaca Cave

How long is Karaca Cave?

What people often assume: Some descriptions give the cave’s length as 150 m.

What the record says: The 2002 provincial inventory gives a length of about 105 m and a total area of 1,500 m², a figure also used in other detailed accounts of the cave (source).

Frequently asked questions about Karaca Cave

What do the official records say about Karaca Cave?

It lies 17 km north-west of the province, within the borders of Çebeli village in Torul district. The dripstone shapes, stalactites, stalagmites, columns, flag shapes, organ-patterned walls, cave flowers, pearls and travertine steps of the cave, which is 1,550 m above sea level, are beauties rarely seen elsewhere.

The total area of the cave is 1,500 m² and its length about 105 m. It has developed horizontally and is formed by the joining of four separate chambers resembling ellipses. Two of these chambers have been divided in two by wall dripstones formed by water seeping from crack systems, and so the number of chambers has risen to six. This cave, very rich in dripstone formations, has very high tourism potential. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Gümüşhane Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)

Main photo: En Merker, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.