Gökgöl Cave: Zonguldak’s Show Cave

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

What is Gökgöl Cave?

Gökgöl Cave (Gökgöl Mağarası) is a river cave on the southern edge of Zonguldak, and the province’s only show cave with a long walking route. It is 3,350 m long; the first 875 m have lighting and walkways, so you walk through the main gallery and a large collapse chamber past stalactites, stalagmites, curtain-like drapery formations and flowstone (Wikipedia).

Like almost every cave in Zonguldak, Gökgöl is still an active cave: water still runs through it and the formations are still growing (Zonguldak Culture and Tourism Directorate). The stream that flows out of the cave drains into the Üzülmez stream.

How do you get to Gökgöl Cave?

The cave is about 5 km southeast of the city centre, just off the Zonguldak–Ankara road (D.750) as it leaves the city, in the Üzülmez area. It is a short taxi ride from the centre, and if you are driving it is on your way out of the city towards Ankara.

Zonguldak Airport (ONQ) is east of the city in Çaycuma district, with flights from Istanbul Airport. Coaches reach Zonguldak from Istanbul and Ankara.

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When is the best time to visit Gökgöl Cave?

The lit section can be visited all year, and the temperature underground stays fairly constant, so it works well on a rainy day. Bring a light jacket and shoes with grip, since the walkways are damp. The cave is prone to flooding after heavy rain: it was closed after a flood in 2014 and only reopened in May 2016, so after a spell of very wet weather it is worth checking that it is open before you go.

What is the history of Gökgöl Cave?

Gökgöl has been forming in Carboniferous limestone since the Neogene period, roughly 7 to 2.5 million years ago (Wikipedia). It is one of a family of active caves in the hills around Zonguldak, which include the much longer Kızılelma system (6,630 m), Çayırköy, Cumayanı and İnağzı.

Work to prepare the cave for visitors ran from 1997 to 2001, and it opened to tourism in June 2001. Before that, only cavers went inside, and the 2002 inventory, written just after the opening, still describes the full length as a caver would see it (see the official record below). A flood in 2014 damaged the installations and closed the cave; it reopened in May 2016.

What is Gökgöl Cave famous for?

• Dripstone formations, concentrated in the main gallery and the great collapse chamber. Beyond the chamber only wall dripstones are found.
• Easy access. A lit 875 m walking route a few kilometres from a city centre.
• An active river cave. Water still shapes it, and the stream inside rises sharply after heavy rain.

What can you see at Gökgöl Cave?

The entrance. A wide, high fossil mouth among rock blocks, which you enter from the roadside.

The main gallery. The walkway follows the gallery past stalactites hanging from the ceiling, stalagmites rising from the floor and draperies along the walls.

The collapse chamber. A large chamber formed where the roof fell in long ago, with some of the cave’s biggest formations.

Beyond the tourist route. The rest of the cave, more than 2 km, is not open to visitors. In the 2002 inventory’s description, about 250 m in you reach a siphon, 10 m long, that can only be walked through at the end of summer when the water drops. Past it is the underground river, its floor coated in yellow mud brought in by floods, and the cave continues in two branches among some of its finest formations. Only experienced cavers with local guides should consider it.

Nearby. The Zonguldak Mining Museum in the city centre, opened in 2016 and a member of the European Route of Industrial Heritage, and Kapuz beach on the coast make a good half-day with the cave. For a longer trip, the Cehennemağzı Caves in Karadeniz Ereğli, about 50 km west, are the province’s other cave open to visitors.

Frequently asked questions about Gökgöl Cave

What do the official records say about Gökgöl Cave?

It is in the Üzülmez area, at the 4th km of the Zonguldak–Ankara highway as it leaves Zonguldak. The water coming out of the cave drains into the Üzülmez stream. The cave entrance is wide and high, and you enter through a large fossil mouth among rock blocks. After 250 m you reach a siphon. Although the siphon is only 10 m long, it can be walked through only at the end of summer, when the waters have drawn back.

Passing the siphon, you come to the underground stream. On the floor, which is covered with a yellow mud brought in by flood waters, there are pools of water here and there. From here the cave continues in two branches, in the direction the water comes from, among extremely rich and beautiful formations. The 3,200 m cave advances in curves. While the river and the lakes inside can be crossed easily on foot, sudden flooding occurs after heavy rain. Because of this danger, it is better to enter the cave in the summer and autumn months. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Zonguldak Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)

Main photo: Nedim Ardoğa (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.