Gazlıgöl Thermal Springs (Gazlıgöl Kaplıcaları)

What to expect

Gazlıgöl is a belde, a small municipality of about 2,700 people, in the İhsaniye district of Afyonkarahisar Province. Afyon calls itself Turkey’s thermal capital, and most visitors head for the big five-star spa hotels south and west of the city. Gazlıgöl is the older, smaller and more domestic option: a town at about 1,040 m on the plain north of Afyon, built around hot water.

The original springs were developed long ago, and the hot water now comes mostly from bore wells. A 2022 master’s thesis at Konya Technical University sampled seven hot-water wells and one reinjection well and measured 140-165°F60-74°C. The author estimates the reservoir at 212-300°F100-149°C, held in fractured quartzite and schist under clay. Other sources give the water as 147°F64°C or as a 104-160°F40-71°C range, depending on which well they mean. Chemically it is a sodium bicarbonate water with carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, so expect a faint sulphur smell.

There is no single bathhouse at the heart of town. You soak in the thermal hotels, apart-hotels and villa complexes that grew up after 1980, many of them built as timeshares (devremülk). They follow a pattern:

• Private thermal pools or tubs. Many units have their own thermal bath or a small pool, so a couple or family can soak privately.
• Indoor and outdoor pools. Larger places add shared thermal pools, ordinary swimming pools and a hamam.
• Single-sex areas. Some complexes run separate men’s and women’s pools.

Booking sites list, among others, Afion Thermal Otel (suites with a thermal jacuzzi), Regulus Termal Apart Otel Villas (alcohol-free, separate men’s and women’s areas, six indoor pools), Villa Kent Termal, Başaranlar Termal, Çağrı Termal Villa and Gazlıgöl Elit Apart Otel. OpenStreetMap also shows Özdemir Termal Otel and Sefa Termal Tatil Köyü on the edge of town.

History and the water

Local tradition takes the springs back to the Phrygians, whose rock-cut monuments fill the hills to the north. A Bilkent University project notes that the water is drinkable as well as bathable, and that Kızılay, the Turkish Red Crescent’s mineral water company, built a bottling plant here, which became an important source of local income. Since 1994 the thermal water has also been piped for district heating. It is now the main heat source for the Afyonkarahisar area.

In 2019 the government cut its list of designated thermal tourism centres, and Gazlıgöl lost that status. The hotels stayed open. Like most Turkish spa towns, Gazlıgöl promotes its water for rheumatism, skin and digestive complaints. Treat those as traditional uses, not medical advice.

Getting there

• From Afyonkarahisar city: Take the road north toward İhsaniye and Eskişehir. Gazlıgöl is about 21 km (13 miles) from the centre, roughly 20 minutes.
• By public transport: Minibuses run from Afyon. Gazlıgöl also has a railway station; check current services with TCDD before relying on the train.
• From further away: Afyon is a hub on the motorway and bus network between İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir and Antalya. Most visitors drive or take an intercity bus to Afyon and continue by car or minibus.

All the hotels have parking. Once in town, everything is within a short drive or walk.

When to go

The hotels open all year. Turkish thermal towns tend to be busiest in winter, when city families come for a long weekend in the hot water. School holidays and the two bayram holidays fill the town. Weekdays from October to May are the easiest time to find a room and a quiet pool. Summer is warm and dry on the plateau, and hot pools feel less inviting at midday.

Prices and booking

Prices are set hotel by hotel and change often with inflation, and booking sites show them only for specific dates. Expect to pay per room or per apartment, sometimes with breakfast. Thermal pool use is usually included for guests. If you only want a soak, phone ahead and ask whether a hotel sells day use, private pool hire by the hour, or hamam entry. Check what the price covers: towels, the hamam, and any spa treatments can be extra.

House rules vary too. Afion Thermal Otel, for example, does not accept unmarried couples and allows no pets or smoking.

Bathing culture

Gazlıgöl is a family resort in a conservative province. Many guests are Turkish families on a cure or a long weekend, and some hotels only take married couples and families. Most shared pools need a swimsuit. In single-sex sections and the hamam, people wear a swimsuit or a peştamal (a cotton wrap). Nudity is not normal anywhere. Shower before you get in, keep children close in the pools, and keep your voice down in the hamam. Alcohol-free hotels mean it. If you want a drink with dinner, check the policy first.

Where to stay nearby

Staying in Gazlıgöl itself is the point, since the private pools come with the room. For more choice, Afyonkarahisar city is 20 minutes away, with hotels at every price and the large thermal resorts on its outskirts. Afion Thermal Otel lists the Phrygian Valley (Frig Vadisi) about 12 km (7.5 miles) away and the city centre 28 km (17 miles) away.

Safety notes

• Hot water at the source: Well water arrives at up to 165°F74°C. Use the cooled pools and tubs only, and run a private tub with the cold tap first.
• Short soaks: Keep soaks to 15-20 minutes at a time and drink water. Get out if you feel faint, and ask a doctor first if you have heart or blood pressure problems.
• Children: Watch children closely in private tubs, which are deep and hot for small bodies.
• Slippery floors: Mineral water makes tiles slick. Wear slippers around pools and in the hamam.
• Hydrogen sulphide: The smell is normal. Keep indoor tub rooms ventilated and do not soak alone in a closed room for long.

Nearby stops worth adding

The Phrygian Valley north of Gazlıgöl has rock-cut tombs, fortresses and cult monuments from the first millennium BC, best seen with a car and a local map. In Afyonkarahisar, climb to the castle on its volcanic rock for the view, and try the town’s kaymak (clotted cream), sucuk and lokum (Turkish delight).