Hierapolis is the Roman city that crowns the terraces of Pamukkale. Most visitors stay on the white travertines and never make the ten-minute walk up to the theatre, and so they miss an entire spa town: a necropolis of more than a thousand tombs, one of the best-preserved theatres in Türkiye, a sanctuary built over a fissure that gives off gas, and the tomb of an apostle.
The ticket is the same one that gets you onto the terraces, so there is no excuse. With two hours and a clear route, Hierapolis turns Pamukkale into a full-day visit.
A little history
The kings of Pergamon founded the city beside the hot springs in the 2nd century BC, and Rome turned it into a town of baths and cures: the sick came to take the waters, and many of them stayed for good, as the size of the necropolis shows. An earthquake destroyed it in AD 60, and it was rebuilt from scratch in the Roman style; the emperors Hadrian, Septimius Severus and Caracalla all visited.
Its Christian community was an early one. According to tradition, the apostle Philip died here, and in the 5th century a martyrium was built over his tomb. The city remained a bishop’s see until earthquakes in the 7th and 14th centuries, together with invasions, emptied it. Along with the terraces, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988.
What to see in Hierapolis
The necropolis
Two kilometres of tombs line the road in from the north entrance: sarcophagi, round tumuli and two-storey funerary houses, more than 1,200 in all, dating from the 1st century BC to the 3rd century AD. It is the largest ancient necropolis in Anatolia, and it gives you an idea of how many people came here to be cured and never went home.
The Frontinus Gate and the main street
A triple-arched gateway flanked by two round towers, dedicated to the emperor Domitian, opens onto the colonnaded main street, a kilometre long, with the public latrines, the agora and the baths along the way.
The theatre
Built in the 2nd century for some 12,000 spectators, it has a restored two-storey stage building with its columns, friezes of Apollo and Artemis, and the imperial box. From the top rows you look out over the city, the terraces and the plain as far as Laodicea. It is the jewel of the site.
The Plutonium
Beside the Temple of Apollo is a fissure that releases carbon dioxide, which the ancients believed was an entrance to the underworld; they built a sanctuary to Pluto over it. The priests proved their power by going in and coming out alive: the gas pools close to the ground, and by standing upright they kept their heads above it. Today you see it from a viewing platform, with the sanctuary’s seating reconstructed.
The Martyrium of St Philip
On the hillside, at the top of a long flight of steps, stands an octagonal 5th-century building ringed with chapels, and beside it the church with the tomb identified as the apostle’s. The climb is long; the views and the silence make up for it.
The museum and Cleopatra’s Pool
The museum, housed in the Great Baths, displays sarcophagi, statues and finds from Hierapolis and from other ancient cities in the area, such as Laodicea. Right next to it is Cleopatra’s Pool, where fallen Roman columns lie in the warm water.
Tips for your visit
Allow two hours for Hierapolis, or two and a half with the terraces. The site is large and flat apart from the climb to the martyrium, and some stretches have no shade.
- Go in through the north entrance, by the necropolis, and leave through the terraces down to the village: that way you see everything in one direction, and downhill.
- Bring a hat, water and closed shoes for the ruins, plus sandals or a bag for your shoes, because you walk the terraces barefoot.
- In summer, go first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon; the sunset from the theatre is one of the finest in the country.
- With children, the theatre and the Plutonium (and its gate-to-hell story) go down better than the necropolis.
Tickets and prices
At the time of writing (2026), the combined ticket for the Pamukkale terraces and Hierapolis costs €35 under the official 2027 rates. A swim in Cleopatra’s Pool is an extra charge. On my tours, entrance tickets are either included or bought by the guide.
Where it is and how to get there
Hierapolis stands above the Pamukkale terraces, 20 kilometres from Denizli. It has three entrances: the south entrance, by the village, which takes you up through the terraces; the north entrance, on the Karahayıt road, through the necropolis; and the museum entrance, which has a car park. By road it is about three hours from Kuşadası and four from Antalya.
How I include it in my tours
Hierapolis is the morning part of the Pamukkale, Hierapolis and Karahayıt day tour and of the Pamukkale day trip from Kuşadası, and it features on every multi-day tour through the region, such as From Cappadocia to the Aegean. For the terraces and bathing in the pools, read my guide to Pamukkale’s travertine pools.
If you would like to see all of Pamukkale, ancient city included and without rushing, tell me about your tailor-made trip.