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Cave in Turkey photo by rob Stoeltje –

Top 10 Intriguing Facts about Oylat Cave

A cave or cavern is a natural gap in the ground that is large enough to accommodate a human. Caves are formed by the weathering of rock and can extend hundreds of meters underground.

Smaller holes, such as sea caves, rock shelters, and grottos, that extend a relatively short distance into the rock are referred to as exogenous caves. Endogenous caves are caves that extend further underground than the opening allows.

72 kilometres South of Bursa is the fairly well-kept secret of Oylat. This village is a diamond and a little off the tourist track but tourists will be glad they came there are so many things to do and see from the Oylat cave. 

Deep in the forest to the natural thermal spa and on to the cascading waterfall in Babasultan Village, this region is mostly famed for the Oylat cave and no visit to the area would be complete touring the cave.

Oylat Cave is a display cave in Bursa Province, Turkey’s northwest. The cave is located in Bursa Province, 1 km (0.62 mi) south of Hilmiye village and 17 kilometres (11 mi) southeast of inegöl town.

It is accessible from inegöl by the state road to Ankara D.200 E90 southwards, then via the inegöl-TavÅŸanlı route D.595 until the Gündüzlü village exit, then via the provincial road P.16-27 at the junction marked “Oylat Thermal Spring Resort” and going via Hilmiye village.

Here are the top 10 intriguing facts about the cave.

1. Oylat Cave was discovered in 2004

The cave, which was discovered in 2004, has an overall length of 730 m (2,400 ft.) with a clearance of 93 m (305 ft.).

2. It was formed because of a great earthquake 300 million years ago

Photo by Krisjanis Mezulis on

It was formed by a massive earthquake 300 million years ago. РOylat cave is located 17 kilometres southeast of neg̦l (Bursa) at the mouth of the Oylat River canyon.

Oylat cave was formed at the intersection of two fault zones striking along the WNW-ESE and NE-SW directions in a Permian-Triassic recrystallized limestone unit.

3. Oylat Cave is composed of two main sections

The cave, which has a usually meandering contour, can be divided into two sections based on its developmental characteristics. The part between the entryway and the vast falling hall is made up of tiny galleries.

This portion, which is 2-5 meters broad, has a ceiling height of about 15 meters. The second portion of the cave, on the other hand, is a big falling hall. The breadth of this hall, which has a 93-meter height difference between its beginning and end point, ranges from 25 to 55 meters, and the ceiling height ranges from 3 to 15 meters.

4. Oylat cave is considered one of the biggest caves in Bursa

Cave, Aydıncık, Mersin Province, Turkey photo by Nedim ArdoÄŸa –

Oylat cave is considered one of the biggest caves in Bursa, and the third biggest cave in Turkey. The Cave is over 730 meters long. In some places, the inside walls rise above 450-500 meters, and high above the main entrance, there are three other openings into the cave.

It is distinguished by its length which extends over 665 meters into the heart of the mountain. It is possible to go up to the cave by car

5. It is situated at the end of the Oylat Creek Canyon

The large east-west fault line in the marble formation, which dates to about 3 Ma, is where Oylat Cave was formed. It is located in terrain from the Pliocene era at the end of the Oylat Creek Canyon.

6. Oylat Cave was opened to tourism in 2006

Photo by Alec Favale on

The cave, which is a part of a spa complex, first welcomed visitors in 2006. Both domestic and foreign tourists visit the cave.

While local tourists visit the cave throughout the year, foreign visitors—mostly from Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates—come between June and October during the summer season.

The public can only access 650 meters (2,130 feet) of the cave. It takes roughly 90 minutes to tour the cave.

7. The cave consists of fossil deposits

In the cave, fossils have been discovered. A turnoff at the left side leads to a higher fossil chamber which is full of speleothems. The richness of the subsurface biosphere can be better understood by studying the microbiology of caves.

For the first time, molecular cloning based on the Sanger/pyrosequencing technique was used to examine the diversity and taxonomic composition of bacterial communities connected with the cave walls of the Oylat Cave.

An average of 1,822 functional taxonomic units per sample were found in the results. Analysis of clones from Oylat Cave revealed that they belonged to ten common phyla in the realm of bacteria.

Following Proteobacteria in dominance were Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Nitrospirae. The Shannon diversity index ranged from 3.76 to 5.35. High bacterial variety was found on the surfaces of the cave rock walls, according to the thorough investigation done for this study.

8. Oylat cave is famous for its colourful stalactites and stalagmites

Stalactites photo by National Park Service of the United States of America –

Bursa’s Oylat cave is renowned for its vibrant stalactites and stalagmites. Debris and carbonate deposits have been collected in the three sections that make up the cave.

There are detritus stores in the first section, including pebble, sand, and siltstone as well as carbonate items like a stalactite, stalagmite, columns, and cave pearls. Carbonate formations, including cave breaches, stalactites, stalagmites, columns, macaroni constructions, curtain stalactites, cave pearls, and enormous stalactite pools, can be found in the second section.

Mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, and substantial cave breaches can all be found in the third section. Consisting of large blocks and giant dripstone shapes (stalactites, stalagmites and columns), the third section above the hall consists of thick layers of pebble, sand and silt.

Oylat cave is a beautiful cave that captures the eye with its strange colourful rocks. It somehow copels the visitors to take photographs of it in amusement.

9. It is thought that the cave can treat health issues

The cave is believed to serve as a remedy to health problems. It is believed that the cave is capable of curing respiratory complaints, such as asthma and bronchitis.

10. Oylat cave is home to a rich living community

The Oylat cave, which is divided into sections with varied climatic and development characteristics, is home to a rich living community. These consist of guanobils, millipedes, butterflies, worms, bats, and butterflies.