5Pamukkale, Turkey
Gleaming white calcite travertine overrunning with warm and mineral-rich water makes Pamukkale famous as well as weird. These surreal and limpid pools hang like cascades of a mighty waterfall. Pamukkale literally means ‘Cotton Castle’ in Turkish. These dramatic travertine terraces are built over millennia from limestone, deposited by abundant hot springs. Tourists can even bathe in the picturesque warm water pools (around 36 degrees Celsius).
