Güney Waterfall, Cindere Dam and the Denizli Wine Plateau

North of Tripolis and Pamukkale, the road climbs out of the warm valley basin onto a wide, wind-swept limestone plateau at 800 to 900 metres elevation shared by the rural districts of Güney, Çal and Bekilli. This high tableland is one of Turkey's largest grape-growing regions, and tucked into the dramatic canyon wall where the plateau drops sheer into the Büyük Menderes River gorge sits Güney Şelalesi (Güney Waterfall), one of our favourite lunch detours in the entire province.

Güney Waterfall and the Cindere Dam canyon

Located about 5 km south-west of Güney town (roughly 70 km northwest of central Denizli, or 45 minutes' drive beyond Pamukkale and Tripolis), Güney Waterfall is registered as a national natural monument. Spring water emerging near the cliff rim tumbles from a height of roughly 20 metres over a curtain of moss-draped, petrified travertine stalactites straight down toward the emerald waters of the Cindere Dam reservoir on the Büyük Menderes River. Even in the middle of July, the shaded ravine around the waterfall stays cool with mist and the sound of rushing water.

• Trout baked on a clay tile (kiremitte alabalık): rustic, family-run trout restaurants sit among the plane and walnut trees along the stream approaching the falls. Raised in cold spring-fed ponds on site, the trout is butterflied, topped with tomatoes, green peppers, garlic and butter, and baked in a wood oven on a red terracotta roof tile, served with crisp village salad and warm bread.

The Çal and Güney Vineyard Route (Çal Bağ Yolu)

While driving across the plateau between Güney, Çal and Bekilli, you will notice endless rows of low-trained vines stretching across the chalky, iron-rich soils. Thanks to hot sunny days and cool 850-metre nights, this high plateau produces a huge share of the Aegean region's wine and table grapes (including native Anatolian varieties such as Çalkarası rosé/red grapes, Boğazkere, Öküzgözü and Sultaniye). An official signposted Çal Vineyard Route (Çal Bağ Yolu) links several boutique estate wineries where visitors can book vineyard walks and cellar tastings ahead, alongside historic stops along the deep gorge of the upper Menderes such as the stone Hançalar Bridge, the painted 19th-century mosque of Baklan Boğaziçi and the ancient rock settlement of Apollon Lermenos at Bahadınlar. Because rural public transport between Tripolis, Güney Waterfall and the Çal estates is sparse, save this loop for a day when you have a rental car; see our three-day Denizli itinerary.