Guide
Yoncalı Kaplıcaları, about 16 km west of Kütahya city centre, are counted by the Kütahya directorate of culture and tourism among the longest-established spas of the region, and a legend tells how they began. Gülümser Hatun, a daughter of the Seljuk sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I, fell ill young and no cure could be found; after people saw a mangy fox recover in the marsh at Yoncalı, she was bathed in its hot water and left in good health. The sultan then had a large bathhouse with a pool and a mosque built so that others could be cured too, and their inscription dates them to 1233.
The directorate describes the water as hot and rich in calcium, magnesium and sulphate, and lists it as supportive for muscle and joint complaints, rheumatic and orthopaedic conditions, lumbar and neck hernias and skin conditions. It feeds the pools, private bathing rooms and health centres of the hotels.
Spa hotels and apartments stand alongside thermal pools and private family baths for day use, physiotherapy and rehabilitation centres, walking and rest areas, restaurants, cafés and a market. The spa is open in every season. Visitors coming for treatment are advised to bring their health records, and booking ahead is recommended for busy periods.
Getting there
Yoncalı is about 16 km from Kütahya city centre and easy to reach by public transport or car; there is plenty of parking.
When to go
- Climate
- Across Kütahya as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from 0.5 °C in January to 20.9 °C in August; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in June, July, August and September; rainfall is heaviest in December (76 mm) and lightest in August (18 mm). Long-term means for 1929-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
