With an approximate number of 40.000 caves and caverns present, our country is like a ‘paradise of caverns’ when compared to other countries. An important geologic – geomorphologic fact in the formation of caverns is karstification (karstic fields) and this karstification is present in Western and Central Toros Mountains ( Mugla, Antalya, Isparta, Burdur, Konya, Karaman, Icel and Adana ) of our country.

The longest (Pinarozu Cavern, 16 km west of Beysehir Lake) and the deepest (cukurpinar Sinkhole, 1880 meters at the south of Anamur) caves of Turkey are present on this mountain belt. In our country, the cavern investigations initiated by the Cavern Research Society (MAD) founded in 1964. Later on, the first university club, Bogazici University Cavern Research Club (BUMAK) has been founded in 1973.

In 1979, Karst and Cavern Exploration Unit founded under the authority of MTA Geology Studies Department is executing most of the cavern explorations nowadays. The exact number of caves investigated and documented by all local and foreign cave explorers is 800 so far. The Purposes for Usage of the Caves. The formation and development properties and the climatic condition of a cave determines the purpose of usage of that particular cave.

The common usage fields of the caves are as follows:
* Tourism
* Natural deep freeze deputing
* Preservation and maturation of animal based products (Water pipe cheese, butter, etc. )
* Cultural mushroom growth
* Respiratory system diseases
* Storage of liquidified gas, natural gas and fuel oil
* Shelter and refuge for military purposes
* Guano production
* Placer mineral inference
* Determination of underground water basins and taking these water to surface
* Determination of the pollution focuses of spring waters and preservation methods
* Determination of regional geological, geomorphologic, hydrological, hydro geological, anthropological and paleo ecological properties.