Nevşehir, Central Anatolia · Turkey
Volcanic ash eroded into cones and pinnacles, then hollowed out by people into churches, houses and cities eight levels underground.
Photo: MusikAnimal · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cappadocia's landscape is the result of two processes separated by millions of years. Volcanic eruptions covered the region in thick layers of ash that hardened into a soft rock called tuff, capped in places by harder basalt. Wind and water then eroded the tuff into cones, ridges and towers — with the harder caps protecting columns beneath them, producing the mushroom-shaped pillars known as fairy chimneys.
The second process was human. Tuff is soft enough to carve with hand tools and hardens on contact with air, which meant people could simply dig homes into it. Byzantine Christians carved hundreds of churches into the rock between the 4th and 11th centuries and painted their interiors with frescoes, many of which survive. They also dug downwards, creating underground cities — Derinkuyu descends at least eight levels and could shelter thousands of people with their livestock.
The balloons came much later and are now inseparable from the place. On a good morning, well over a hundred lift off before dawn and drift across the valleys with the sun coming up behind them. It is the most photographed thing in Turkey and, unusually for something that famous, it lives up to the images.
Why visit
Cappadocia is one of a small number of places on earth where the landscape itself is the attraction and where people have then made something extraordinary out of it.
Around a hundred balloons launch on a good morning, drifting low through the valleys and then rising to a few thousand feet with the sun coming up. It costs €200–300 and is the thing almost everyone says was the highlight of their trip to Turkey.
Hundreds of churches carved into the tuff between the 4th and 11th centuries, many with frescoes intact. The Dark Church at Göreme has the best-preserved paintings, protected by having had almost no light for centuries.
Derinkuyu descends at least eight levels — around 60 metres — with ventilation shafts, wells, stables, chapels and rolling stone doors that sealed from the inside. They sheltered populations in the thousands during raids.
The Red, Rose, Pigeon and Love valleys are linked by paths between villages, mostly flat or gently graded, passing rock-cut churches and dovecotes. Three hours of walking here shows you more than a day of driving.
Cave hotels are genuine converted rock dwellings rather than a gimmick, with vaulted stone rooms that stay cool in summer and warm in winter, and terraces facing the valleys for the dawn launch.
Main attractions
The main sites cluster within about 20 km of Göreme, which is the natural base. Distances are short and much of it can be walked.
A monastic complex of rock-cut churches, chapels and refectories in one valley, with frescoes from the 10th and 11th centuries. The Dark Church, a separate ticket, has the best-preserved paintings in Cappadocia because it had almost no window light.
Tip Pay the extra for the Dark Church — it is the reason to come. Go at opening; the site is small and fills quickly.
Launching before dawn, drifting low through the valleys where the pilot can nearly touch the rock, then climbing for the view over the whole landscape with a hundred other balloons around you. Flights last about an hour.
Tip Book for your first possible morning. Flights are cancelled for wind on a significant share of days and cancellations roll to the next morning.
Multi-level cities dug into the tuff, with ventilation shafts, wells, stables, wine presses, chapels and circular stone doors that could be rolled shut from inside. Derinkuyu reaches at least eight levels and about 60 metres.
Tip Passages are narrow, low and confined. Not for anyone claustrophobic. Kaymaklı is wider and slightly easier.
Two adjoining valleys of pink and orange rock, threaded by walking paths past hidden churches and dovecotes carved into the cliffs. The walk between Göreme and Çavuşin takes about three hours.
Tip Sunset Point above the Rose Valley is where everyone gathers at dusk, and it earns the crowd.
The highest point in Cappadocia — a great rock outcrop honeycombed with tunnels and rooms, with a viewpoint at the top looking over the whole region to Mount Erciyes.
Tip Best in the late afternoon. The village beneath it is quieter and more attractive than Göreme.
A 14 km gorge cut 100 metres deep by a river, with rock churches along its walls and a green shaded path following the water. Completely different in character from the open valleys and much cooler in summer.
Tip About an hour from Göreme. The section from Ihlara village to Belisırma is the best and takes about two hours.
Zelve is an abandoned cave village occupied until the 1950s, with three valleys of dwellings. Paşabağ nearby has the most photogenic multi-headed fairy chimneys, once inhabited by hermit monks.
Tip Zelve is the best sense of how people actually lived in the rock, and is far less visited than Göreme.
A pottery town on Turkey's longest river, where red clay from the riverbed has been worked for millennia. Several workshops demonstrate the kick-wheel technique and let visitors try it.
Tip The pottery kebab — lamb slow-cooked in a sealed clay pot cracked open at the table — is the local dish.
Things to do
Two fixed points — the balloon and Göreme — and the rest of the time is best spent walking between villages.
Pick-up around 04:30, launch at first light, an hour aloft over the valleys, and a champagne toast on landing. Around €200–300 and the single most memorable thing most visitors do in Turkey.
Tip Standard baskets hold 20–28 people; smaller premium baskets cost more and are considerably better. Book your first morning to allow for cancellations.
Göreme to Çavuşin through the Red and Rose valleys, or Göreme to Uçhisar through Pigeon Valley. Paths are informal but well trodden, and you pass churches and dovecotes nobody has signposted.
Tip Take water and download an offline map — the valleys branch confusingly and signage is minimal.
If you are not flying, or on a second morning, the view from Sunset Point or a cave hotel terrace as a hundred balloons rise out of the valleys is arguably as good as being in one.
Tip Be in position by about 05:30. Most cave hotels serve breakfast on their terraces for exactly this reason.
Derinkuyu or Kaymaklı, descending through narrow passages between levels with rolling stone doors and ventilation shafts. Confined, and remarkable engineering.
Tip Not suitable if you are claustrophobic — several passages require bending double for twenty metres.
Lamb or beef slow-cooked with vegetables in a sealed clay pot, brought to the table and cracked open with a small hammer. A regional speciality and a genuine bit of theatre.
Tip Usually needs ordering a few hours ahead. Ask when you arrive rather than at dinner.
The Mevlevi sema is a religious ritual rather than a performance, originating in Konya three hours south. Cappadocia hosts ceremonies in a restored caravanserai at Saruhan.
Tip Choose a venue that presents it as a ceremony with silence and no photography, not a dinner show.
Local food
Central Anatolian cooking is meat, pulses, bread and pastry — food for a cold high plateau — with a few dishes specific to Cappadocia.
Meat and vegetables sealed inside a clay pot with dough and slow-cooked for hours, then brought to the table and broken open with a hammer. Cappadocia's signature dish and a genuine local tradition.
Where to try it Restaurants throughout Göreme, Ürgüp and Avanos. Order several hours ahead where possible.
Tiny lamb-filled dumplings, boiled and served under garlic yoghurt with melted butter and dried mint or chilli. Kayseri, an hour away, is the acknowledged capital of it and the dumplings there are famously small.
Where to try it Traditional restaurants across the region. Kayseri mantı is the benchmark.
Thin hand-rolled flatbread folded around cheese, spinach, potato or minced meat and cooked on a domed griddle. Made in front of you by women working the dough, and the standard walker's lunch.
Where to try it Village cafés and roadside stops throughout the valleys.
Vines have grown here for millennia in the volcanic soil, and local varieties — Emir for whites, Kalecik Karası and Öküzgözü for reds — are made by several wineries around Ürgüp.
Where to try it Wineries in Ürgüp and Uçhisar, several of which run tastings in rock-cut cellars.
Roasted pumpkin seeds are the regional snack, sold everywhere by the bag, and the dried fruit and nuts of central Anatolia are exceptional and very cheap.
Where to try it Village shops and markets. The Ürgüp weekly market is the best of them.
Cave hotels serve the full spread on terraces facing the valleys, which means eating cheese, olives, honey and clotted cream while a hundred balloons rise in front of you.
Where to try it Almost any cave hotel in Göreme or Uçhisar. It is the reason to pay for a valley-facing room.
Accommodation
Cave hotels are the point here and are worth it. The main choice is between Göreme's convenience and the quieter villages around it.
Transport
Two small airports serve the region and both are an hour or less from Göreme, with shuttle transfers meeting flights.
The valleys are walkable and the villages are close together, but a scooter, car or tour makes the outlying sites much easier.
When to go
Cappadocia sits at about 1,100 m on the Anatolian plateau, which means hot dry summers, cold winters and two excellent shoulder seasons. Balloon cancellations are the main variable.
Green valleys, wildflowers and comfortable walking at 15–25°C. Balloon flights have a good success rate. May and June are ideal; April can still be cold and windier.
Hot and dry at 28–34°C, with the valleys parched brown. Balloon flights have their best cancellation record but the landscape is at its least green and the sites are busiest. Walk at dawn or after 17:00.
The pick of the year: warm days, cool nights, clear light on the rock and thinning crowds. Grape harvest in the local vineyards. October is superb and prices fall.
Cold, often below freezing, with snow on the fairy chimneys that is spectacular and heavily photographed. Balloon cancellations are more frequent and some tours run reduced schedules, but prices are at their lowest.
Worth planning around: Balloon flights are cancelled for wind on a meaningful proportion of mornings in any season. Allow at least two possible mornings, and book the first one — operators roll cancellations forward rather than refunding immediately.
Itinerary
Balloon on the first possible morning, walking in between, and the underground cities as a half-day. Assumes a Göreme or Uçhisar base.
Land, settle in, and get the geography from above ground level.
A 04:30 start, then walking for the rest of the day.
The two sites that need a car or a tour.
Travel tips
The balloon advice is the important part; the rest is comfort.
FAQ
Around €200–300 per person for a standard flight of about an hour, with premium smaller-basket flights costing more. It is a substantial line item on a Turkish budget and it is also, for most visitors, the single most memorable thing they do in the country. Book for your first possible morning, since cancellations for wind roll forward.
Frequently enough to plan around — wind cancels a meaningful proportion of mornings in every season, and the aviation authority grounds all flights when conditions are marginal. Allow at least two possible mornings in your itinerary and book the first one. Operators generally roll you to the next flyable day rather than refunding immediately.
Three, or four to be comfortable. One for Göreme and orientation, one for the balloon and valley walking, and one for the underground cities and the Ihlara Valley. A fourth day gives you a buffer for a cancelled balloon flight, which is the main argument for it.
Göreme for convenience — it is in the middle of the valleys, walking distance to the Open Air Museum and the trailheads, with the widest choice of cave hotels and restaurants. Uçhisar is quieter, more attractive and has better views. Ürgüp is a real town with better restaurants and a weekly market. All are within twenty minutes of each other.
Mostly yes — they are genuine rock dwellings converted into rooms, with vaulted stone ceilings and walls cut from the tuff. They stay cool in summer and warm in winter. Quality varies from very simple to luxurious. Ask for a room or terrace facing the valleys, which means you can watch the dawn balloon launch from breakfast.
April to June and September to October. Spring gives green valleys and wildflowers; autumn gives clear light, warm days, cool nights and the grape harvest. Summer is hot and the landscape is parched, though balloon cancellations are least frequent. Winter brings snow on the fairy chimneys, which is spectacular, and the lowest prices of the year.
The valleys, Göreme and the villages are all easily done independently on foot or by local minibus. The underground cities at Derinkuyu and Kaymaklı and the Ihlara Valley gorge are too far to reach without a car, so most independent visitors take the standard Green tour for that one day and do everything else themselves.
Keep exploring
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