Arrival Airport :
Kayseri Erkilet (ASR) or Nevsehir Kapadokya (NAV) Airports
Departure Airport :
Kayseri Erkilet (ASR) or Nevsehir Kapadokya (NAV)
Duration :
8 Days / 7 Nights / 6 Hiking days
Tour Type / Language :
Fully guided tour in English
Total Distance :
A total of 50 km IN 6 days with a daily average of 8.4 km and +165 m elevation, Grade 2 Moderate. The distances could be changed with longer hikes.
Path Condition :
Well-marked foot trails with uneven surfaces and some slippery grounds.
As one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites, Cappadocia offers a perfect combination of geological and ethnological wonders through its incomparable volcanic landscape sculpted by erosion. Walking or hiking through a succession of ridges, valleys, and pinnacles known as “fairy chimneys” or hoodoos, makes you feel part of a fairy tale. Our hikes in Cappadocia explore all rock churches, small villages, underground cities, and the amazing valleys with cones, pillars, pinnacles, mushrooms, and chimneys that stretch as far as 40 meters into the sky. The rocky wonderland is honeycombed with a network of human-created caves; living quarters, places of worship, stables, and storehouses were all dug into the soft stone in the underground cities. As the home of early monastic settlements, the rock churches and their frescoes are the leading examples of post-iconoclastic Byzantine art. At the end of our hikes, home-cooked meals served by villagers offer the truly authentic hospitality of Turkish people. An optional hot-air balloon ride during sunrise is the crown jewel of our experience. Cappadocia is a landscape of harmony combining human interaction and settlement with dramatic natural landforms. Welcome to the wonderland and authentic Turkish hospitality.
Day-by-Day Tour Program
Print Friendly Itinerary
Day 1, Welcome to Cappadocia, Turkey
Arrive in Kayseri or Nevsehir Airports and meet your local guide after luggage claims. Transfer to your hotel and enjoy your rest after check-in. Orientation walk before welcome dinner in the hotel.
Meals: Welcome Dinner
Accomodation:
Ihlara Konaklari or similar
Day 2, Ihlara Valley
Fuel up with a hearty breakfast at the hotel before we start our hike in Ihlara Valley. A 15-minute transfer takes us to Ihlara Village. Our hike starts from here and descends into the canyon towards Belisirma village. Along the Melendiz River, our hike explores the rock churches with the frescoes on either side of the canyon. Discover Bahattin Samanligi with the best-preserved churches overlooking the Valley and Belisirma village at the end of the hike. Lunch is served in a local restaurant along the river. Visit Bezirhane, the ancient oil pressing workshop in Belisirma Village and drive back to Guzelyurt to enjoy your rest in the hotel. Before dinner in a local restaurant, tour the Red Church built by Justinian the Great and dedicated to Gregory of Nazianus, one of the Cappadocian fathers.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Destinations: Ihlara Valley, its cave churches, Belisirma Village, and Red Church
Accomplishment: 6 km hike, +70 m elevation, Grade 1 Easy
Accomodation:
Ihlara Konaklari or similar
Day 3, Selime Monastery, Kaymakli Underground City
After breakfast check out of the hotel and transfer (15min) to the start point of our morning hike. We start from Belisirma village and cover the northern end of Ihlara Valley towards Selime. After wandering through the oasis created by the Melendiz River in the middle of a desert-like high plateau, our hike ends in the unique fairy chimneys of Selime Village. Discover the monastic settlement with its cathedral and network of dormitories and cellars carved into the biggest rock formation. Lunch in a local restaurant and transfer (66km – 1h) to Kaymakli Underground City. Explore the labyrinthine network of tunnels, cells, cellars, stables, and ventilation shafts of the second-biggest underground city which served as a haven against the invaders. Drive (26km – 35 min) to our hotel for the next five nights in the heart of the region.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Destinations: Ihlara Valley, Selime, Kaymakli Underground City
Accomplishment: 7 km hike, +114 m elevation, Grade 2 Moderate
Accomodation:
Gul Konaklari Sinasos or similar
Day 4, Pigeon Valley
After a leisurely breakfast, a 25-minute transfer takes us to the White Valley. Our hike starts from the lower end of the valley and ascends among unique pinnacles towards Uchisar Castle. The last stretch of the hike descends through Pigeon Valley to Goreme town. Lunch break in Goreme town. Goreme Open Museum and its superb churches are our next destinations in the afternoon. Step into the monastic life of Cappadocian fathers and their theology from the 4th century while admiring the best-preserved frescoes of Byzantine art from the 10th to 12th centuries. Free time in Goreme town for shopping before returning to the hotel in the late afternoon. Tonight, dinner is on your own.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Destinations: White, Pigeon, and Keyisdere Valleys, Goreme Open Air Museum
Accomplishment: 7.5 km hike, +280 m elevation, Grade 2 Moderate
Accomodation:
Gul Konaklari Sinasos or similar
Day 5, Zemi Valley
After breakfast, a 20-minute transfer takes us to the starting point of Zemi Valley. Our trail descends along the pastel-colored cliffs and passes through tunnels towards Goreme town. A breathtaking vista over Goreme town and its fairy chimneys is the reward from the highest point in the middle of the hike. Our next short hike unveils the valleys of Old Zelve Village. Return to the hotel in the afternoon. Dinner is on your own.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Destinations: Zemi Valley, Goreme Vista Point, Zelve Valley,
Accomplishment: Zemi Valley: 8.3 km hike, +50 m elevation, Grade 2 Moderate
Zelve Valley: 1.5 km hike, +40 m elevation, Grade 1 Easy
Accomodation:
Gul Konaklari Sinasos or similar
Day 6, Gomeda Valley
After a leisurely breakfast, we will start our hike directly from the hotel. Visit the church dedicated to Constantine the Great and his mother Helena. Our trail follows Gomeda Valley with its pigeon halls on the cliffs and lush vegetation of the stream towards Ayvali village. On one of the least visited trails, this hike offers solitude and serenity away from the major trails of the region. A local farming family hosts our group for a well-deserved organic lunch in Ayvali village where we learn about the local products and lifestyle. After saying goodbye to our host family, return to Mustafa Pasha. Once a Greek village of Sinassos, Mustafa Pasha received the Turks from Thessaloniki after the population exchange in 1923. Enjoy your free time in Urgup town for shopping and take pleasure in wine tasting in a local winery before dinner in a local restaurant.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Destinations: Sinassos, Gomeda Valley, Ayvali Village, Urgup
Accomplishment: 10 km hike, +250 m elevation, Grade 3 Active
Accomodation:
Gul Konaklari Sinasos or similar
Day 7, Red Valley
Our day starts with a visit to Ortahisar village, followed by hikes through Red Valley which justly deserves its name with its incomparable cliffs and rock formations decorated with different shades of red. Our lunch is served in the vineyard of a local family in the middle of Red Valley. After refueling with a home-made lunch our hike continues to Cavusin Village with surprising visits to the hidden churches in small valleys and then continues to Pasabag with the unique rock formations. Our last vista point is from the top of Uchisar Castle, the highest rock formation in the center of the region, to capture the beauty of the entire region.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Destinations: Ortahisar, Red Valley, Cavusin, Pasabag, Uchisar Castle
Accomplishment: 9.8 km hike, +190 m elevation, Grade 3 Active
Accomodation:
Gul Konaklari Sinasos or similar
Day 8, Departure
After our last breakfast together, transfer to the airport and say goodbye to our guide and driver. We wish you a safe flight back home.
Meals: Breakfast (depending on the flight hours)
Destinations: Nevsehir (NAV) or Kayseri (ASR) Airports
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