cappadocia tour map

Cappadocia Turkey: Travel Guide, Map, Tours, & Cave Hotels

Cappadocia Turkey is the most popular hot air ballooning location in the world, and for good reason — the prices are affordable, and you get to see some unique fairytale landscapes.

More than half of the world’s balloon trips happen here. And even if you’re not interested in the famous Cappadocia hot air balloon rides, it’s still worth coming here for the good food, cave hotels, history, and photogenic hiking trails.

This travel guide will explain how to get to Cappadocia Turkey, where to stay, and all the best things to do, complete with a Cappadocia map and everything else you need to know before you go!

Contents hide 1) What Is Cappadocia? What Is The History? 2) Where Is Cappadocia Turkey? 3) How To Get To Cappadocia Turkey 4) Where To Stay 5) Best Cappadocia Cave Hotels 6) Cappadocia Map 7) Best Things To Do In Cappadocia 8) How To Get Around Cappadocia 9) Best Cappadocia Tours 10) How Long To Stay 11) Best Time To Visit Cappadocia 12) More Turkey Travel Guides

Don’t miss the famous Cappadocia hot air balloon rides! (© GetYourGuide )

What Is Cappadocia? What Is The History?

The Cappadocia area has been settled by humans since prehistoric times, and over the centuries it’s been occupied by the Hittites, Persians, Romans, early Christians, Byzantines, Seljuk Turks and Ottomans.

Historically, Cappadocia Turkey is probably best known for being a place where Christians settled and sought refuge from the hostile Roman Empire, secretly carving thousands of houses, churches, and caves into the hills.

Most of these rock buildings and underground cities can still be seen today, and they look just like Star Wars movie sets. Supposedly George Lucas wanted to film parts of the original Star Wars movies in Cappadocia, but the Turkish government turned it down.

Cappadocia is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site , and today it’s one of the tourism hotspots of Turkey. It draws millions of tourists every year (3.8 million in 2019!) who come to enjoy the unique landscapes, cave houses, and hot air balloon rides.

Where Is Cappadocia Turkey?

Cappadocia is located in central Turkey, and the nearest major city and airport is Kayseri.

The Cappadocia tourist area includes the small towns of Goreme, Uchisar, and Urgup, but almost everyone bases themselves in Goreme since it has the best hotels and restaurant choices.

How To Get To Cappadocia Turkey

The best way to get to Cappadocia Turkey is to fly domestically from Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport (SAW) to the Kayseri airport (ASR).

There are a bunch of flights doing this route every day and it only takes 1.5 hours. A one way ticket can cost as little as 150 Liras ($20 USD)! You can shop for flights to Kayseri at Skyscanner.

After you arrive in Kayseri, you’ll need a van transfer since it’s a 1 hour drive to the Goreme town center in Cappadocia. You can arrange this with your hotel, or book it online.

I recommend pre-booking this top rated Cappadocia shared airport transfer for as low as $7 USD per person. They also have private airport transfers for $30 USD. We’ve used this company ourselves and had a great experience!

Where To Stay

Most Cappadocia hotels are located in the towns of Goreme, Uchisar, or Urgup.

Goreme is generally the best area of Cappadocia to stay in because it has a huge variety of restaurants, tour shops, and cave hotels for all budgets — from backpacker to luxury hotels.

The Cappadocia cave hotels below are some of our top recommendations! You can see more options here .  

Best Cappadocia Cave Hotels

Zara Cave Hotel

Taskonaklar

Panoramic Cave Hotel

Anatolian Houses Cave Hotel

Mithra Cave Hotel

Cappadocia Map

Here’s a Cappadocia map below showing the main towns and some of the top tourist sights (click to enlarge).

The 4 popular tours in Cappadocia are color coded and each one covers a different area. My personal favorites are the Red Tour and Green Tour (more on that later).

Cappadocia map (click to enlarge) showing the color coded tour areas: red, green, blue, and orange.

Best Things To Do In Cappadocia

• cappadocia hot air balloon ride.

You can’t miss the famous Cappadocia hot air balloon rides. More than half a million tourists do this every year. The balloons are fun to watch from the ground, and even more fun to fly in!

You can wait and book your balloon ride once you arrive in Cappadocia, but I would recommend pre-booking online because it’s a very popular activity that can sell out.

Here’s a top rated 1-hour Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon Ride with free hotel pickup starting at $70 USD. We’ve used this company ourselves and had a great experience!

Book Now: Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon Ride

Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon

The famous Cappadocia Turkey balloon rides (© GetYourGuide )

• Devrent Valley

This is a neat valley with a lot of uniquely shaped natural rock formations.

Some of them look like the typical chimney rocks, while others are shaped like animals or humans. The most popular one is Camel Rock, which has a neck and humps like a camel!

Devrent Valley is part of the Cappadocia Red Tour .

Devrent Valley

The famous Camel Rock at Devrent Valley

• Monks Valley (Pasabag)

This was one of my favorite stops on the Cappadocia Red Tour .

Like the name implies, Monks Valley was inhabited by monks in ancient times who carved their own homes and windows into the steep chimney shaped rocks.

Monks Valley (Pasabag)

This is a historic town just a short distance north of Goreme, and a lot of Cappadocia visitors stop here as part of the historic Red Tour .

Avanos is known for its pottery and artistic plates and mugs, and even if you don’t plan on buying souvenirs it’s definitely worth a visit to see their wares being made. Lots of talent!

Avanos pottery

A fancy plate in Avanos

• Love Valley

This valley gets its name from the natural phallic shaped rocks. There are a bunch of short, easy trails in the valley if you want to do some easy hiking!

Love Valley is part of the Cappadocia Red Tour .

Love Valley

• Goreme Open Air Museum

This area is full of interesting cave churches from the 11th and 12th centuries. You can go inside them, and some of the frescoes on the walls are fantastic.

The Goreme Open Air Museum is part of the Cappadocia Red Tour .

Goreme Open Air Museum

Wall murals

• Uchisar Castle

Uchisar is a town just a short distance southwest of Goreme, and the central landmark is a 60-meter tall ‘castle mountain’ carved into rocks.

It’s the highest point of Cappadocia Turkey, and you can get some amazing panoramic views from the top of the tower.

Uchisar Castle is part of the Cappadocia Red Tour .

Uchisar Castle

The small town of Uchisar

• Derinkuyu Underground City

There are 36 underground cities in Cappadocia and the deepest one is Derinkuyu.

This city is 85 meters deep in the ground, and it has stables, churches, storage rooms, and thousands of ventilation ducts that gave it fresh air when people were living in it. It’s a fascinating place to explore!

Derinkuyu is part of the Cappadocia Green Tour , but some companies go to Kaymakli instead. Kaymakli is the deepest underground city, and Derinkuyu is the widest.

Cappadocia Underground City

• Ihlara Valley

This is a 100 meter deep valley formed by the Melendiz River.

At one time, this valley was home to 80,000 people, and thousands of their cave houses and churches can still be seen in the rock walls. It’s an amazing area that can be seen on a day trip with some light trekking.

The Ihlara Valley trek is part of the Cappadocia Green Tour .

Ihlara Valley

• Melendiz River

This is a peaceful clear river that runs through the Ihlara Valley, and most day tours stop by the river for lunch.

In the autumn season (mid-October), you can see bright yellow fall colors here.

• Selime Monastery

This is the biggest religious structure in the Cappadocia area, and it’s one of my favorites.

It looks just like a Star Wars set, and you can go inside most of the buildings, which date back to the 8th or 9th centuries.

Selime Monastery is part of the Cappadocia Green Tour .

Selime Monastery

Inside the Selime Monastery

• Pigeon Valley

This is a great hiking valley near Uchisar with lots of easy walking trails that wind through the chimney rocks and cave houses.

Pigeon Valley is part of the Cappadocia Green Tour .

Pigeon Valley

Fall colors at Pigeon Valley

How To Get Around Cappadocia

• Walking: If you’re staying in Goreme and want some exercise, a bunch of nice sights will be in walking distance from your hotel. Some ideas would be Rose Valley, Lovers Hill (sunrise point), and the countless cave houses and churches.
• Horseback: This is another fun way to go sightseeing in Cappadocia. You can find 2-hour horseback riding tours online starting at $50 USD.
• Car + Driver: The most comfortable and efficient way to explore Cappadocia is to hire a private driver . Prices for a 4-8 hour tour start at $60 USD. If you have a couple of friends joining you, this can be very economical. If your group is bigger than 3, you can even hire a private van for even better savings.
• Scooter: As a solo traveler, renting a scooter in Goreme can be cost effective sometimes. Prices run about $30-$40 USD for the whole day.
• ATV: Quad biking can be another fun way to see Cappadocia, and the terrain is perfect for it. You can find Cappadocia ATV tours online starting at $25 USD for 2 hours.
• Group Tour: There are lots of Cappadocia group tours that you can join if you’re a couple or solo traveler. These normally include hotel pickup, lunch, and a full day of sightseeing. Read the section below for some more info on recommended Cappadocia tours!

Best Cappadocia Tours

The 4 popular tours in Cappadocia are color coded (Red, Green, Blue, Orange) and each one covers a different area of Cappadocia. My personal favorites are the Red Tour and Green Tour .

The Red Tour covers sights like Devrent Valley, Monks Valley, Avanos, the Goreme Open Air Museum, and Uchisar Castle. The Green Tour covers Ihlara Valley, Melendiz River, Selime Monastery, Pigeon Valley, and the Derinkuyu Underground City.

The Blue and Orange tours are less popular, and they cover sights like Ortasihar and the Gulsehir Open Air Museum. I didn’t do these tours, but we plan to try them next time we visit Cappadocia.

For the Red and Green tours, you can book them with a tour agency on the street in the Cappadocia, or you can pre-book the same tours online, which is what I did.

GetYourGuide has the Cappadocia Red Tour for $35 USD, or the Green Tour for $55 USD, with free lunch and hotel pickup included. We’ve used GetYourGuide for lots of tours and activities around the world, and they’re great! Highly recommended.

Book Now: Cappadocia Red Tour / Green Tour

How Long To Stay

At least 2 full days in Cappadocia are needed if you want to do both Red and Green tours and see the highlights of the countryside.

I’m sure you could spend longer too if you want to hit up more of the hiking paths and leave no stone unturned. Besides, Goreme town is a great place to get stuck, with loads of good Turkish restaurants!

If you plan to do the Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon ride, I would add at least 2 extra days to your itinerary in case the weather doesn’t cooperate. The balloon rides can get canceled on windy days, so it’s good to have a little extra time as a safety buffer.

Best Time To Visit Cappadocia

The best time to visit Cappadocia Turkey just depends on what you’re looking for. It’s a nice place all year round, but the temperatures go up and down quite a bit with the seasons.

Cappadocia has hot summers, and cold winters with snow. In either season, the landscapes will be stunning and photogenic, and hotels have air conditioning and heating so you’ll still be comfortable.

I went in the autumn (October) and this seemed just about perfect. The crowds weren’t too bad, and the leaves on the trees were almost at peak color.

Spring would also be a great time to visit, because you’ll get cooler temperatures and less crowds.

Happy travels!

More Turkey Travel Guides

Thanks for looking! I hope you enjoyed this Cappadocia Turkey travel guide.

Don’t forget to check out my other Turkey travel guides for more tips, info, and photos!

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The Ideal 3 Days in Cappadocia Itinerary (+Map & Tips)

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Planning to spend three days in Cappadocia, Turkey , or Türkiye and wondering what to do in Cappadocia in 3 days? Look no further! To make the most of your time, our ultimate 3 days in Cappadocia itinerary reveals the must-see sights and hidden treasures that promise a trip of a lifetime.

Cappadocia Trip: First Impressions

A place so unreal it feels like stepping into a fantasy novel – that’s Cappadocia!

I spent 5 days in Cappadocia, crisscrossing its scenic expanse and delving into its nooks and crannies.

Initially, I was skeptical, thinking maybe this place was just another overhyped destination. And yes, tbh Cappadocia has its touristy moments.

But you know what?

There are moments and experiences here that are worth every bit of the hype—like that ethereal sunrise from a hot air balloon, discovering culinary wonders in tucked-away cave restaurants, uncovering the layers of history & culture at its intricate underground cities and open-air museums, walking amidst fairy chimneys—the architectural marvel sculpted by nature herself, or staying in a cave dwelling that whispers stories of ancient civilization.

These magical touches transform Cappadocia from an ‘overrated’ spot to a truly captivating destination that defies expectations. The reason why it’s granted UNESCO World Heritage status.

Did you know? Cappadocia’s name comes from the Old Persian ‘Katpatuka,’ meaning ‘land of beautiful horses’. Once famed for its prized equines, the area still echoes its grand, horse-loving history, even if you won’t spot these beauties today.

Three Days in Cappadocia: An Interactive Map

A Brief Cappadocia Itinerary for 3 Days

Day 1: Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride + Goreme Open Air Museum + Uchisar Castle + Esentepe Panoramic Viewpoint + Ortahisar Castle + Pasabag Valley + Zelve Open Air Museum + Devrent Valley Day 2: Catch & Capture the Sight of Hot Air Balloons + Derinkuyu or Kaymakli Underground City + Ihlara Valley + Selime Monastery + Sunset at Lake Tuz (Option 1) or Lake Nar (Option 2) or Whirling Dervishes Ceremony (Option 3) or Sunset from Red Valley (Option 4) Day 3: Sunrise Hike in Red and Rose Valley + Avanos + Shopping + Sunset ATV Tour

A Detailed 3 days in Cappadocia Itinerary

Exploring Cappadocia is like stepping into a dream where every twist and turn is an Instagram moment, every meal is a delight, and every sunrise feels like the first.

Trust me, you’ll leave a piece of your heart in this rocky paradise.

…preferences. Whether you’re a thrill-seeker chasing the next big adventure, a history lover eager to unearth ancient secrets or a casual traveler content with life’s simple joys, Cappadocia has something extraordinary in store for you.

I’ve sprinkled in alternative activities and dining options throughout the post, so you can truly tailor this journey to be your own dream escape.

Whether you’re swapping a hot air balloon ride for a sunrise hike or opting for a hidden-gem restaurant over a popular hotspot, this itinerary is your canvas and Cappadocia is your palette.

So go ahead, mix, match, and make this trip as unique as you are!

Traveler’s Tip: Here’s a golden nugget of advice before we dive into your day-by-day Cappadocian escapade: rise and shine early to make the most of Cappadocia—more time to explore, less crowd, better photos, and a magical start to your day. You won’t regret seizing the day right from the get-go.

Day 1 of 3 Days in Cappadocia Itinerary: Soak Up a Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride + Discover North Cappadocia

Day 1 in Cappadocia is all about making a grand, sky-high entrance and then grounding yourself in the rich textures of the land.

To simplify, you’ll enjoy the iconic hot air balloon ride (the much-anticipated experience), explore the best sights in North Cappadocia –  Göreme Open Air Museum ,  Uchisar Castle ,  Monks Valley  aka  Pasabag ,  Devrent Valley , and  Zelve Open Air Museum , and of course, savor Cappadocia’s local delights.

Typically, Avanos is a quick stop on the north Cappadocia tour. But trust me on this: it’s such a hidden gem that it deserves your undivided attention. That’s why I’ve saved it for Day 3 of your Cappadocia itinerary, giving you ample time to fully soak in its irresistible charm.

Quick Detour: If you’re short on time but long on curiosity, a Red Tour of North Cappadocia is an absolute lifesaver! It knocks out the planning woes and the transport tangles, letting you revel in the region’s highlights in just half a day. For those who prefer the driver’s seat, renting a car or hailing a taxi works wonders too.

Looking for reliable & affordable car hire in Turkey?

We trust and recommend Local Rent which promises transparency, security, convenience, personal touch, and incredible savings.

4:30 am: Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride

The crowning moment of your inaugural day in Cappadocia has got to be the hot air balloon ride —fingers crossed for clear skies and no cancellations!

Note: Booking your hot air balloon ride in advance is a must, especially, when you’re on a tight Cappadocia schedule. You see, these flights are at the mercy of Mother Nature, and if she’s not in the mood, flights can be called off. But don’t sweat it—if your flight gets grounded due to bad weather, your booking and cash are safe. You’ll simply be rescheduled for the next available flight. This is why it’s a smart move to allow for an extra day in Cappadocia; you’ll have a backup plan if your initial flight doesn’t take off.

Expect your tour company to swing by your hotel around 4 a.m., whisking you off to the mystical launch site.

The atmosphere is charged with anticipation as pilots and crew bustle around, inflating a sea of vibrant balloons.

Once you’re airborne, it’s nothing short of spellbinding.

You’ll gently drift over an otherworldly tableau of fairy chimneys, craggy valleys, and ancient, stone-carved edifices—shifting your perspective—both literally and metaphorically.

The adrenaline pumps through your veins as the sun casts its first rays, painting the sky in hues of orange and pink.

It’s as if the whole of Cappadocia is welcoming you with open arms. You’ll want to etch every second of this experience into your memory.

All the while, a kaleidoscope of balloons punctuates the sky, making the rising sun even more breathtaking.

Turquaz Balloons & Royal Balloon deliver some of the best hot air balloon experiences in Cappadocia, hands down. Their more cozy, less crowded baskets make for an intimate skyward journey. They’ve got your transportation covered too, picking you up and dropping you off. And as a welcome finishing touch to your aerial escapade, they serve up a glass of celebratory Champagne and a light morning meal.

8 am: Breakfast at Café Safak

Start your day at Café Safak in Göreme for a hearty breakfast.

This cozy little family-run cafe with a bohemian vibe is a must-visit when in Cappadocia.

Not only do they serve mouthwatering meals all day—from breakfast to dinner—but the staff, oh the staff, are the friendliest bunch you’ll ever meet.

Plus, it’s a real bang for your buck, offering phenomenal value for such top-notch grub.

Do try one of their homemade pastries and killer smoothies!

Stuffed to the gills, it’s time to dive deep into the historic and natural wonders of North Cappadocia.

9 am: Explore Goreme Open Air Museum

Kickstart your North Cappadocia expedition at the pièce de résistance of all the places in Cappadocia , Goreme Open Air Museum .

It’s crucial to head over here as the doors swing open to immerse yourself in the rich history and culture before the tourist tidal wave hits.

Just So You Know: We kicked off our day at the Goreme Open-Air Museum right when the gates swung open at 8 a.m., then headed for breakfast to escape the crowds. Trust me on this: you might want to follow suit for a more peaceful experience.

A great photo-op, for sure, it’s a living, breathing showcase of Cappadocia’s fascinating past.

Trust me, you’ll appreciate the extra time to soak it all in without the elbow-jostling crowds that arrive later.

A UNESCO wonder, stepping into its captivating cave churches and monasteries adorned with Byzantine frescoes that have survived over a millennium is like stepping into a time machine, one that respects both art and devotion in equal measure.

Especially unmissable is the Dark Church , although its glory comes at an extra fee .

Tucked away just outside the main complex of Goreme Open-Air Museum, Buckle Church feels like a hidden track on a classic album—utterly surprising and equally enchanting. Don’t miss it!

Entrance Fee: 480 TL + 130 TL (Dark Church) Opening Hours: 8 am to 5 pm

10 am: Climb the Uchisar Castle

Feeling all cultured up, you’ll head toward Uchisar Castle, the highest point in Cappadocia.

Nestled atop a craggy rock outcrop, this age-old citadel serves as a grand observatory, offering sweeping vistas that you won’t easily forget.

Entrance Fee: 120 TL Opening Hours: 5 am to 9 pm

11 am: Stop By Esentepe Panoramic Viewpoint

Located between Uchisar and Goreme, Esentepe Panoramic Viewpoint aka Pigeon Valley Viewpoint offers you an unobstructed, jaw-dropping view of the moonscape landscape that Cappadocia is famous for.

While you’re at the viewpoint, you’ll find yourself spellbound by the vast stretch of unique rock formations, captivating fairy chimneys, and beautiful valleys.

This spot also happens to be a photographer’s favorite, offering the perfect backdrop to frame the hot air balloons as they drift above the dreamlike landscape.

12 pm: Coffee Break at Lavanta Panorama Cafe

Give your senses a little treat with some tea or coffee or a nibble at Lavanta Panorama Cafe before venturing to Ortahisar Castle.

Seated on a terrace that’s practically hanging off a cliff, providing you with panoramic views of Cappadocia’s stunning landscape – it’s a feast for the eyes and the tummy!

1 pm: Ortahisar Castle

Perched on Cappadocia’s largest fairy chimney, Ortahisar Castle offers a view that’s nothing short of a visual feast.

Cappadocia is all about awe-inspiring vistas, you see!

A climb to the top, a bit challenging—is more than worth the effort.

And, because it’s somewhat off the beaten path compared to other sites in Cappadocia, it makes for a serene, reflective experience.

Entrance Fee: 30 TL Opening Hours: 8 am to 5 pm

2 pm: Lunch at Family Cave Restaurant

Dining inside an actual cave that’s been carved out of Cappadocia’s iconic rock formations – it’s as cool as it sounds!

Family Cave Restaurant is famous among travelers for its authentic culinary delights, local charm, and warm hospitality.

In essence, it offers a special culinary and cultural experience that’s totally scrapbook-worthy.

3 pm: Pasabag or Monk’s Valley

Tall, mushroom-shaped rock formations known as “fairy chimneys” have been shaped by nature over time through wind and water erosion.

These interesting shapes, which were once homes to ancient Christian hermits, are spread across a valley. It’s a place where natural beauty and ancient history come together beautifully.

Entrance Fee: 280 TL (includes Zelve Open Air Museum entrance) Opening Hours: 8 am to 5 pm or 7 pm (depending on the season)

4 pm: Zelve Open Air Museum

Not far from here is Zelve Open Air Museum , an erstwhile monastic hamlet with a sprawling 1.5-kilometer walking path that weaves through three valleys filled with historic relics. Folks lived here until as recently as 1952!

You’ll wander through a bygone era, absorbing the sights of cave dwellings, ancient churches, a mosque, and even a ruined town square, mostly in ruins but breathtaking nonetheless.

With no roped-off areas allowing you to clamber over rocks, crawl through tunnels, and climb steep steps carved into the cliff faces, It’s a more hands-on, feel-the-dirt-under-your-fingernails kind of museum experience.

5 pm: Devrent Valley or Imagination Valley

It’s here where Mother Nature decided to let her creativity run wild, and oh boy, did she deliver!

As you wander through the valley or rather an art gallery, your imagination is your best tour guide.

Here, rocks resemble all sorts of creatures and objects. There’s a camel, a snake, and even a seal!

If you squint a little, you can see a dolphin playfully leaping out of the ground. The fun lies in how many different shapes and figures you and your travel partners can spot. Trust me, it’s like playing “Where’s Waldo,” but with rocks.

Entrance Fee: Free Opening Hours: 24X7

8 pm: Authentic Anatolian Dinner at Dibek

End your day at Dibek, a charming and traditional restaurant housed in a centuries-old stone building.

With low wooden tables, kilim cushions, and a menu that celebrates the rich culinary heritage of the region, Dibek offers an authentic Cappadocian dining experience.

The restaurant is famous for its testi kebab aka pottery kebab, a savory meat (a vegetarian version is available) dish deeply rooted in the region’s culinary and artisan history.

The unveiling of the kebab from its clay pot is nothing short of dramatic! The server delicately cracks open the earthen vessel with a practiced tap of a mallet, allowing the aromatic steam and flavors to burst forth like an edible firework.

And then, he gracefully serves each portion, carefully laying the succulent meat and richly spiced vegetables onto your plate, making it an experience you’ll relish long after the flavors have left your palate.

Don’t Miss Out: While Cappadocia is a bucket-list destination with its hot air balloons and unique rock formations, Turkey has so much more to offer. Once you’ve had your fill of fairy chimneys, why not catch a breeze on the Aegean coast? Make sure to check out Ayvalik , a charming town where olive groves meet the sea. Or if you’re into the bohemian lifestyle, Alacati is your go-to for windsurfing and cobblestone streets.

Day 2 of 3 Days in Cappadocia Itinerary: Catch the Vibrant Sight of Hot Air Balloons + Explore South Cappadocia

Day 2 in your 3 days Cappadocia itinerary starts with the mesmerizing sight of hot air balloons coloring the sky at dawn and then diving into the southern region’s famous sights as well as hidden gems for the rest of the day.

Just So You Know: Today’s a Green Tour kind of day! Just like the Red Tour is your go-to for exploring northern Cappadocia, the Green Tour is tailor-made for a whirlwind trip through the south. Especially if you’re watching the clock, this tour is a time-savvy way to catch all the must-see spots in South Cappadocia. So, why not make the most of your limited time and let the Green Tour guide you through the region’s wonders?

5 am: Behold the Colorful Dance of Hot Air Balloons Across the Cappadocian Sky

After you’ve soared among them, it’s a whole different thrill to watch the hot air balloons glide over Cappadocia from solid ground.

Remember those picture-perfect moments you’ve seen all over social media, particularly Instagram—people lounging on charming terraces, a scrumptious Turkish breakfast spread before them, and, of course, the classic Cappadocian sky filled with hot air balloons—a Cappadocia signature you just can’t miss!

Many hotels here know what a draw this is and offer private terraces perfect for balloon gazing. Sultan Cave Suites and Mithra Cave Hotel are just a couple of the big names in the game when it comes to stellar rooftop views.

Don’t sweat it if your hotel isn’t on that list—there are dedicated balloon-watching tours that will take you to prime spots for capturing the spectacle. Love Valley Viewpoint and Goreme Hill Viewpoint are hot tickets for these panoramic views.

We were lucky enough to have a rental car , so we zigzagged between various viewpoints, making our balloon-watching experience all the more eclectic and exciting!

8 am: Derinkuyu or Kaymakli Underground City

Originating from the Bronze Age, Cappadocia is a treasure trove of subterranean cities. Out of hundreds that are believed to exist, 36 have been unearthed and just a select few—six, to be exact—are open for public admiration.

Derinkuyu is the deepest, and Kaymakli is one of the oldest. If your time is ticking, Kaymakli should be your pick.

It’s not just easier to navigate due to its open spaces and fewer floors, but it’s also well-lit, making it camera-friendly and less claustrophobic. Plus, it’s less crowded than Derinkuyu.

Whichever underground marvel you pick, be ready for an otherworldly journey. These underground cities are complex communities with everything from bedrooms and kitchens to wine cellars and schools.

Ingeniously designed stone doors and natural ventilation systems are sprinkled throughout, leaving you in awe of this ancient ingenuity.

Entrance Fee: 300 TL Opening Hours: 8 am to 5 pm

10 am: Ihlara Valley or Peristrema Valley

Up next is Ihlara Valley, aka Peristrema Valley—a stunning gorge where nature and history shake hands and decide to be best friends forever!

Surrounded by towering rock cliffs that ascend over 150 meters into the sky, the valley stretches about 14 km. The Melendiz River, the beating heart of the valley, winds its way through the entire stretch, nurturing the lush landscape that has thrived here for centuries.

Scattered throughout the valley are Byzantine-era churches carved right into the rock. We’re talking about around 50 of these ancient gems!

Each has its own story and unique frescoes that have withstood the test of time. Talk about a nature walk with some historical pit stops!

Coming to the practical details, there are four different entry points to the valley: Ihlara village entrance, the main entrance, Belisirma village entrance, and Selime village entrance.

You don’t have to trek the whole 14 km (unless you’re up for the challenge, of course!).

Most tours typically descend from the main entrance (get ready for those 300 steps!), and go on a 4 km hike that exits at Belisirma village. It’s like a ‘best-of’ album of Ihlara Valley.

Entrance Fee: 330 TL (includes entry to Selime Monastery) Opening Hours: 8:30 am to 7 pm

12 pm: Early Lunch at Belisirma Village

Many riverside restaurants at Belisirma take waterfront dining to a whole new level by offering tables that are literally in the river.

Enjoy a sumptuous lunch as the refreshing waters of the Melendiz River playfully caress your feet.

1 pm: Selime Monastery

Your day winds up at Selime Monastery. Think of it as an ancient skyscraper carved into rock.

Established in the 8th century, this fascinating complex includes a cathedral-size church, living spaces, a kitchen, and even camel stables.

Climbing its steep staircase rewards you with panoramic vistas of Cappadocia’s surreal landscapes.

2 pm: Ease Up and Regain Your Energy at Your Accommodation

Recharging is all part of the journey.

And why not when you’ve got the luxury of time on your side? Isn’t it?

Yes, Day 2 is technically done, but guess what? You’ve still got plenty of time left for even more Cappadocia magic! What’s the plan? No need to fret, I’ve got you covered! I have a few irresistible suggestions for you!

Option 1: Catch the Mesmerizing Sunset at Lake Tuz

Take a little over 2 hours drive to Lake Tuz (Tuz Golu) in the small town of Sereflikochisar near Aksaray to catch, perhaps, one of the most breathtaking sunsets you’ll likely ever witness. Seriously, your camera won’t get a rest!

The second largest salt lake in Turkey, Lake Tuz turns into a mirror as the sun descends, reflecting the fiery skies in its tranquil waters.

Entrance Fee: Free Opening Hours: 24×7

Option 2: Head Over to Lake Nar

Tucked away near the town of Nevsehir, Lake Nar aka Narligol or Acigol is a beautiful volcanic crater lake that takes about an hour to reach from Goreme.

The lake’s waters are slightly acidic due to the volcanic minerals such as calcium, sodium, and bicarbonate but incredibly clear, reflecting the sky like nature’s own mirror.

Its unique chemical makeup imparts therapeutic qualities believed to be effective in treating various conditions.

Option 3: Experience the Mystical Whirling Dervishes Ceremony

If you missed the chance to catch the Whirling Dervishes in Istanbul , you can still immerse yourself in the mesmerizing Sufi ritual of a sema right here in Cappadocia.

Set against the backdrop of a stunningly restored caravanserai, it’s a traditional dance, in fact, it’s more like a spiritual journey. As the dervishes whirl, you’ll find yourself drawn into their orbit, losing yourself in the divine and getting a sense of the eternal.

The ceremony lasts for about an hour or so and the price per person is about 35 to 40 euros.

You can book a tour like this or this one that includes a pickup and drop-off.

Option 4: Watch the Sun Go Down Over Red Valley

A quintessential Cappadocia experience, perhaps, but, an essential one.

The Red Valley earns its name every evening, as the setting sun transforms its rocks into a glowing canvas of fiery hues.

As the sun makes its grand exit, the valley turns into one of Cappadocia’s most spectacular sunset viewpoints, almost as if nature itself is putting on a show.

While there isn’t an official entrance fee to the park, we were charged 30 Turkish Lira for our car by the gatekeeper. The good news is that this fee covered us for the entire day, allowing us to experience both the breathtaking sunrise and the stunning sunset.

9 pm: Dinner at Anatolian Kitchen

If you’re a foodie on a Cappadocian adventure, missing out on the Anatolian Kitchen would be, in my book, an epicurial sin. The meal here is truly a feast for all your senses.

Adds to the authentic menu is a rustic space punctuated by the warm glow of Turkish lanterns and soulful live music.

If you are a vegetarian like me, try their Imam Bayildi-eggplant at its finest—stuffed with a hearty mix of onions, garlic, and tomatoes.

Day 3 of 3 Days in Cappadocia Itinerary: Hiking + Shopping

6 am: sunrise hike in red & rose valley.

The most beautiful hikes in Cappadocia, Rose & Red Valley trails are absolutely surreal, especially when the sun’s first rays hit the rock formations, creating a spectrum of reds and pinks.

To seize the day, get an early start. Think pre-dawn! So, set that alarm and layer up; it can be a bit nippy in the mornings.

You can kick things off from Göreme, making your way toward the Open Air Museum and following the trail signs to the Rose Valley, concluding at Cavusin Village.

This 7.6 km loop trail is sprinkled with awe-inspiring fairy chimneys, cave churches (don’t miss the Hacli Kilise, also known as the Church of the Cross or the Crusader Church), and terracotta-hued cliffs.

It takes anywhere between 2 to 3 hours to complete, depending on how many stops you make. Trust me, you’ll want to pause a lot to soak it all in.

While the entire trail offers stunning views, the best place to catch the sunrise is from a vantage point near the Crusader Church. This elevated spot gives you a panoramic view of the landscape, so the sun seems to rise right out of the fairy chimneys, casting an ethereal glow on the valley below.

On the way, you’ll come across quaint little tea gardens to enjoy freshly brewed Turkish tea and coffee.

You’re already in the know, but it bears repeating: Lace up your sturdiest hiking boots, slather on that sunscreen, pack a water bottle and some trail mix, and don’t forget to keep your GPS within arm’s reach.

After you’re back and all spruced up, seize the scrumptious breakfast your hotel has to offer. Then, hit the road to soak up every last droplet of Cappadocian magic on your final day.

10 am: Avanos

No trip to Cappadocia would be complete without checking out the pottery scene in Avanos.

The creative heart of Cappadocia, Avanos has been a hub for pottery since the time of the Hittites.

It’s here you can behold the art of transforming simple red clay into intricate pottery. That red clay is sourced from the residue of the Kizilirmak River, also known as the Red River, which courses through the town.

Now, you can’t talk about pottery in Avanos without mentioning Chez Galip, a master potter so gifted he’s often called the ‘Einstein of Pottery.’

Stepping into his workshop is like entering a magical realm where clay bends and twists at the will of a true artist. It’s here you can admire as well as experience the art of pottery.

Watching the artisans in action, as they gracefully spin the potter’s wheel and execute intricate designs with years of experience guiding their hands is nothing short of mesmerizing.

The grand finale of the whole experience—you can take home some truly one-of-a-kind ceramic art pieces. I was completely smitten by the iznik floral tiles featuring Whirling Dervishes, so naturally, they had to come home with me.

Mini-me snagged a stylish mug that’s just as great for morning coffee as it is for evening tea. Every time I gaze at those tiles or see that cup in use, I’m instantly transported back to the enchanting atmosphere of Chez Galip Pottery and Ceramics Art Gallery . These souvenirs are actually little pieces of Cappadocian art and soul!

Our guide, Mehmet, is a devoted artisan who plays a pivotal role at Chez Galip. Her enthusiasm for pottery could light up a room. With her in-depth knowledge and palpable passion, our tour transformed from a simple informative walk into a genuine source of inspiration!

For mini-me, it was a real educational treat, she relished wandering through chambers bursting with exquisite art. Seeing my teen’s keen interest in pottery, Mehmet even mused that she could be the next star potter at Chez Galip someday. Just imagine that—our family vacation could turn into a life calling! How fabulous would that be?

PS: Navigating your way to Chez Galip’s pottery wonderland is a cinch if you’ve got wheels of your own—we had a rental car and it was smooth sailing. But don’t sweat it if you’re not rolling on four wheels; group tours are a great alternative. Honestly, however you get there, simply make sure you do. Trust me, you won’t want to miss out on this slice of Cappadocian magic!

Next, you can plan to visit the Guray Museum . Settled into the natural caves of Cappadocia, this museum enjoys the title of being the world’s first underground ceramic museum.

It’s a treasure trove of ancient techniques kept alive, exquisite ceramics, and intricate pottery designs more like an artistic legacy.

The museum generally operates seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., but it’s always a good idea to check the latest timings online or give them a quick call. There’s an entrance fee of 100 TL.

Oh, and you think that’s all Avanos has up its sleeve?

Buckle up because it’s home to one of the quirkiest museums you’ll ever set foot in— Chez Galip’s Hair Museum .

Yep, you heard it right! This isn’t your typical museum filled with ancient artifacts or modern art; it’s a collection of hair samples from thousands of women from around the world. Each lock of hair comes with a story, making the museum a fascinating melange of human experiences.

Mini-me and I are now part of the exhibit at the Hair Museum, right alongside thousands of others. A strand of our hair is on display for all to see. How’s that for leaving a lasting impression on Cappadocia? Cool or quirky, you decide! 😉

Visiting is free, but no photos, please—privacy is a big deal here. Why? Women who donate their locks also jot down their names and phone numbers. Why again?

Twice a year, names are chosen right off the museum walls, and the lucky ladies win a week-long, all-expenses-paid trip to Cappadocia, including pottery workshops. It’s the artist’s unique way of saying ‘thank you’ for contributing to this one-of-a-kind spot.

2 pm: Lunch at Happena Cappadocia

Featuring a cozy setting with warm, inviting interiors, windows framing those iconic fairy chimneys, a unique menu that ingeniously modernizes traditional dishes, and top-notch service, a meal at Happena Cappadocia offers an unforgettable fusion of flavor and scenery.

And not to mention their wine list! Sourced from local vineyards, they’ve got options that perfectly complement the dishes.

3 pm: Discover Local Gems, Go Shopping

Shopping in Cappadocia is like stepping into a kaleidoscope of colors, textures, and aromas.

Here in towns like Avanos, Urgup, and Goreme, each store is a treasure trove.

Avanos, the pottery capital of the region is a perfect place to buy beautiful ceramic and pottery items.

Urgup is a hub for textiles. If you’re on the hunt for beautiful Turkish rugs, cushions, or tapestries, it’s the answer.

Goreme is known for its outdoor markets that offer a mix of everything, from spices and dried fruits to handmade soaps and trinkets. If you want to fill your bags with diverse souvenirs, this is your spot.

Yes, Cappadocia is also known for its wines. A bottle or two could be the perfect gift for the wine aficionado in your life—or maybe a treat for yourself!

Also, Onyx gemstone is native to the area and you’ll find plenty of jewelry made from it.

5:30 pm: Sunset ATV Adventure Tour

Helmet on, the engine revved, and there you are—zipping through the iconic valleys, exploring the out-of-the-way nooks and crannies, all while the sun sinks lower, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink. Talk about a heart-pounding, dust-kicking, totally Instagrammable experience!

If you are game, this & this are among Cappadocia’s most exhilarating Sunset ATV tours that’ll show you Cappadocia as you’ve never seen it before. The tours take you through the Sword, White, Love, Red, and Rose Valleys.

Note: If ATV adventure isn’t your cup of Turkish tea, Cappadocia offers an array of other sunset experiences that are just as enchanting. You can refer to the options I mentioned for Day 2. This is your perfect chance to circle back and dive into that one unforgettable experience you had your eye on but had to pass up.

8 pm: Dinner at Dolphin Restaurant

End your trip on a high note at Dolphin Restaurant .

The restaurant might not be the star of Cappadocia’s culinary scene, but let me tell you, it’s a hidden gem you don’t want to overlook.

While it may not have the limelight, it more than compensates with flavorsome food, pocket-friendly prices, and impeccable service.

It quickly became our go-to spot when we were roaming around Cappadocia. You’ll find an unpretentious atmosphere here that’s as comforting as the dishes on the menu.

The owner welcomes you as if you’re a cherished member of the family, and that kind of hospitality is simply priceless. He even served us complimentary apple tea as a kind gesture, adding to the entire experience.

But hold on, we’ve got to talk about their beverages—specifically, their hot wine and coffee. Oh, that hot wine! Perfect for sipping on a chilly Cappadocian evening. And the coffee? It’s the kind that could give world-class cafes a run for their money.

So, if you’re in the mood for a dining experience that feels like a warm hug, look no further. Dolphin Restaurant is where you’ll find the essence of Cappadocia in every bite and sip, all without breaking the bank.

Visiting Cappadocia: Essentials

How many days do you need in cappadocia.

At least 2 days! This is the minimum to see the highlights of Cappadocia.

However, I strongly recommend allocating 3 days in Cappadocia to get a taste of the region’s magic without feeling rushed. Plus, and this is crucial, a longer stay gives you the flexibility to reschedule activities like the iconic hot air balloon ride in case of bad weather.

Ultimately, the amount of time to spend in Cappadocia boils down to what you want to see, and do, and how deeply you want to immerse yourself in the local culture, food, and lesser-known spots. But trust me, whether it’s a fleeting visit or an extended stay, Cappadocia will leave its mark on your soul.

What’s the best time to visit Cappadocia?

The spring months of April, May, and June, and the fall months of September and October offer mild temperatures, making outdoor activities like hot air ballooning and hiking more enjoyable making them the best months to visit Cappadocia.

Plus, you’ll avoid the extreme heat of the summer and the cold, snowy conditions of winter.

It’s the sweet spot for taking full advantage of all the wonders Cappadocia has to offer.

How to get to Cappadocia?

The most convenient way to get to Cappadocia is by flying into either Kayseri Erkilet Airport or Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport from Istanbul.

Once you’ve landed, you can take a pre-arranged shuttle , taxi, or private transfer to reach your final destination in the Cappadocia region, which is typically about an hour’s drive away.

Another popular way to reach Cappadocia is by hopping on a long-distance bus, a journey that offers its own kind of scenic charm.

These buses are usually comfortable and well-equipped, taking around 10-12 hours from Istanbul, about 4-5 hours from Ankara, and 8 to 10 hours from Antalya.

Another fantastic option is to join a multi-day guided tour . These 2 or 3-day tours often include not only transportation but also meals, accommodation, and a well-planned itinerary that makes sure you see the best of Cappadocia without having to fret over the details.

This can be a real lifesaver for those who prefer to have everything sorted in advance and want to make the most of their limited time.

And, If you love the freedom of the open road like me and have the luxury of time, of course, there’s truly nothing that compares to driving your way through the breathtaking landscapes en route to Cappadocia .

Whether you’re starting from Istanbul, Ankara, or the coastal gem of Antalya , the road offers you an ever-changing backdrop—from bustling cities to tranquil countryside, from mountain vistas to expansive plains.

How to get around Cappadocia?

In my book, the best way to navigate Cappadocia is undoubtedly by a rental car , a chauffeur-driven vehicle , or a taxi.

Public transport here leaves a bit to be desired, with shared mini-buses known as ‘dolmuş’ being the primary option.

But here’s the catch—these dolmus services can be infrequent and don’t cover all the hidden nooks and crannies that make Cappadocia so special.

Having your own wheels gives you the freedom to meander through winding roads, stop at cliffside viewpoints on a whim, and reach those tucked-away gems you won’t find in any guidebook.

And if you’re not comfortable driving in unfamiliar terrain, a chauffeur-driven vehicle offers the same flexibility but with the added perk of local knowledge.

Where to stay in Cappadocia?

With so many magical towns in the region, each offering a different kind of experience, finding the perfect place to rest your head in Cappadocia can be overwhelming.

Goreme , Urgup , Uchisar , Ortahisar , and Avanos are some of the popular towns in Cappadocia.

If you ask me, I’d recommend staying in Goreme , the beating heart of Cappadocia. The town not only offers a diversity of options, from budget hostels to luxurious cave hotels but, also puts you close to the famous sites. It’s the hub of all things touristy but in the best possible way.

Urgup is perfect for food and wine lovers. A foodie’s paradise, the town boasts some of the region’s best restaurants and wineries.

For all those who crave a quieter, more reflective experience, Uchisar offers an air of exclusivity and solitude. Plus, you get the bonus of waking up to breathtaking panoramic views, as the town is one of the highest points in Cappadocia.

Art and culture enthusiasts are sure to find Avanos intriguing. Known for its pottery, it offers you a piece of traditional Anatolian culture.

Whichever town you choose to stay in, try to book a cave hotel for an authentic experience. Cave dwellings have been a part of Cappadocia’s history for millennia, so staying in one is like tapping directly into the region’s rich past.

It’s like diving deep into the history and culture, immersing yourself to become a part of it.

But don’t worry, you won’t be roughing it like the ancients; today’s cave hotels come with all the modern amenities you’d expect—Wi-Fi, luxurious bathrooms, room service, you name it!

The cave hotels are mostly concentrated in Goreme and Uchisar. The Museum Hotel , Taskonaklar , Kelebek Special Cave Hotel , Sultan Cave Suites , Mithra Cave Hotel , Argos , Fairyland Cave Hotel , and Local Cave House Hotel are some of the best!

If you are looking for a cave hotel in Urgup, Yunak Elveri and Kayakapi Premium Caves are a few gems.

We stayed in the Erenbey Cave Hotel in Goreme. With comfortable, rustic rooms at an affordable rate, it’s located right in the heart of Goreme. And the best part is their warm and inviting hospitality. We often found ourselves wrapped up in delightful conversations with the hosts.

They even gave us little mementos (a bag that contained a hot air balloon keychain, some pouches of authentic Turkish coffee, and a box of Turkish delight) to hold onto the memories. How fabulous is that?

Heads-up! If you’re not splurging on a King Suite, the view from the terrace at Erenbey Cave Hotel might not exactly take your breath away. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice and all, but it won’t give you those jaw-dropping vistas of hot air balloons drifting gracefully over a sea of fairy chimneys that you might’ve envisioned.

But then there are plenty of panoramic spots nearby to fill your Instagram grid or, you know, simply fill your soul. After all, Erenbey offers so much warmth and character that a less-than-perfect view can easily be overlooked.

Cappadocia Travel Tips

Here are some insider tips that’ll help you make the most of your time in Cappadocia.

➼ While many people in the tourist industry speak English, it wouldn’t hurt to know a few basic Turkish phrases. A little Turkish goes a long way. Simple phrases, polite gestures, and a warm smile can enhance your experience significantly. ➼ Credit cards are accepted in many places, but you’ll want some Turkish Lira for those quaint little shops and local markets where plastic money isn’t welcomed with open arms. ➼ Whether you’re at a bazaar in Goreme or eyeing some hand-painted ceramics in Avanos, don’t be shy about bargaining. ➼ You’ll want to pack a light jacket no matter the season. It can be freezing in the morning, especially during the hot air balloon flight. Evenings get chilly too. ➼ Footwear is another biggie. You’re going to be hiking through valleys and climbing over rocks, so leave those fancy heels at home. Sturdy walking shoes are your best buddies in Cappadocia. ➼ Lastly, a hot air balloon ride is often the crown jewel of a Cappadocia visit, but it’s weather-dependent. So, if it’s on your must-do list, try to book it for your first morning. That way, if the flight’s canceled due to weather, you’ve got a couple more days to reschedule. ➼ If you’re a history buff or just someone who likes to delve deep into the places you visit, then invest in a Cappadocia Museum Pass . This pass gives you skip-the-line access to some of the key historical and cultural sites in the region. if you’re more into natural wonders and outdoor adventures, you might give it a pass (see what I did there?) ➼ WiFi is readily available in most hotels and many restaurants, but it’s a good idea to get a local SIM card if you plan to explore the more secluded valleys and caves where WiFi is scarce. ➼ And, not to be overlooked, tipping. It’s customary to leave around a 10% tip at restaurants and for services like guided tours or balloon rides. It’s not mandatory, but it sure is appreciated.

This brings us to the end of 3 days itinerary in Cappadocia!

I’ve crafted this 3 day Cappadocia itinerary in a way to give you a rich blend of awe-inspiring views, a dose of history and culture, and a dash of adventure. And, I hope this guide helps you to make the most of your time in this enchanting landscape.

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Anjali Chawla

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The Ultimate Cappadocia Travel Guide

Plan your perfect trip to cappadocia with our comprehensive guide..

Meta-description: Embark on an unforgettable journey with The Ultimate Cappadocia Travel Guide. Explore this mystic land of fairy chimneys and mesmerizing landscapes. Learn about the best spots, traditional food, activities, and everything you need to plan your Cappadocia trip .

Introduction

Have you ever dreamed of exploring an alien-like landscape on Earth? Have you ever wished to step into a time capsule taking you back to the early days of civilization? If you’ve been nodding in agreement, let me introduce you to Cappadocia, a natural marvel tucked in the heart of Turkey . Let’s dive in and explore this unique destination with The Ultimate Cappadocia Travel Guide.

The Ultimate Cappadocia Travel Guide: An Overview

A snapshot of cappadocia.

Cappadocia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is renowned for its distinctive “fairy chimneys,” tall cone-shaped rock formations clustered in Monks Valley and elsewhere. This enchanting region appears to be plucked straight out of a fantasy novel, with its captivating landscapes, historical caves, and magical hot air balloon rides .

History and Heritage

Steeped in history and heritage, Cappadocia is the cradle of early Christian civilization. The region is dotted with ancient cave churches adorned with Byzantine-era frescoes, and underground cities like Derinkuyu and Kaymakli, serving as silent witnesses to the area’s rich past.

Cappadocia’s Unique Geology

Cappadocia’s unique geology is thanks to the erosion of the soft volcanic rock by wind and water over millions of years, resulting in the iconic landscapes we see today. A walk around the region feels like you’re on another planet, making Cappadocia a geologist’s dream come true.

Planning Your Trip to Cappadocia

Join budget-friendly Cappadocia tours provided by One Nation Travel and experience the wonders.

When to Visit

The best time to visit Cappadocia is during the spring (April to June) and autumn (September to November), as the weather during these periods is more comfortable for outdoor activities.

How to Reach

The easiest way to reach Cappadocia is by flying into either Nevşehir or Kayseri Airport. From there, a taxi or shuttle will get you to your accommodation.

Where to Stay

Cappadocia offers a range of accommodation options to suit different budgets, from luxury cave hotels to budget-friendly guesthouses. Staying in a cave hotel is a unique experience not to be missed!

Unmissable Sights and Activities in Cappadocia

Hot air balloon ride.

Riding a hot air balloon is a must-do activity in Cappadocia. As you float above the fairy chimneys at sunrise, you’ll feel as if you’re in a dream. It’s an experience of a lifetime!

Explore Göreme Open-Air Museum

This UNESCO World Heritage Site, home to ancient cave churches and monastic settlements, offers a glimpse into Cappadocia’s rich history and religious heritage.

Visit the Underground Cities

Step into the labyrinthine tunnels of Kaymakli or Derinkuyu, and marvel at these ancient underground cities. They were once home to early Christians seeking refuge from persecution.

Hiking in the Valleys

Cappadocia’s breathtaking valleys, such as Love Valley, Rose Valley, and Ihlara Valley, are perfect for hiking enthusiasts. The hiking trails pass through beautiful landscapes and offer stunning views of fairy chimneys.

Cappadocian Cuisine: A Feast for the Senses

Traditional delights.

Cappadocia offers a range of delicious dishes. Try the local specialty, “Testi Kebab,” a succulent meat dish slow-cooked in a clay pot.

Wine Tasting

Cappadocia’s fertile lands are perfect for vineyards. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to sample some local wines.

Visit a Turkish Tea House

Unwind at a traditional Turkish tea house and enjoy a hot cup of Turkish tea or coffee – a perfect end to your day of exploring.

Travel Tips for Your Cappadocia Journey

Dress appropriately.

Remember to dress modestly as Turkey is a predominantly Muslim country. Always carry a scarf, especially when visiting religious sites.

Stay Hydrated

Cappadocia can get pretty hot during summer. Ensure to stay hydrated, and wear sunscreen and a hat for protection.

Respect the Environment

Preserve the beauty of Cappadocia by not littering and respecting the natural and historical sites.

What is Cappadocia famous for?

Cappadocia is famous for its unique landscapes dotted with fairy chimneys, ancient cave dwellings, churches, and underground cities. It is also known for its hot air balloon rides, which offer stunning aerial views of the region.

How many days do I need in Cappadocia?

A minimum of two to three days is recommended to explore Cappadocia’s main sights and attractions. However, if you’re a history buff or a hiking enthusiast, you might want to spend more time there.

Is Cappadocia safe for tourists?

Yes, Cappadocia is generally safe for tourists. As with any travel destination, it’s important to stay vigilant, especially in crowded places.

Do people live in the caves in Cappadocia?

While most people no longer live in the caves, many caves have been converted into hotels, restaurants, and museums.

Can I visit Cappadocia in winter?

Yes, you can visit Cappadocia in winter. The fairy chimneys covered in snow make for a magical sight, and the region is less crowded.

Do I need a guide in Cappadocia?

While it’s possible to explore Cappadocia independently, hiring a local guide can enrich your experience as they can provide insights into the history and culture of the region.

The Ultimate Cappadocia Travel Guide aims to provide a comprehensive look into this magical land’s offerings. From unique landscapes to rich historical sites, tantalizing cuisine, and exciting activities, Cappadocia promises an unforgettable experience. So pack your bags and set off on an adventure of a lifetime!

3 Unforgettable Cappadocia Tours Tailored for Your Adventures

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Cappadocia travel guide — the fullest cappadocia tourist guide & cappadocia travel blog for first-timers.

Not only famous for its overwhelming and magnificent mosques, Turkey is also blessed with breathtaking, spectacular natural landscapes. Among the most famous tourist destinations in Turkey must mention to Cappadocia – a land with a scene like straight out from fairy tales. If you love history and love to explore, then Cappadocia in Nevsehir province in central Turkey, 290 km from the capital Ankara is one of the interesting destinations for you. This is a famous natural wonder of Turkey that has been recognized by UNESCO as a world natural heritage since 1985. So, what to do and how to plan a perfect budget trip to Cappadocia for the first-time? Let’s check out our Cappadocia travel blog (Cappadocia blog) with the fullest Cappadocia travel guide (Cappadocia guide, Cappadocia tourist guide) from how to get there, best time to come, where to stay, best places to visit and top things to do to find out the answer!

• Where to go in Cappadocia? — Explore 9 best places to visit in Cappadocia
• Where to stay in Cappadocia? — 8+ Top hotels & best cave hotels in Cappadocia, Turkey
• Cappadocia itinerary — How to spend 3 days in Cappadocia perfectly?
• When is the best time to visit Turkey? — The best, worst, affordable & best season to travel to Turkey
• Top beaches in Turkey — 17+ most beautiful & best beaches in Turkey

Under the brilliant sunset covering the sky of the Cappadocia valley, the hot air balloons with vivid and brilliant colors flying under the sky, making visitors feel like they get lost in a wonderland. Indeed!! It’s not too ostentatious when visitors fondly called Cappadocia is a fairy valley. With thousands of stone pillars (bizarre forms of stone) like chimneys in fairy tales, this place is also known as the “mushroom valley”. Relying on the favor of nature, the people of central Cappadocia have carved and sculptured rocks, caves, mountains into houses, monasteries and churches…

Cappadocia travel guide: Overview of Cappadocia

Cappadocia is located in the central region of the Anatolia peninsula (also known as Asia Minor), in the Nevsehir province in central Turkey. Cappadocia is far from 2 big cities: Istanbul 756 km and Izmir 800 km and 290 km from the capital of Ankara.

About over 50 million years ago, the whole area of ​​Cappadocia was just fissures and craters. Soft rock mountains have formed on that lava bed. After millions of years, thanks to the exogenous effects such as flood water, wind, and rain that make large erosion… have created extremely unique rocky mountains with bizarre stone columns.

Cappadocia is formed from sedimentary rocks and volcanic rocks. Under the influence of external conditions and time, the rock layer gradually eroded and produced unique shapes, sometimes mushrooms, sometimes camels. It is this that has created a fairy scene that is only possible in fairy tales in Cappadocia.

For more details, you can refer to the following Cappadocia tourist map (I have marked attractions, hotels and restaurants):

Cappadocia travel guide: The meaning of the name Cappadocia

The name of Cappadocia has absolutely nothing related with the above-mentioned geological factor, but rather means “the land of beautiful horses”. Since ancient times, when maritime trading was not yet developed, Cappadocia was an important transit point on the legendary of Silk Road.

When the merchants stopped here, they took advantage of trading and choosing horses. And only in Cappadocia there were the best horse breeds that can withstand the “storm and wind” for the long journey over thousands of kilometers to China. The name Cappadocia began to be widely used from then on.

Some interesting facts about Cappadocia:

• Cappadocia once was part of the Roman Empire in the past.
• An estimated 600 churches have been found inside the caves (and this number will increase as there are many more caves yet to be discovered).

Cappadocia travel blog: When should you visit Cappadocia?

According to my Cappadocia travel experience, you should visit here in spring (April – June) or autumn (September – November). These are the 2 best weather periods to both enjoy the beauty of Cappadocia and participate in exploration activities.

Avoid going to Cappadocia in the summer because the temperature at that time can reach 40 degrees Celsius. And because it is a valley, the real feeling will be much more suffocating.

In winter, when snow falls, the whole Cappadocia valley will be like a fairyland. However, if you come in this time, trekking and hot air ballooning activities will be limited.

Cappadocia travel guide: How to get to and getting around Cappadocia?

There are two ways to get from Istanbul to Cappadocia, one is by night bus, the other by plane. I do not recommend you to take the night bus because it takes time (10 – 12 hours) and is not much cheaper (from 60 – 120 TL / one-way). So, we decided to flying. Partly because this is a fairly safe and economical option, and partly because flying to Cappadocia takes exactly 75 minutes, so much faster than taking the bus.

NOTE: To fly to Cappadocia, you can choose to land at Nevsehir or Kayseri airport. But it is more convenient to fly to Nevsehir airport and from Kayseri airport to Goreme town (Central Cappadocia) takes more than 1 hour.

There are 2 airlines operating this Istanbul – Kayseri route: Turkish Airlines and Pegasus Airlines. The price of the two airlines is not much different, but the better and cheaper one is still Turkish Airlines. We took the flight at a good time, so the price was a bit higher (160 TL / round trip). If you willing to fly late at night, it only costs about 98 TL.

Getting from Kayseri Airport to hotel (& vice versa)

You can take the airport shuttle bus or book the hotel transfer service where you will stay. Most tourists often directly book the transfer service of their hotel because the price is very affordable at €10/way with pick-up and drop-off service. If you work hard to deal a little, you will get a little discount, sometimes without pay money. We bought the Balloon Tour + Green Tour + Red Tour of the hotel, so we were offered a free one-way airport shuttle, which helped a lot.

Getting around Cappadocia

The capital of Cappadocia, Goreme which is quite small town, so you can walk around. As for tourist destinations that are quite far apart without public transport, you will have to rent a car with a driver.

You can book a car directly with the hotel (after booking service, the hotel will message you via email or WhatsApp).

Cappadocia travel guide: Where to stay?

Tourists often choose to stay in Goreme town because this is the main capital of Cappadocia, so it gathers many places to eat and drink, convenient for taking tours and also near the hot air balloon launch site. Most of the hotels in Cappadocia are built inside caves, but what is worth the money in each hotel is the balcony area. Because only a hotel with a balcony with a beautiful view can create photos of a lifetime.

The hotel that famous bloggers often stay at is the Sultan Cave Suites ( Agoda.com or Booking.com ) , which located on a high hill with a large balcony with a beautiful morning view of hot air balloons. But the hotel does not have a 4-person room and the price is a bit high, so if you have a good budget, please consider to stay. We stayed in the Goreme Palace Cave Hotel ( Agoda.com or Booking.com ) which also have a virtual living balcony, and it also offer a 4-person room at affordable price that is exactly what we want.

However, not every hotel with a balcony with a nice view can take pictures of the sky filled with hot air balloons. Because wanting to take photos like bloggers did on Instagram depends on the weather and wind direction. When we went to the hotel balcony to take some photos, but because the hot air balloons kept flying to the side, we couldn’t take any pictures.

Below we recommend more best budget, mid-range and upscale hotels with good ratings and reviews you can refer to.

• Aydinli Cave Hotel ( Agoda.com or Booking.com )
• Millstone Cave Suites ( Agoda.com or Booking.com )
• Mithra Cave Hotel ( Agoda.com or Booking.com )
• Kelebek Special Cave Hotel ( Agoda.com or Booking.com )
• Argos In Cappadocia ( Agoda.com or Booking.com )

Check out more top and best hotels in Cappadocia on Agoda.com or Booking.com .

Cappadocia travel blog: Where to go, what to do?

Kaymakli Underground City

Cappadocia’s underground cities were first created during the Hittite Bronze Age but they were most famous during the early Byzantine period (6th and 7th centuries) when Catholics chose to live underground to evaded the Arabs and Persian invaders. Kaymakli is Cappadocia’s largest underground city with a labyrinthine system and rooms connected by tunnels that can extend up to eight floors. Exploring the underground city of Kaymakli will be one of your great experiences when traveling to Turkey, when you come here you will feel the raw and mysterious beauty of this thousand-year-old city.

Pigeon Valley

In the olden days pigeons were used as tools to deliver mail, and their waste was used as fertilizer. For the convenience of livestock, people have carved rocks and built nests for thousands of pigeons.

Today, the number of pigeons is not as much as before, but their “nest” is still preserved by local people. And that is also the origin of the name of this famous tourist destination “Pigeon Valley”.

Love Valley

At first, I did not understand why this place was called the Valley of Love, it turned out that there was a reason.

If you imagine, you will see that the stones here are shaped like the “reproductive organ of men”. But anyway, when the hot air balloon flew over this area, I felt like watching a sci-fi movie.

Avanos Village

A small, ancient village where two famous traditional trades are still kept: carpet weaving and ancient ceramics. Shops selling colorful ceramics line the cobbled riverside streets or narrow streets.

Uchisar Castle

Uchisar Castle is a large rock structure that rises high above the terrain. Different from the original thought of a castle, Uchisar has a special shape like a giant anthill, with small black holes. That shape is created from hundreds of small holes that are rooms inside the light rock texture.

Derinkuyu Underground City

Derinkuyu is a city built underground, extending to a depth of 60m. The first caves were formed from the 8th – 7th centuries BC and fully developed in the Byzantine period. Form a shelter and protect the locals from Arab attacks. This underground city is large enough to house up to 20,000 people along with their necessities (such as churches, shops, livestock, and public baths).

This area reminds me of Cu Chi tunnels, but the scale is much larger. And you should take the tour to understand more about the meaning of each area in the city. The most obnoxious point in this area is that when tourists go from the outside in or go from the inside, there will be a “choir” inviting to buy souvenirs.

Goreme Open Air Museum

The Goreme Open Air Museum is an ancient monastery built inside stone caves. Inside the caves, there are still exquisite frescos dating from more than 1000 years ago in pretty good condition. Note a bit that inside the cave is not allow to film and take pictures.

The Göreme Open Air Museum is home to a number of churches that medieval Christian monks carved into rock and where you can learn about the Eastern Roman people who created those unique pictures.

Devrent Valley (​​Imagination Valley)

Unlike other areas in Cappadocia, the Dervent valley has never been inhabited. The stones here are not honed by humans but have natural unique shapes.

You can find rocks with all unique shapes, maybe a camel or maybe a dolphin. That’s why Dervent Valley is also known by another name, Imagination Valley.

Cappadocia travel guide: Overview of tours in Cappadocia

There are many places to visit in Cappadocia, but they are very far apart. So for the most convenience, you can buy a tour at the hotel (The hotels here are linked with travel agents). Tours will include shuttle bus, guide, tickets to attractions, water and lunch for guests. The tours are quite strict, the guide always accompany you and they only allow you to take pictures and wandering around within 30 minutes. Made us rush to rush, fortunately we were able to take some nice photos. If you want to be proactive, you can rent a car with a private shuttle driver. The price is also quite reasonable.

There are 4 main tour routes (each tour will be marked with its own color Red, Green, Blue, Yellow) and Hot air balloon tour. The tours prices are very cheap from only 100TL (20€) which including all services (shuttle bus, tour guide, entrance tickets to attractions, water and lunch for guests).

But in short, I still recommend you to buy a tour, because the guide will tell you a lot of useful information about the tourist attractions, feeling like going to join an extra-curricular class. The “teachers” (we call the tour guides in a funny way) joked that before the end of the tour, they would check where we went for the day, if we could not answer, we could not return.

• Taking a tour will have to go to souvenir shops which is very time consuming.
• You can buy a tour through a travel agency or through your own hotel.
• Tour price can be paid in € or TL. You should consider which one is more valuable, then choose. We bought the tour in Euro because the price was 20 TL cheaper per tour.

And below I will also review in detail about the 3 most recommended tours in Cappadocia: Green Tour, Red Tour and Hot air balloon tour.

Hot Air Balloon Tour – A must-try experience in Cappdocia

A hot air balloon tour will include hotel room pick up service (staff knocks on the door and pick you up), breakfast, champagne after landing and a certificate after the tour.

At first, we didn’t know and we thought the hot air balloon operated all day, we could go whenever we wanted, but it turned out that it was only available at dawn (I asked a hotel staff, he answered like that).

Many of you wonder whether should book a hot air balloon tour because the cost is VERY HIGH. But in my opinion, this is the most memorable experience when traveling to Cappadocia. I really have never seen such a beautiful sunrise, the whole sky is full of hot air balloons, like watching a sci-fi movie.

• Duration: 1 – 1:30 hours
• Price: 100 – 200 euros
• Operators: Royal Ballons, Rainbow Ballons, Butterfly Ballons, Turkey Ballons, Sultan Ballons, …

Green Tour – The most recommended tour

Green Tour is the most recommended tour on TripAdvisor, because of going to the best spots in Cappadocia. Among the attractions, I like Derinkuyu Underground City the most, because I understand a lot more about the history and living habits of the ancient Cappadocia residents.

The most regret is the Pigeon Valley, so beautiful but it not include in the tour, instead we must visit a gem shop opposite.

• Duration: 8 hours
• The tour will go to the following spots: Derinkuyu Underground City, Ihlara Valley hike, Selime Monastery, Pigeon Valley, Göreme Panorama.
• Price: 120 TL

Red Tour – The popular tour inCappadocia

Red Tour will take you visit the main tourist attractions in Cappadocia, with a rather short tour duration, only 6 hours from 9:30AM to 3PM. So the feeling is not satisfied like Green Tour.

But one more boring thing is that the tour only allows to enter to visit the Goreme Open Air Museum while with other places you only just stand from afar to look at.

• Duration: 6 hours
• The tour will go to the following spots: Uçhisar Panorama, Goreme Open Air Museum, Love Valley, Pasabag (Monk’s Valley), Devrent (Imagination Valley), Cavusin.

Cappadocia travel blog: Before you go

• Should wear a bohemian style will be very suitable for the landscape as well as the architecture in Cappadocia. And you must choose a comfortable pair of sports shoes (you will have to “climb” when visiting some tourist attractions in Cappadocia).
• The people of Cappadocia in particular and Turkey in general are extremely friendly and hospitable.Before coming to Cappadocia, I had seen many photos on Instagram and admired the beauty of this place. And when I got there, I was even more impressed. If possible, look forward to returning to Cappadocia in the near future.
• It is recommended to stay in Cappadocia for at least 2 nights to be able to hunt for a beautiful hot air balloon scene from early in the morning (we stayed for 3 nights but it was too windy, so all 4 mornings I couldn’t take photos of the hot air balloon).
• You should book at least 1 night at a hotel with a nice view: Mithra Cave hotel or Sultan Cave Suites (book in advance). The remaining day is spent to experiencing hot air ballooning.
• It is recommended to rent a self-drive car from Kayseri airport (the rental and gas prices in Turkey are extremely cheap), so you can experience more remote spots of Cappadocia such as: the Pasabag valley; Devrent Imagination valley; Red valley (with Ali cafe to watch the beautiful sunset).
• Should experience camel riding tour (you can book a tour at your hotel).
• Don’t forget to take “virtual living” photos with the beautiful rugs (carpets) here: Galeri Ikman carpet shop. You should book an appointment in advance if you want to take pictures with a drone or pay about 10 euros for 15 minutes of self-photography.

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in, from and to Cappadocia you can refer to

• Hot Air Balloon Flight in Cappadocia
• Cappadocia Devrent Valley Tour
• Blue Tour Cappadocia
• Green Tour with Trekking in Ihlara Valley
• Historical Cappadocia Red Tour

Are you looking for more top things to do in Cappadocia : Tours, activities, attractions and other things? Let’s check it out here . And Turkey here .

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The Ultimate Guide to Cappadocia

Here’s your complete guide to Cappadocia! This page will show you how to hike the major valleys, the best underground city to visit, everything you need to know about hot air ballooning and a bunch of awesome tips.

Cappadocia Turkey Guide

The magical kingdom of Cappadocia is special – really special. And it’s certainly one of the brightest highlights of Turkey. If you can only visit one place in Turkey, this should be it. It has it all – incredible views, luxurious and budget accommodation carved into rock faces, hiking, adventure and it’s steeped in history. You could spend weeks here exploring the vast landscape and you’d love every minute of it.

The Best Things to do in Cappadocia

Hot air balloon ride.

On my first visit to Cappadocia I passed on the hot air balloon ride. Wasn’t interested and it was too expensive. On my next visit, six years later, I still wasn’t interested and it still cost too much. But my girlfriend wanted to do it so I relented – and I’m so frickin glad I did. The hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia is one of my favourite memories of Turkey – and I’ve spent a year travelling to its every corner.

Butterfly Balloons stood out as a top company when researching and they offered an incredible experience for £105 per person (including an impressive breakfast before, champagne after and a certificate – for some reason). The set-up was professionally run and we’d recommend them based on our experiences.

What happens on the day?

Going on a hot air balloon ride means an early start. Expect to be up at 5am. Most places will include a breakfast, Butterfly Balloons’ breakfast was a buffet style with fresh fruit, toast, cheeses, chocolate and pastries with hot drinks. While you’re having breakfast the company will be waiting on flight confirmation. Ballooning in Cappadocia is highly regulated and every company must get the go-ahead from the Aviation Authority. Flights have been known to be cancelled on the day, in which case you’ll be given a full refund. Once the all clear has been given you’ll jump on a minibus and be taken to your balloon. From there it’s up and away for an hour to an hour and a half. You’ll land somewhere else completely and (with most companies) will be treated to champagne, strawberries and a flight certificate. From there they’ll stick you on a minibus and drop you back at your hotel.

How safe is it?

There is risk – you’re floating in a basket strapped to a balloon with fire blasting into it. And there have been casualties and, tragically, 8 deaths in the last 10 years in Cappadocia. However, Cappadocia is still one of the safest places in the world to take a balloon flight. There are on average 150 balloon flights a day. Let’s say each basket takes a minimum of 10 people and they fly 250 days out of the year. That’s 375,000 people in the sky over Cappadocia a year. The numbers are on your side.

Which company should I go with?

It’s easy enough to book when you’re there and get a feel for the company as opposed to doing it online. If you’re worried then stick to big companies like Butterfly Balloons and Voyager. If you’re doing it while you’re there go directly to the company’s headquarters or book through a travel agent. Don’t do it through a carpet shop or restaurant. You can also find a good selection here on viator.com of reviewed companies.

More information

• Pilots must train for roughly 16 months, fly 200 hours and have a Commercial licence and Private Pilot’s licence before being hired by a company.
• A balloon ride should cost anywhere from £100-£150 dependent on season. Our flight was £105 in March 2018.
• If you’re splashing out there are deluxe flights for around £450
• Balloons typically fly at 3000 feet. The maximum altitude is 6000 feet.
• Some companies run flights all year round. Snowy back drops are incredible if you go in winter.
• Up to 200 balloons can be in the sky at one time
• Baskets typically take 10 passengers (it can range from 2 passengers plus one pilot up to 24 people) so that’s up to 2000 people in the sky!
• It costs £80,000 per balloon (usually made in the UK) and £20,000 for the basket
• I get pretty bad travel sickness, but as the basket moves with the wind there’s no swaying and no feelings of motion sickness!
• It’s also surprisingly warm in the basket.

Check out this short video clip of our hot air balloon ride!

Watch the sunrise

Watching the sunrise over Cappadocia is beautiful and should be at the top of your list of things to do. It’ll suck getting up early, but it’s definitely worth it, especially if you’re not opting for a balloon ride. And even if you are going for a balloon ride, we’d still recommend seeing the sunrise from the cliff top, it offers a different perspective and makes for some amazing photography.

There’s a specific sunrise point in Goreme (use the same point for the sunset). It’s a short-ish walk up a steep hill. You’ll want to check what time the sun rises online or ask your hotel owner and make sure you’re up there about 30 minutes beforehand. In peak season it can get busy with everyone scrambling for the perfect photo op. When you get to the top you’ll find a café, walk behind it and down onto the cliff face, keep walking until you can see all the balloons on the ground. Get as close as you can to the edge as they’ll be flying close.

Hike the famous valleys

There are five famous valley walks in Cappadocia. If you fancy it, you can complete all five in two days (it’s a bit much to squeeze them all into one) by following our suggested walking route below. If you’re rushed for time then use the map to pick and choose your favourites! 

If you’re nervous about hiking alone, we recommend hiring a professional guide to accompany you. Not only do you get a guided and personal tour, but loads of additional info too. Here’s a good selection of guided hiking and walking tours on vitator.com.  

From Goreme; hike Pigeon Valley (1.5 hours – easy) through to Uchisar and climb to the top of the castle for a panoramic view. Join White Valley (1.5 hours – steep and slippery in places) which will turn into Love Valley (1 hour – easy). Walk back to the main road and hitchhike a lift back to Goreme (to walk is about 45 minutes). This is a full day’s walk.

Then do Red and Rose Valley on a separate day as it will take around 3.5 hours, not including time to explore churches and abandoned homes carved into the rocks. It’s well worth leaving early and taking the shortcut route shown on the map.

Cappadocia Hiking Map

Pigeon Valley (1 hour, easy)

The great thing about Pigeon Valley is that it’s perfectly situated, the easiest one to access from Goreme, links up to Uchisar Castle and the south entrance to White and Love Valley and is a great introduction to hiking in the area. We’d recommend starting at Pigeon Valley.

White Valley (1.5 hours, steep and slippery in places)

If you’re starting from Uchisar, look at the road pointing towards Goreme and the entrance to White Valley will be to your left, while Pigeon is on your right. White Valley is not difficult, but it is tricky if you’re not wearing the right footwear. You could hike the rest of these valleys in flip flops, but White Valley has some steeper terrain to negotiate and is usually peppered in gravel. White Valley eventually turns into Love Valley.

Love Valley (1 hour, easy)

Love valley is the most famous of all in Cappadocia, for obvious reasons – the phallic shaped rock formations. It’s a very easy valley to walk through and makes for some cracking photos. You’ll find a little cafe shack half way through. Once you’ve reached the end, turn right and follow the road until you hit the main road. From there you can either walk or hitchhike a lift back to Goreme. If you have a tight time frame and just want to see Love Valley then get a taxi to the north entrance, it’s easy to find and walk for about 30 minutes into the valley turn around and head back to the main road.

Red and Rose Valley (3.5-4 hours, easy)

Be prepared for a full day’s hiking. Red and Rose Valley will take at least three hours, and a little longer if you walk this shortcut route below. But by taking this route you’ll see so many more stone home cut outs, it’s well worth it!

Red and Rose Valley is signposted everywhere, but once you’re actually on the trail it can get confusing with spray painted arrows pointing in multiple directions. The best thing to do is to use Maps.Me (see the extra tips below) and use the offline trail map.

You can’t go wrong. You won’t get lost if you don’t use it, it could just take a little longer. Red and Rose Valley has some incredible churches and abandoned buildings along the way, you’ll want to start early, take plenty of water and wear comfy clothing for scrambling into old ruins. Make sure you get to the Panoramic viewpoint, if you’ve had enough by then there’s a main road and car park near it where you can grab a taxi. Equally, if you don’t fancy the hiking just get a taxi to the viewpoint (shown on our map).

Visit Ihlara Valley

Ihlara Valley is a about an hour and a half’s drive from Goreme. There’s a small admission charge of around £2, it’s well preserved, looked after and has cafes along route. It’s a very easy walk and very beautiful.

You can make it trickier for yourself by clambering up the cliff sides to explore the abandoned churches – and Ihlara is filled with them.

If you’ve already hiked the major valleys around Goreme then you’re not really missing much if you don’t go, but Ihlara is beautiful and if you’re heading to the underground city of Derinkuyu then it’s only a further 30-minute drive.

If you’re making your own way there then park up at either the north or south entrance, walk the length of the valley along one side of the river, cross the bridge at the end and walk back along the other side. If you have a taxi service or are on a tour then they’ll drop you at one end and pick you up at the other.

Climb Uchisar Castle

If you’re following our suggested walking route then as you finish Pigeon Valley the Uchisar Castle will be in plain sight (it looks more like huge rock than a castle) so just head towards it, pay a £1 entry fee and then it’s steps all the way up to the top. It’s the highest point in Cappadocia and well worth the walk up. If you’re not walking then the castle is only 5km from Goreme and a cheap taxi drive.

Derinkuyu Underground City

There are hundreds of underground cities in Cappadocia with new ones still being discovered today. The biggest and most famous of them (so far) are the Kaymakli (widest) and Derinkuyu (deepest) cities. Unless you’re really into underground cities there’s not much point in seeing both and we’d recommend sticking to the Derinkuyu one as it’s the deepest and eeriest. It’s the largest multi-level underground city in Cappadocia, it drops 200 feet below the surface, could hold 20,000 people including live-stock, had schools, libraries and a complex tunnel system with ventilation shafts.

Derinkuyu is a 30-minute drive from Goreme, there are plenty of tour services and taxis willing to take you there. A good option is to rent a car the night before for an 8am drop off, drive yourself to Derinkuyu to be there for 9am. You’ll miss the bus loads of tourists and have the entire place to yourself. If you do get there early then take a coat as it can be chilly (try your best to get there for opening time, you won’t regret it). Once you’ve finished you can then drive to Ihlara if you fancy it (a further 30 minutes).

Don’t forget to take a torch! The tunnels and main passageways are lit, but if you want to explore mini tunnels and hidden rooms you’ll need the light as dead ends in the dark aren’t fun…

If you’re driving yourself there then there’s a car park right outside which you’ll have to pay for. If you arrive at that car park (which is clearly signposted as a paid car park and there is an attendant) then drive around the underground city entrance to the opposite side of the car park and you can park your car there for free. There’s not much else to do in the area. There are plenty of little trinket shops and cafes though. Also, don’t forget to check opening times when you’re there as it can close early.

Alternatively, you can always make life easier and go with an organised tour of the underground city. Here are some suggestions. 

How to get to Cappadocia

Cappadocia is easy to get to from two main airports, Nevsehir and Kayseri. Nevsehir is the more popular as it’s closer. We recommend using skyscanner.net to find the cheapest flights. Just make sure you select ‘flexible dates’ so you can see what the cheapest dates are. 

If you’ve already booked accommodation your hotel should pick you up for free or a small price. If not, you should expect to pay around £5 one-way.

If you’re travelling around Turkey via public transport then Cappadocia is well set-up for buses with a main bus station (car park) in the centre and good time tables taking you to major guides around the country.

Once you’re there it’s very easy to arrange taxis to get around. Most of the major attractions are in walking distance, but you’ll certainly need transport to get to the underground cities and Ihlara valley and prices are reasonable, especially considering the driver will wait for you as you explore them. But do check with your hotel owner for a rough guide to pricing.

If you’re the independent type then renting a car is also simple and cheap. Your accommodation should be able to recommend a company who will drop the car off to your front door. We always do this in Cappaodica and typically spend around £20 for 24 hours. The roads to Ihlara Valley and the underground city of Derinkuyu are in good condition. However, you can easily end up on a long, dusty gravel track if you take the wrong turn. But this can be done in a small car. You don’t need a 4×4. Bear in mind that petrol attendants fill your car for you. You won’t be able to operate the pump until an attendant is there to swipe his card. If you do decide to rent a car, check over it while filming with your mobile phone. Then you have an easy record of any dents.

Where to stay in Cappadocia

Debate always surrounds where to stay in Cappadocia. Your two main options are Goreme and Uchisar. Simply, Goreme is where it’s at while Uchisar is quiet and further away from all the action. I always stay in Goreme, and sometimes if I prefer the quiet I can just stay on the outskirts of Goreme, which would mean a 10 minute stroll into the town centre. It’s easier to get around, far more to do and you’re at the entrance to all the valleys – perfect!

You’ll find a tonne of online recommendations on places to stay – namely luxury cave hotels which have paid for people to stay in them and write nice things. But they’ll still be good choices, as to be fair, you can’t really go wrong in Cappadocia. Staying in a cave hotel is a popular option as it’s more of an authentic experience, living like the locals. However, if you’re on more of a budget then AirBnB is your best friend. There are some awesome homestays on there, ultra-clean, tidy and spacious, double, private rooms with your own bathroom for about £10 a night. You’ll also find a load of great options on Booking.com.  

Extra tips, tricks and recommendations

• Cap a what?  Cappadocia is pronounced Cap-a-doke-eeyah
• Download Maps.Me  to your mobile phone and then download the Cappadocia region map. It’s a free app and a free download. You can then use the map while offline and walking about. It has most, if not all of the major hiking trails already saved on there so you can’t get lost. And you can use it as a satnav if you get really stuck. You could always bookmark the locations onto Google Maps too.
• Recommended accommodation  –  Cappadocian Special House . Rooms can come as cheap as £8-£12 a night with an en-suite and delicious breakfast included. The host, Mustafa, is a dab hand at arranging cars, balloons, transfers and anything else you need. Plus he’s a good guy.
• Recommended restaurant  – Fat Boys Restaurant, Café and Bar. Having spent months sampling Goreme’s restaurants Fat Boys has always come out on top. I first visited the restaurant 6 years ago and it’s just as good today. The food is delicious and very well priced. You’ll find its location with a quick Google search.
• Recommended Hot Air Balloon company  –   Butterfly Balloons . The service is excellent, the breakfast tasty and the pilots and set-up are professionally run.

Everything else

• There are plenty of ATMS in Cappadocia, so don’t worry about taking wads of cash with you.
• If you don’t fancy walking all the time then check out horseback riding and quad biking tours. There are loads of options to choose from.
• There are plenty of cheap food options dotted around Goreme serving kebabs for £2. If you’re on a tight budget then opt for an AirBnB which has a kitchen and prepare your own food, there are a couple of decent ‘supermarkets’ in Goreme.
• Four days is the perfect amount of time to see Goreme. Two days for hiking, one for ballooning and one for the underground city. If you’re up for a more luxuriously relaxed trip then take the week – there’s so much to do!   
• Note: we’re not affiliated with any company and receive no backing, payment or free rides. All our words are based on our own experiences. Thanks!

Join an organised tour

Alternatively, if you’d like to join an organised tour to visit Cappadocia in Turkey, we recommend booking on Viator. There’s a range of tours to choose from dependent on your budget.  

• Cappadocia Turkey Tour

We may receive a commission, at no cost to you, if you purchase a product using the affiliate links on this page. We’re not sponsored, are completely impartial and don’t run ads. So this helps us keep the site running. Thank you for your support.

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Cappadocia Tours & Trips

Discover adventures through Cappadocia. Encounter with some of the most fascinating rock formations of Turkey and experience the best of hiking and trekking . Enjoy the panoramic views of the Mendes Mountains, stay in a cave hotel, and cycle through fairy chimneys and eroded rocks in White Valley.

69 Cappadocia tour packages with 158 reviews

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3 Days Cappadocia Highlights

Everything was planned perfectly. Enjoyed whole time having tour of Capadocia.

• €100 deposit on some dates Some departure dates offer you the chance to book this tour with a lower deposit.

Istanbul - Ankara - Cappadocia | 6 Days with 1 flight

I was expecting a guide throughout the tour and this would have helped with coordination of transfers and hotel check in/out and general queries. The day guides and hotel staff did their best but nobody had overall responsibility and this led to some confusion. I was also expecting to see more of the top sites in Istanbul rather than wandering about experiencing everyday life. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the tour and the Cappadiocia element was a really amazing experience.

• Photography

Istanbul - Ankara - Cappadocia | 7 Days with 1 flight

Had such a great time !! Our tour guide Nadir, was a very caring person, and he was very professional. He had great knowledge about Turkey, thanks to him we learned a lot. Turkey was a very beatiful country, I definitely want to come again. Overall the hotels were clean and comfortable. Highly recommend this tour !

7 Days Best of Istanbul and Best of Cappadocia Package

There was no glitch in the whole trip, including flights, hotel, pick ups, etc. Excellent service.

7 Days Istanbul and Best of Cappadocia Tour Package

I just came from my vacations from Turkey and everything was booked with this agency. Very impressed by their profesionalism and good organization. The guides knew their jobs very clear to explain the history of Istanbul and Cappadocia. Besides very nice people,warm and took care of everybody with great enthusiasm. I recomend to who's interesting to travel to Turkey with complete confidence.

3 Days-Cappadocia Tour from/to Istanbul

It was an excellent tours although it was windy and therefore missed out our Hot Air Balloon Tour. Didam, the tour guide was excellent and look forward to return back for the Hot Air Balloon and other package.

Istanbul&Cappadocia-4 Days

The accommodation was really lovely and the guides were very well-informed. I appreciated that Altinkum took care to let me know my itinerary and other useful information every day, which meant I never had to worry about the little details. Overall a great experience

3 Days Best of Cappadocia Tour from/to Istanbul

Deniz is an excellent tour guide. Knows the region very well and is very personable. We had an enjoyable and well paced tour

A Tale of Two Marvels: Istanbul & Cappadocia 7 Day Tour

I took this tour not really knowing what to expect and I was blown away not by the big things but all the little things along the way. We stopped to see the olive trees on the way to Canakkale and the fields of yellow saffron flowers that seemed endless. We stopped along the way to a place that had fresh homemade yogurt with organic honey and pistacios (Dinar I believe). The thermal waters of Pamukkale and just how relaxing it was to have a Turkish bath which, if you do anything at all, do this. The food was incredible everywhere we went including the hotels, which were all very nice. The road was sometimes long, but all those little things made the trip. The tour guide Aziz was excellent and spoke great English. This was truly a memorable trip!

• Sightseeing

5 Days - Istanbul Cappadocia Tour

It was a truly well organised and magical holiday! We had the best time and everything ran like clockwork. Ismail was the most helpful person and kept us up to date at all times. We are so impressed with him and the tour reps in Capadocia . The tour itself was amazing and, considering the short time we were there, we covered so many interesting sites and met lovely people and laughed so much. We will 100% book with you again. Very very happy customers. Soly & Tim ????????

3 Days - Cappadocia Tour from Istanbul

All staff excellent. Drivers were punctual and tourist guides knowledgeable, pleasant and polite and no wasted downtime. IGLESIAS tour company excellent, highly recommended.

3 Days Cappadocia & Pamukkale

Your service was amazing and you follow up the tourist in every station . Thank you

• Hiking & Trekking

Walking in Cappadocia

5 Days Istanbul - Cappadocia Tour

.. Seeing Turkey with you, Ibrahim and Inçe was a great experience, I enjoyed every minute of my time, and so good to meet you and welcoming me to you beautiful city and country

CAPPADOCIA TREKKING & CYCLE

It was lovely to see capadocia from a very different view. The litlle and not so little surprises of the hikings were the bonus. Hope to go again maybe at another season

Reviews of Cappadocia Tours

Tour was great. Two things to note: tour stated that the maximum amount of people was 18. Actual amount of people was 31. The hotel in Istanbul was outdated. It would have been a better experience to stay at an updated hotel

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8 of the best places to visit in Cappadocia

Mar 14, 2024 • 6 min read

The incredible landscape of Cappadocia will have you planning your return before you leave © BlueOrange Studio / Shutterstock

Cappadocia is one of Türkyie's most popular destinations for a good reason – its stunning scenery is quite unlike anywhere else.

When this is coupled with a rich cultural heritage full of ancient historical sights and warm, welcoming people, it's easy to see why it becomes a must-visit on everyone's Türkyie  itinerary.

Don't feel overwhelmed by all the options – we've rounded up the eight most spectacular places to visit in Cappadocia , so all you have to do is book those tickets and go.

Best place for fairy chimneys

One of the top draws for tourists visiting Cappadocia is its iconic fairy chimneys – stacks of soft tuff rock formed by volcanic upheavals and then weathered into otherworldly shapes over millennia. They can be found across Cappadocia, but the central town of Göreme has perhaps the best concentration in its surrounding valleys.

Take a hike through Red or Güllüdere (Rose) Valley in the late afternoon to admire the fairy chimneys as they turn fiery red in the evening light, or wander through Love Valley where the chimneys have formed into particularly suggestive shapes.

Göreme is also an essential stop for history lovers – in the Byzantine era, many of the fairy chimneys were hollowed out and used as monasteries. The monks decorated the interior caves with brilliant frescoes, many of which have survived to the present day and are now preserved in the must-see Göreme Open-Air Museum .

Planning tip: The valleys around Göreme are particularly suited for one-way hikes. If you have a car, save yourself doing them as out-and-back trips by parking at the endpoint and taking a taxi to the trailhead.

Best place for Seljuk heritage

Many travelers skip Kayseri in their haste to reach Cappadocia’s iconic attractions, but this large and bustling city is well worth a day or two’s exploration. It’s one of the best places in the country to check out the elegant architecture left behind by the Seljuks, who ruled much of Türkyie in the thirteenth century.

The black-stone castle in the city center is of Seljuk construction, though it’s been extensively restored and looks a little over-pristine. Across the road, however, is the Mahperi Hunat Hatun Complex , a mosque and madrassah which are perfectly preserved. Check out the intricate carving around the portal of the mosque, and enjoy a glass of çay in the madrassah’s atmospheric courtyard. While in town, you can also get an insight into life in the Ottoman period at the outstanding ethnographic museum in the fifteenth century Güpgüpoğlu House.

Planning tip: Allow yourself an afternoon to take in Kayseri’s various sights. Start at the Museum of Seljuk Civilisation in Mimar Sinan Parkı and work your way south to take in all the city’s big hitters.

Best place for historic valleys

The busy city of Aksaray, in Cappadocia’s west, is of relatively limited interest to travelers but it’s a pleasant place to base yourself for visits to some of the region’s cultural highlights – the valleys of Ihlara and Güzelyurt (also known as Monastery Valley). Both these wide canyons make lovely scenic walks, and the cliffs on either side are lined with Byzantine cave churches which are ripe for exploring.

The Ihlara Valley is an especially impressive and popular route, offering a well-defined path that follows a gushing river along the canyon floor, past cave churches containing some of the best frescoes found in Cappadocia. The Yılanlı Kilise (Snake Church) is a characterful highlight, its lively images depicting four snakes biting people as punishment for various sins.

Güzelyurt Valley, meanwhile, is a quieter walk. Its churches are perhaps a little less dramatic but it gets fewer visitors and is a lovely peaceful route through gorgeous surroundings.

Detour: Make a quick stop at Aksaray Museum , where you can see a collection of 1000-year-old mummies that were discovered in the Ihlara Valley.

Best place for quirky museums

The small town of Avanos, 8km (5 miles) north of Göreme, makes a refreshing change of pace if you’ve seen plenty of fairy chimneys and Byzantine churches; here, the attractions are pleasingly offbeat. Start with a visit to the Güray Müze , an underground art gallery that displays beautiful pieces from contemporary Turkish artists, and also boasts quite an astounding array of ceramics in its attached shop.

Then head over the river to the truly one-of-a-kind Chez Galip Hair Museum , which is exactly what it sounds like – a collection of locks of hair, attached to the walls and hanging from the ceiling, all donated by female visitors to the museum. There’s nowhere else quite like it.

5. Kaymaklı

Best place to wander underground

The Byzantines might have burrowed into Cappadocia’s soft rock to produce churches, but the inhabitants of Kaymakl ı went one better – digging deep into the ground, they developed a huge network of caves and passageways now known as Kaymaklı underground city .

Visiting this subterranean labyrinth is a unique experience. It’s fascinating to imagine how people lived in this hugely complex site which contains all the essentials for daily life, including bread ovens, wine presses, horse stables, and vast shafts to ensure clean air circulation.

There are several such underground cities in Cappadocia – nearby Derinkuyu is bigger, but Kaymaklı is more fun to explore as its passages encourage random wandering, and smaller visitor numbers make it feel less claustrophobic.

6. Aladağlar National Park

Best place for multi-day treks

Down in Cappadocia’s south is the beautiful and rarely visited Aladağlar National Park, which is one of Türkiye’s most unspoiled trekking destinations. From the village of Çukurbağ, you can take paths through craggy limestone gullies leading you up onto alpine plateaus and eventually to the gorgeous Yedigöller lakes. The routes are lengthy and there are few that can be tackled as a day hike, but if you enjoy multi-day treks and camping amidst stunning mountain scenery, Aladağlar National Park is a great destination.

Detour: While in the area, check out the nearby Eski Gümüşler Monastery , which is one of Cappadocia’s most overlooked highlights. A cave monastery dating back to the Byzantine period, the frescoes at Gümüşler are some of the best in Cappadocia, including a stunningly well-preserved Nativity scene and a rare image of a smiling Virgin Mary.

Best place for local wine

The volcanic soil of Cappadocia is ideal for grape growing, and for many centuries this part of Türkiye was a major wine production region. The industry took a downturn in the early twentieth century but it’s expanding again with the town of Ürgüp leading the way.

Take a tour of the friendly Turasan company’s factory and sample their excellent vintages, or stop by in September when the town hosts the Cappadocia Vineyard Festival. Alternatively, you could just relax in one of the town’s many wine bars and enjoy a glass or two.

Detour: While in town, make sure to take a look at the rock formation known as the Three Beauties . It’s an iconic Ürgüp landmark that's featured on many Turasan wine bottle labels.

8. Erciyes Dağı

Best place for winter sports

Cappadocia probably doesn’t spring immediately to mind if winter sports are mentioned, but there’s an excellent ski resort at the mountain of Erciyes Dağı, a short distance south of Kayseri. It’s one of the highest mountains in Türkiye and is a very popular destination for skiers, with ski lifts, equipment available to rent, and plenty of runs for all abilities. Outside the winter months, the mountain offers good trekking opportunities, so you don’t need to limit yourself to the winter season.

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The 12 Best Tours in Cappadocia, Turkey

Jackson Groves

Posted on Last updated: August 10, 2023

Categories TURKEY , TOURS

Cappadocia is a well-known tourist destination for hot air ballooning and breathtaking landscapes such as fairy chimneys and rock formations in particular. However, before the hot air balloon industry was even around, Cappadocia was popular for small hikes and historical tours. This region in Turkey is so stunning to explore for so many reasons whether it’s cultural, historical, or geological. In this article, I will share with you the 12 best tours in Cappadocia so you can explore this beautiful region.

My personal favorites are Hot Air Balloon Ride for its fairytale sunrise and The Red Tour for its top attractions and amazing viewpoints.

Table of Contents

QUICK PICKS: TOP 3 TOURS IN CAPPADOCIA

Don’t have time to read my entire article about the best tours in Cappadocia? No worries! I’ve shortlisted my three favorite Cappadocia tours here to make things easy for you.

Hot Air Balloon Ride

• During sunrise

The Red Tour

• Top attractions
• Very knowledgeable tour guide
• Amazing viewpoints

Sunset ATV Tour

• Dunes, valleys, trails
• Rock-cut valleys
• Easy-to-use bikes

BEST TOURS IN CAPPADOCIA COMPARISON TABLE

TOP 3 PLACES TO STAY IN CAPPADOCIA

• Ultimate Luxury: Mithra Cave Hotel – Amazing Balloon View & Pool
• My Favorite: Sultan Cave Suites – Insta-worthy & Amazing Terrace
• Value Hotel: Traveller’s Cave Hotel is easily the best value (luxury) hotel in Cappadocia

12 BEST TOURS IN CAPPADOCIA

In this article, you will first find a comparison table, which shows you the price, duration, and average review score for each activity. Below the comparison table, you will find a detailed description with photos for each individual activity as well as the link to the booking site so that you can easily navigate to book the tour that you find most exciting! Hope you enjoy the article.

HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE

Tour: Hot Air Balloon Ride (book in advance)

I did this tour and it was beyond epic. It’s truly a fairy tale and it definitely lives up to the hype. The sunrise hot air balloon ride is the most expensive tour in Cappadocia but you simply have to do it. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime type of experience. You can view my full blog post about my hot air balloon tour in Cappadocia.

Before the flight, there’s a complimentary breakfast with tea or coffee. You’ll be flying over Cappadocia’s wonderful landscapes and unique rock formations. Have a 360-degree panorama of the entire region and get a satisfying view of its valleys and mountains. After landing, get a toast of free champagne as you enjoy watching hot air balloons flying over you.

It’s important to book this one in advance as often the entire town is sold out of bookings during peak season and there is a 2-3 day waitlist.

Book your tour: Hot Air Balloon Ride

BEST RENTAL CAR COMPANY IN TURKEY

When you book your Turkey Rental Car online, I personally recommend and always use  Discover Cars . They search for both local and international companies, so you get the best deal!

THE RED TOUR

Tour: The Red Tour

This is the most popular day tour in Cappadocia. A tour that will bring you to the most known attractions around Cappadocia.

• Explore Çavusin, one of the area’s oldest settlements.
• Walk among the Devrent Valley’s fairy chimneys
• Visit the Göreme Open-Air Museum and see centuries-old rock-cut churches and monasteries.
• In the Pasabag Valley, marvel at the best collection of fairy chimneys in Cappadocia .
• Reaching the top of Uchisar Rock Castle is the area’s highest point.
• Stop in Ürgup to visit a winery for a tasting.

The tour will last for a whole day so you will be provided with convenient transportation and a very knowledgeable tour guide. This is undoubtedly one of the best tours in Cappadocia!

Book your tour: The Red Tour

• Open-air views

Tour: Blue Tour

After the Red Tour, this is the second-most popular day tour in Cappadocia. After a pickup from your hotel at 10 AM you will see the following sights on this all-inclusive tour.

• Hike along the Red and Rose Valley
• Conclude your hike at the Cavusin Cave Village
• Enjoy lunch in a local restaurant
• Descend towards the center of the earth with a trip to the Underground City
• Visit the Pigeon Valley
• Marvel at the old Greek houses of Uchisar
• Visit Ortshisar Castle, the biggest mass of fairy chimneys in Cappadocia.

Book your tour: The Blue Tour

The Blue Tour

• Mysteriously beautiful valleys
• Spectacular view
• Underground city

GREEN TOUR WITH TREKKING IN IHLARA VALLEY

Tour: Green Tour with Trekking in Ihlara Valley

This tour is a little bit cheaper than the Red Tour and it lasts for approximately 8 hours. Green Tour is among the tourists’ favorites as there are more places to see. After the pick-up at your hotel, you’ll be headed directly to Goreme’s Underground City, the highlight of this tour.

You’ll be amazed at how people lived their lives during this time. I hope you won’t forget to bring your cameras as you’ll be taking shots of their amazing landscapes along the way. It also includes pit stops at the place’s famous sites, including the Ihlara Valley. The trip is kind of hassle-free with pick-up and drop-off in a luxury van! It is guaranteed to give you comfort and relaxation. If you love to hike and trek, this tour is perfect for you!

Book your tour: Green Tour with Ihlara Valley

Green Tour with Ihlara Valley

• Bit cheaper
• Amazing landscapes

SUNSET ATV TOUR

Tour: Sunset ATV Tour

The most popular ‘short’ tour in Cappadocia. As you travel on a sturdy ATV (quad) bike, you will be greeted with spectacular rock-cut valleys that will leave you in awe. This activity is a good option for sightseeing as this will give the opportunity to wander the dunes, valleys, trails, and hills of Cappadocia. The tour finishes right at sunset out in the valley of rock formations for an amazing sunset view.

Book your tour: Sunset ATV Tour

• Dunes, valley, trails, and hills
• Easy to use bikes

HORSE-RIDING TOUR

Tour: Horse-riding Tour

This 2-hour horse ride includes pick-up and drop-off at Cappadocia area hotels. You’ll ride through the valleys of Goreme with their beautiful horses and witness the enchanting fairy chimneys. Explore the peaceful environment with a professional guide.

Among the highlights of this ride are the rock-cut Hallacdere Monastery, the orchards and vineyards with their picturesque landscapes you’ll pass by. The best thing is that you can choose your own schedule and I highly recommend you’ll tour at least 2 hours before sunset.

Book your tour: Horse-riding Tour

Horse-riding Tour

• Pick-up and drop-off
• Beautiful horses
• Peaceful environment

TURKISH NIGHT AT CAVE RESTAURANT

Tour: Turkish Night at Cave Restaurant

Looking for an authentic Turkish-style experience with a combination of night-filled music, dancing, and drinks? You will definitely love what the Cave restaurant in Cappadocia offers. I must say I enjoyed the night of pure relaxation with a touch of Turkish culture.

The onstage performers will keep you entertained the whole evening, so you won’t notice the passing of time.  The location of the restaurant is uniquely situated in a rock-cut cave which makes it more appealing. When it comes to culture, this is the best tour in Cappadocia to really soak it in. You don’t have to worry you might lose your way of getting there, the restaurant also provides free transportation to and from your hotel.

Book your tour: Turkish Night Tour

Turkish Night Tour

• Authentic Turkish style experience
• Night-filled music, dancing
• Night of pure relaxation

RED VALLEY AND UNDERGROUND CITY TOUR

Tour: Red Valley and Underground City Tour

This full-day tour in Cappadocia will give you everything there is to offer. You’ll be picked up from your accommodation and headed right away to the first stop, Red Valley as you witnessed its stunning rock formations and iconic landscapes. You can also hike through the colorful fairy chimneys of the place. Among the highlights are the stops at Pigeon Valley and Ortahisar Rock Castle, both are popular spots.

Book your tour: Red Valley & Underground City Tour

Red Valley & Underground City Tour

• Stunning rock
• Iconic landscapes
• Underground City

BEST OF CAPPADOCIA DAY PRIVATE TOUR WITH LUNCH

Tour: Best of Cappadocia Day Tour with Lunch

The best way to see all of the sights is on this all-day guided, private tour of Cappadocia’s best spots. You can customize the itinerary or go with the popular spots the guide recommends.

• The panoramic viewpoint of Göreme
• Visit the Underground City 
• Visit Pigeon Valley
• Tour Goreme Open Air Museum
• Çavuşin, which is the Old Greek Village
• Visit Paşabağı to see mushroom-shaped rock formations
• Devrent Valley, which is also known as İmagination Valley.

Book your tour: Best of Cappadocia Tour

Best of Cappadocia Tour

• Unforgettable experience
• Worth paying

FULL-DAY DISCOVERY HIKING TOUR

Tour: Full-day Discovery Hiking Tour

When it comes to hiking in Cappadocia, it’s hard not to pick this tour. Get ready for some trail adventures as you descend and find yourself in the underground cities in the region, hike in one of the most attractive valleys, and visit one of the biggest monastic settlements and the largest cathedral.

Book your tour: Full-day Discovery Hiking Tour

Full-day Discovery Hiking Tour

• Attractive valleys
• Unique beauty

GOREME OPEN AIR MUSEUM AND FAIRY CHIMNEYS

Tour: Goreme Open Air Museum and Fairy Chimneys

The tour kicks off with a visit to the Imagination Valley wherein you’ll get to witness animal-shaped natural rock formations. You’ll then be headed to Monk’s Valley with its amazing mushroom-shaped fairy chimneys. It also includes a stop at Avanos town, famous for its pottery works.

Of course, lunch is included at a famous local restaurant before you head to Goreme Open Air Museum, the main attraction. You’ll be in awe of its stunning panoramic views all over and churches dating from the Byzantine Empire. The last stop is at Rock Castle and it’s worth a visit. You’ll be dropped off to your hotel comfortably. Personally, I think this Cappadocia tour is value for money! 

Book your tour: Goreme Open Air Museum & Fairy Chimneys

Goreme Open Air Museum & Fairy Chimneys

• Enjoyable and memorable
• Imagination Valley
• Animal-shaped natural rock

UNDERGROUND CITY AND IHLARA TOUR

Tour : Underground City and Ihlara Tour

On this tour, you’ll get a chance to discover the unique rock formations of Cappadocia. Personally, I like to explore ancient tunnels like the famous Derinkuyu Underground City in Cappadocia and learn the traditions of the locals on how they lived during those times.

If you join this tour, you’ll feel close to nature as you go on your journey to Ihlara Canyon which was formed by volcanic activity, with its scenic views. As you visit the Ihlara Valley, you’ll know how the early Christians made their churches from rocks. This Cappadocia tour also includes quick stops at the Selime Monastery, Pigeon Valley, and the famous Onyx factory to watch how a volcanic stone is formed.

Book your tour: Underground City & Ihlara Tour

Underground City & Ihlara Tour

• Unique rock formations
• Stunning views of the chimneys

HOW TO GET TO CAPPADOCIA

Cappadocia isn’t actually a town as many people think but it is an entire region. Within this region are towns such as Goreme (the most popular tourist spot), Uchisar, Urgup, and Ortahisar among others. There are two airports that serve Cappadocia.

• Kayseri Airport (70km/60 minutes) is the main airport and takes just over an hour by van/bus to reach Goreme Town
• Nevsehir Kapadokya Airport (/40km/40 minutes is the secondary airport, which is closer to Goreme but only by about 20 minutes.

The big difference here is that Kayseri is a bigger airport, with more flight options, and often has cheaper flights. It is very convenient and quick to fly into Kayseri and I did it twice.

To get from Kayseri (or Nevsehir) you need to pre-book your shuttle or be prepared for an expensive taxi. The cheapest and easiest way to do that is to book online here .  For under $15 you can ride in a shared, air-conditioned airport transfer or a private transfer from $50.

WHERE TO STAY IN GOREME, CAPPADOCIA

Where I stayed: Design Cave Suites Cappadocia – I was lucky enough to stay at the Design Cave Suites in Goreme. The location was great and I walked to all attractions. The rooftop garden was awesome for sunrise balloon watching. The buffet breakfast spread was amazing as were the cave-style room designs.

Best Cave Hotel with Pool:   Local Cave House Hotel – This cave hotel rose to fame because of its incredible pool. Make sure you click the link and check out how epic the pool backdrop is, with those classic Cappadocia rock formations in the background and traditional cave rooms it is a top pick.

Cave Hotel with Best Roof View (and dogs): Sultan Cave Suites – This cave hotel became famous because of its epic rooftop area for sunrise viewing. Guests can lay out on traditional pillows and carpets while watching the hot-air balloons flying above. The hotel dog might also join you for a photoshoot on the roof!

HAVE YOU CHECKED OUT THE REST OF MY CAPPADOCIA BLOG POSTS?

Click on one of the articles below to check out all of the places you should visit while in Cappadocia!

The big guide! This post has all of my favorite activities, which I personally did while in Cappadocia for ten days:  24 AWESOME THINGS TO DO IN CAPPADOCIA

The hiking guide!  Find out about all of the best hikes in Cappadocia with details, directions and lots of photos:  8 AWESOME HIKES IN CAPPADOCIA

Thinking about flying in a hot air balloon in Cappadocia? Read this first:  CAPPADOCIA HOT AIR BALLOONS: THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU FLY

Have you heard about the castles in Cappadocia? Check these out:

THE UCHISAR CASTLE VIEWPOINT

ORTAHISAR CASTLE VIEWPOINT

CAVUSIN CHURCH, VALLEY & CASTLE

Not sure where is the best region to stay? Wondering which hotel provides the best value? Check out this guide that will help you decide:  WHERE TO STAY IN CAPPADOCIA: THE BEST HOTELS & HOSTELS

OR… I write a post about the 12 BEST CAVE HOTELS IN CAPPADOCIA that you might find interesting.

I’ve written a blog post for almost all of the places I’ve visited while in Cappadocia. You can find every single one of these articles right here: CAPPADOCIA ARCHIVES

I hope you enjoyed this guide to the best Cappadocia tours. Enjoy your trip!

Sunday 10th of May 2020

Incredible. Can't wait to be there! I bookmarked your blog and I'm going to use this as my guide when I got there. Thank you so much!

Cappadocia Red Tour: All you need to know!

When I first saw  Cappadocia, my mind was blown away! Surrounded by Fairy Chimneys and fairyland itself, the village is surely a crown possession of Turkey . Bearing the best Turkish culture, Cappadocia offers excellent geographical landscapes and cultural history. You will find many organized tours there. The Cappadocia Red Tour is the best. We will share with you all that you need to know about your Cappadocia itinerary in this post.

People also know the region for “Ballooning,” which should be a must on everybody’s bucket list, if you can afford it. Unfortunately, we couldn’t, but I don’t know a single traveler who tried it and regretted it!.

Anyways, there’s more to Cappadocia than just the things it is known for. Keep reading 🙂

Cappadocia is a fairly big region and cannot be toured in a single day. Hence, the whole area is divided into color-coded parts. The most famous of them is the Red Tour (North Cappadocia) and Green Tour (South Cappadocia).

Fun fact! Cappadocia is not a city or a town. It is just a tourist-appealing region in Turkey.

How To Get From Istanbul To Cappadocia

Cappadocia lies in the heart of Turkey. The distance between the largest city of Turkey, Istanbul, and Cappadocia, is about 450 miles or 730 kilometers.

The connection between Cappadocia and Istanbul is great. You could even find direct flights many times per day. Moreover, buses and train facilities are available too.

Istanbul to Cappadocia by Flight

Both Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gocken Airport (also in Istanbul) offer flights to Kayseri Erkilet Airport in Cappadocia. You will spend a little more than one hour on the plane.

It is not only the fastest means to commute but also an inexpensive means if booked in advance. Turkish Airlines and Air Pegasus are the ones providing their services in this region. Both 2 tickets cost us around 50€.

The best way to get from Kayseri Airport to Cappadocia

Once landed at the Kayseri airport, you will find many shuttle van services waiting outside to take you to Cappadocia. These are operated by Rock Valley Travel and Argeus Tourism .

You could also rent a car. The price will be the same as the shuttle service. However, you will win a lot of flexibility when having a car in this region.

Turkey worked well maintaining the roads in the neighborhood. Google Maps also works great. So I don’t think you will have any problems driving.

The journey, either with the shuttle or with a car, will take around one hour and fifteen minutes.

Is Istanbul to Cappadocia Worth It by Train?

Honestly, trains aren’t a preferable mode to travel between the two regions, primarily because there is no direct connectivity through rails.

One can take a train to Ankara and continue by bus from the capital city to Cappadocia. However, it gets quite hectic to travel by train. Hence, it isn’t a preferred means of transportation.

Istanbul to Cappadocia by Bus

To get on the bus to Cappadocia, you can choose either of the two bus terminals. Those are Harem Bus Terminal and Buyuk Otogar Bus Terminal. The second is the main bus terminal in Istanbul which connects to Cappadocia. Metro Turizm and Nevsehir Seyahat are some of the companies running buses between the two regions.

Taking the bus is really worth it for two reasons. First, it will spare you a hotel night as you can sleep on the bus. Second, you will enjoy the scenic landscapes you will see during the journey and then you will get to know Turkey much better.

Although most buses are available at night, the journey takes around 13 hours to Cappadocia. So you will see most of the landscapes in the morning (including sunrise)

You can find the bus tickets here .

Is Istanbul to Cappadocia Worth it by Car?

The car journey makes sense if you are a group of four or five people and encounters a few mesmerizing scenic views. So if you have time and want to be more flexible on the road, you should consider this option.

However, it is a long drive to Cappadocia. It takes somewhere between 8-10 hours by road. But if you want a car to discover the region in a better way, consider renting it when you leave Istanbul to Cappadocia.

The Best Itinerary to Enjoy The Red Tour in Cappadocia

The red tour covers the central northern region of Cappadocia and covers all the major sites of this region. In addition, it comprises several appealing UNESCO World Heritage sites. These are valleys, castles, caves, and museums.

The best way to enjoy the red tour is to do it on yourself to avoid the crowds. Also, you will be more flexible with your own time. However, you need to rent a car for it.

Start your journey with a Hot Air Balloon

Start your day early because there’s a lot to discover. The best start to the tour would be nothing but a ride in the Hot Air Balloon. The balloons go up early in the morning at sunrise. The price of hot air ballooning in Cappadocia ranges from $140 to $250.

Don’t miss the Uchisar Castle

If you want to enjoy Cappadocia without a hot air balloon , you haven’t missed much. There is just so much to see in this beautiful region. The most unrealistic and unique castle around the globe, Uchisar Castle, should be your next destination. It is a volcanic projection and is surrounded by similar cave-like rock formations. Villagers used it as a shelter in the ancient era because the caves maintain a temperature of 15°C throughout the year, making it efficient even today.

Open Air Museum

Next, drive to the Goreme Open Air Museum. It is the most famous tourist attraction in Cappadocia. The museum includes caves, Churches, and Monasteries. In addition, there are preserved mural paintings and carvings. These date back to the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries. The entry fee for the museum is about 12€.

Love Valley: Best Spot of Cappadocia Red Tour

The Love Valley is another attraction, especially for couples. Instagram lovers will be happy to click and capture Instagram-friendly photos with probably the best backdrop and cliché photo props to pose with. 

There are props like love-swing, benches, and a vintage car. Note that the valley is wholly formed by the process of natural wind erosion over centuries.

Devrent Valley

Next, you should go to the Devrent Valley, also known as the Imagination Valley. The valley is skirted by red-colored rocks in various shapes. It is up to your creativity to imagine various animals and figures formed by the rocks.

End your red tour at Pasabag, which is known for mushroom-shaped rocks. This is why it is also known as Mushroom Valley. It is best known for fairy chimneys which build up mushroom shapes.

Tours Comparison in Cappadocia

There are a lot of tour types in Cappadocia. Depending on which region you would like to discover, you should choose a corresponding tour. I tried to compare the best tours in Cappadocia so that you can make your mind.

I also included the prices that I saw if you do not rent a car or don’t feel like doing the tour yourself.

The Red Tour includes the Northern part of Cappadocia . It includes many attractions, including the Uchisar Castle, Open Air Museum, Love Valley, Imagination Valley, and the Mushroom Valley. 

This tour is mostly around the Goreme region and costs somewhere between $40-$45.

The Green Tour includes the southern part of Cappadocia and is a fairly long tour compared to the other tours. 

The major attractions of the Green Tour are the Derinkuyu Underground City, which, as the name suggests, is a spectacular ancient underground town. And the Ihlara Valley, which allows hiking and breath-taking views.

The Green Tour would cost anywhere between $45-$50.

The Blue Tour includes the typical Turkish Village tour. Though not a popular choice, the main attractions of this tour are villages, churches, and landscapes around Mustafapasa and Soganli Valley. The Blue Tour is the most expensive, costing anywhere between $50-$55.

I personally would go for the red or green tours. Here is why:

Cappadocia’s Red Tour Advantages

• With the key sites, the red tour carries the essence of the whole Cappadocia as a region.
• The Red Tour is best for people with kids as there are less walking and hiking involved and is also good for couples as it has the ultimate romantic point, the Love Valley.
• You might stumble upon the typical Turkish dishes and shops offering local artwork and clothing items.
• Sites are near each other, so it cuts down the travel expense.

The Green Tour Advantages

• This is THE tour for hikers and wanderers! You will love to get lost in those unfamiliar and amazing landscapes of Cappadocia.
• This is the quietest tour for those who want to enjoy the region’s beauty in the calm and stay away from the crowds.
• The Green Tour includes a lake (Nar Crater Lake)
• You will have the chance to witness a mind-blowing sunset in the Goreme Panorama Viewpoint.

What to Bring with You for your Cappadocia Itinerary

• It is hard to climb up the rocks, so make sure to wear comfortable slippers and sports clothes.
• Transport facilities in Cappadocia are poor. That is also why I recommended renting a car.
• If you’ve decided to experience the Hot Air Balloon, bring warm clothes, as it might get cold up above in the sky in the early morning.
• Do not forget to carry your official Identity proofs.
• Start the day with a full camera battery. You will see beauty everywhere, waiting to be captured.

Where To Stay in Cappadocia

We stayed at Milat Cave Hotel. However, we didn’t have a cave-style room, which you can experience in Sultan Cave Suites as it was a little expensive for us. 

Nevertheless, we enjoyed staying at this hotel because it offered a great service and an amazing terrace to see the sunrise and balloons.

Actually, Milat Cave Hotel is so close to the city center that you can find all restaurants and tour agencies and other attractions.

In general, Cappadocia has quite a few quirky hotels to stay in. Goreme and Uchisar are two villages where you can plan your stay.

However, if you opt for the Red Tour, Goreme is the best choice because it is easily accessible from the Northern Cappadocia region. Hence, it will cut down the travel expense.

Most Cappadocia hotels offer stay-in caves. I think this facility is only available in this region. Also, those hotels usually have nice terraces that have gorgeous views of ballooning, sunrise, and sunset.

Several hotels provide Cave Rooms. The best among the lot is said to be Cappadocia Cave Suites. These are cheap, have the yummiest food, gorgeous rooms, and the best terrace view. However, the place surely looks unrealistic, especially during the nights.

Few other similar hotels are:

• Sultan Cave Suite
• Charming Cave Hotel
• Grand Elite Cave Suites

Best Time To Visit Cappadocia

Cappadocia experiences extreme weather conditions. The summers are dry and bare, with high temperatures converting the whole area into a hot ball.

The temperature can go as high as 40°C. So, it is not the best time to visit. Ironically, the summer months are the months that experience the maximum footfall.

Winters, on the other hand, are extremely cold. The temperature drops to negative. The temperature can even get to -10°C. Then, however, the place turns heaven-like because of the winter snowfall.

One more point, trekking, during the spring months, gets difficult because of slippery rocks. So, the chances of accidents increase. So bring trekking shoes if you plan to visit Cappadocia during this period.

The best time, however, is the spring or the autumn season. This is when the weather conditions are quite moderate and bearable. Hence, the periods between April and May and between August and October are the most suitable, with less crowd and enjoyable weather.

We visited the region in early March. Unfortunately, we had only one cloudy day, but we also had the right to a sunny one where we enjoyed the balloons flying!

What Else to Do in Cappadocia

Although it is a relatively small region, there are lots of things to do in Cappadocia . Here are some:

• If you’ve plenty of time to spend in Cappadocia , do explore the underground cities. Cappadocia has a total of 36 underground cities, explore anyone, and you’re good to go!
• Handmade local crafts are a steal! Take your time (and don’t be like u!) and choose a good piece of souvenirs. Don’t forget to bargain!
• Many restaurants play Turkish music after dinner. Some of them sometimes invite bands. This is a good chance for you to explore Turkish folk culture.
• You might find a couple of sunset points while hiking uphill. Watch the sunset and only then set back to the hotel.
• If you are planning to stay more in the city, then make sure you read enough about the Cappadocia guide to not miss any hidden gems!
• Cappadocia with no hot-air balloon is also an enriching experience. If you cant afford it or you find it unavailable, iz’s not the end of the world.

That’s it, guys! Cappadocia was the first stop before planning our Istanbul itinerary . Although the city is quite rich, you can see pretty much of Cappadocia in one day .

Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to enjoy the best of Turkey. But we mentioned a couple of destinations, where we would have loved to go, like Izmir, which is a must-do if you are staying in Turkey for one month or so.

You can find it also in our Istanbul itinerary post. Actually, there is so much to do in this country, including hiking. Actually, doing the Lycian way is so famous for trekkers and offers breathtaking views. So you need to check it out if you are traveling further south.

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A travel-Addict that made his way to 30+ countries despite a full-time job, Achraf loves documenting his journey with words and photos.

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• Inspiration
• Destinations

Cappadocia Red Tours – A Do-It-Yourself Guide

Let’s face it – those of us who decide to wander half-way across Turkey to the fairytale land of soft eroded volcanic rock ecoscapes have likely made the sojourn for the principal purpose of experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime balloon flight over Cappadocia’s fairy chimneys . 

Why Self-Guided Cappadocia Day Tours?

After researching the various guided day tour options around Cappadocia we came away feeling a bit like Goldilocks, nothing quite fit what we were looking for.

On the one hand the organized tour group options felt too big – big buses, big groups and big daily agendas that packed too much in. Plus bus tours aren’t really our style to begin with and we hate feeling constrained for time at places that we want to explore deeper.

On the other hand, a private tour hiring a taxi driver for the day felt too small – mostly small in terms of money left in our pockets at the end of the day after paying for a private driver. While we liked the idea of having someone take care of the logistics and hassle of driving from one place to the next, this option was cost prohibitive for our budget.

So we were thrilled when Tarik from our Cappadocia cave hotel  suggested a self-guided option to explore Cappadocia  by renting a car and guiding ourselves around the region. Immediately we knew this felt just right. We liked having the freedom to explore on our own time table and we were pleased that the total cost to hire a car (US$40) and pay entrance fees to the attractions was less than both of our other options. Esbelli Evi even equipped us with a hand drawn map and descriptions of the major points of interest so we would know where to go and what to see.

If this sounds like your dilemma as well we suggest you load up your day pack with some munchies, water, sunglasses and a sturdy pair of hiking shoes and hit the open road using this DIY Cappadocia day tour roadmap , complete with a google map route (see end of post), attraction descriptors, hours and entrance fees.

Stop #1 – Devrent Valley (Imagination Valley)

Start your day in Devrent Valley, a short ten minute drive from Urgup and Goreme towns. Let your imagination run wild as you wind your way through this open air sculpture park. With a little creativity you will start to spot the tails of reptiles and humps of camels amidst a valley of rosy rocks.

Devrent Valley, also known as Imagination Valley, is a relatively small valley of fairy chimneys for this area. So what makes it so unique? The darker, harder top layers of rock here have protected the softer layers beneath from erosion, over time creating unique shapes resembling a zoo of animal sculptures. Here, if you let your creativity go, you can find snakes and seals, dophins and dragons. I’m embarrassed to admit that Adam was far better at the game of animal spotting than I was though it was fun to try to see what he was seeing.

A word of advice to our fellow Cappadocia DIYers – follow the trail beyond where the tour bus crowds go. Though it may seem impossibly crowded at first, the tours only stop here briefly so if you venture far enough from the road you can have the valley to yourselves.

Devrent Valley Logistics

• Time Needed
• Included in Museum Pass

Stop #2 – Zelve Open Air Museum

You’ll love exploring the Zelve Valley and Zelve Open Air Museum next. Surprisingly this ended up being one of our favorite stops for the day.

This remarkable cave town was home to one of the largest cave-dwelling communities in the region. It is so large, in fact, it takes hours to circumnavigate. What makes Zelve’s cave dwelling community even more special is that Christians and Muslims lived here harmoniously until the 1920’s when the Greek-Orthodox Christians were driven out of Turkey. Muslims continued to live in their Zelve cave homes until 1952 when they were deemed too dangerous to inhabit for structural reasons.

What we liked most about the Zelve Open Air Museum is how freely we were able to explore the various abandoned homes and churches, some allowing us ( er, Adam ) to climb stories high.   There were also very few people visiting Zelve at the time, so we were able to roam freely and really imagine what it might have been like to live in this extraordinary homes only a short 65 years ago. 

Zelve Open Air Museum offers three different converging walking paths to explore the its three valleys. On Path 1 remnants of village life can be seen including the old değirmen (mill), with a grindstone and graffitied wooden beam. On Path 2, explore what’s left of the Geyikli Kilise (Church with Deer) and on Path 3 visit the simply adorned rock-cut mosque. Beware certain paths may be closed off due to rock-fall caused by continuing erosion.

Zelve Open Air Museum Logistics

Stop #3 – Pasabag Valley (Monks Valley)

It is in Pasabag Valley where you’ll really get a feel for Cappadocia’s striking and iconic fairy chimneys. The tuff stone pillars of Pasabag are easily recognizable, standing at 10-15 meters high often with twin and triple rock caps.

Pasabag Valley is also commonly referred to as Monks Valley.   This name was given due to the St. Simeon and the monks who decided to seek refuge and shelter here after attracting unwanted fan fair for being supposed miracle makers. To make their home, the monks would start by carving rooms for themselves at the bottom of the fairy chimney and working their way to the top. They were said to only descend to receive food and drink from their disciples.

For our fellow rock climbers out there, you can still climb and explore the upper rooms of the fairy chimneys.

Pasabag Valley Logistics

Stop #4 – Goreme Open Air Museum

From the Pasabag Fairy Chimneys, make your way back towards Goreme village and find a restaurant for lunch.   From here you’ll be detouring a bit to visit the infamous Goreme Open Air Museum. 

Most visitors to Cappadocia visit the Goreme Open Air Museum for good reason. Where else in the world can you find a grouping of 1,000 year old cave churches with magnificent Byzantine era paintings of Biblical scenes? However, we have to say, after exploring the Zelve Open Air Museum, Goreme’s Open Air Museum was a bit of a let-down.   Maybe it was the extreme mid-afternoon heat or the obnoxious crowds trying to push and squeeze themselves into the narrow entryways of each church cave dwelling, but we felt rather underwhelmed and a little put off. 

The Goreme Open Air Museum is a massive monastery complex, home to multiple monasteries from the 10th-12th centuries lined side by side, each with their own fresco-filled church. We were sad and a little alarmed to see that the eyes of each of the figures in the frescos had been scratched out. However despite this the churches have been well preserved.

We know it would be a lot to ask to tell you to come to Goreme and not visit the Goreme Open Air Museum, but in hindsight were we to do this day tour over again we would have saved our time and 20TL and gone on a hike through the Red Valley or Ilahara Valley instead.

Visiting the Frescos of the Dark Church (Karanlik Kilise)

Unless you haven’t yet had your fill of frescoes, we don’t suggest paying the extra 10TL per person entrance fee to visit the Dark Church (located inside the Goreme Open Air Museum).

Goreme Open Air Museum Logistics

Stop #5 – Uchisar Castle

Your next stop, Uchisar Castle, is hard to miss as it stands high above the rest of the Cappadocia region. Even from afar you can make out its plethora of cave dwellings and pigeon houses carved into the great solo-standing fortress. 

Upon visiting Uchisar Castle up close you’ll see that many of its rooms are connected via a network of stairs, passages and tunnels. However, due to erosion most of this maze-like castle is closed off to tourists now.

Luckily the castle does serve an important, albeit completely different, modern-day purpose. Today, many of the rooms on the north facing side of Uchisar Castle have been converted to pigeon houses or dovecuts. The droppings from pigeons, which are an nutrient-dense natural fertilizer, are collected by local farmers to spread across their orchards and vineyards.

From the top of Uchisar, you’ll be rewarded a beautiful 360-degree panorama of the surrounding valleys.   If it is clear, you may even have the chance to see Mount Erciyes off in the distance. However, while Uchisar Castle was interesting to visit, the views from the top no where near compared to what we experienced during our hot air balloon flight.   For this reason, if you are short on time we wouldn’t suggest you go out of your way to hike to the top.

Uchisar Castle Logistics

Stop #6 – Kaymakali Underground City

From the lofty cave dwellings of Uchisar make your long drive south to the fascinating troglodyte underground cave-cities of Kaymakli and Derinkuyu.

Cappadocia’s widest underground cave city, and suggested largest in the region is Kaymakali. Initially excavated under the Citadel of Kaymakali during the Hittite times this underground city was built out further over the centuries as new armies scoured, sacked and plundered the region and its inhabitants. Archeologists believe that as many as 3,500 people could have lived in the city at one time. Nearly 100 houses near the Citadel of Kaymakali have access points to the tunnels from their properties where they still use the cool, dry spaces as cellars and storage units. 

Today only four of the eight floors have been opened to the public including the first floor stable, second floor church, third floor kitchen and coppersmith and fourth floor storage. Kaymakali is far less claustrophobic than Derinkuyu making it more enjoyable to explore.   We enjoyed learning about the 80 meter ventilation shafts around which the larger spaces are organized.

Kaymakali Underground City Logistics

Stop #7 – Derinkuyu Underground City

If you still have the energy and time, a little further south of Kaymakli Underground City is the equally intriguing Derinkuyu Underground City. Derinkuyu is deep as Kaymakli is wide, making the narrow passageways of its 85 meter depth more than a little unnerving for those who get claustrophobic. Derinkuyu has roughly 600 outside surface-level doors connecting to this hidden city which are still accessed to store food, wine and belongings today.

While unlikely that Derinkuyu or the other underground cities were ever built for long-term or permanent dwelling the structures were established to support large numbers while withstanding attacks. As an example of this, Derinkuyu Underground City has more than 15,000 ventilation ducts that provide access to fresh air deep beneath the ground.

Note that passageways are very narrow in Derinkuyu, often allowing one person to walk at one time. It is useful to have a guide to explain one of the underground cities but due to the claustrophobic nature of Derinkuyu we might suggest hiring a local guide at the cave entrance for Kaymakli instead.

Derinkuyu Underground City Logistics

• Museum Pass

Stop #8 – Red Valley Sunset (Kizilcukur)

Spend your last 30 minutes of daylight in the company of hundreds of other weary Cappadocia travelers as you overlook the stunning Red Valley for sunset. If you can grab a seat early enough, enjoy a beer from the tables of a cliff-top restaurant. Or venture further over the plateau and stake out your own perch . After seeing the brilliancy of colors over the red valley as the sun descended on the horizon, it was no wonder why brides were lining up to take their wedding photos here. This was the perfect way to end a long and adventurous day exploring Cappadocia on our own.

Red Valley Sunset Logistics

More Time? More to Explore

While we were really happy with what we were able to cover over the course of a day in on our self-guided Cappadocia day tour, there is so much more to see and do in this region, from the pottery makers of Avanos to the Ilhara Valley. There are also a handful of well-known hikes around the region including the Red and Rose Valleys and Pigeon Valley.

About Museum Pass Cappadocia

• Goreme Open Air Museum – 20TL
• Zelve Open Air Museum – 15TL
• Kaymakli Underground City – 20TL
• Derinkuyu Underground City – 20TL
• Özkonak Underground City
• Nevşehir Museum
• Cavusin Archaeological Site
• Hacibektas Museum

You should be able to purchase the pass from any of the locations requiring an entrance fee. Though we found conflicting information online, during our visit the Cappadocia Museum Pass did not allow us entrance into the Uchisar Castle or Dark Church.

Cappadocia Day Tours Roadmap

Our amazing cave hotel was kind enough to provide a hand drawn map for us to help navigate between the attractions.  This was necessary as you’ll quickly see roads are not well marked (except for the direction) and as far as we could tell most don’t have names. So we hope the google map we’ve put together below comes in handy for your day tour.  We also highly recommend staying at Esbelli Evi who can help you plan your day.

If You Go: Self-Guided Cappadocia Day Tours Logistics

What: Take a full-day to explore the Cappadocia region on your own schedule. This Self-Guided Cappadocia Day Tour Roadmap highlights some of the region’s most fascinating sights, both above and below ground. 

Where:  Cappadocia region, Turkey

When: You can explore Cappadocia year round, although there there is a period when there is snow on the ground requiring long periods exploring in the cold.

How: As this is a self-guided tour, it is up to you to drive yourself around the region. We found driving through Cappadocia to be very easy. If you don’t feel comfortable with hiring a car but still want the flexibility and freedom of a self-guided tour, you can hire a taxi driver for the day, though we were quoted this would cost US$90 excluding entrance fees to any of the sights.

Cost:  Our 24-hour car rental through Sixt cost us US$40. They dropped the sedan off and picked it up from our hotel when we were done. We also purchased the Museum Pass Cappadocia for 45TL (US$15.50) which granted us access to the Goreme and Zelve Open Air Musueums and Kaymakli and Derinkuyu Underground Cities.

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My Free Range Family

Destinations , Turkey · Last Updated: July 7, 2022

17 Magical Things to Do in Cappadocia, Turkey

Fairy chimneys, caves and hot air balloons… the scenery of Cappadocia could be straight out of a fairytale.  And nothing can prepare you for that moment you drive into this magical destination for the first time.  Cappadocia has this mystique about it and there are just not enough hours in a day to explore it all.

At a young age I remember coming across a photo of the fairy chimneys and cave houses in Cappadocia Turkey.  I was mesmerized and knew that one day I’d end up there exploring the valleys.  So, when I finally DID get there it was one of those surreal moments where you can’t actually believe you made it!

In Cappadocia you can find a little something for everyone. No longer just a hub for hiking valleys and exploring fairy chimneys, Cappadocia has diversified! Due to our now full-time slow travel, we were able to make REALLY explore the region on our one month road trip in Turkey . So look no further for a complete list of things to do in Cappadocia.

Browse through for the best free activities like walking and hiking, the best paid tours from the Green and Red Tour, to hot air balloons and we even throw in some of the best unique things to do in Cappadocia!

We’ll guide you to the best museums, churches and frescoes and the best vantage point to watch the hot air balloons. BUT to get you started we share three perfect hotels that you should check out… one to suit each type of budget.

Table of Contents

Where is Cappadocia

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Cappadocia refers to a very large region of Turkey.  You’d be forgiven for mistaking Cappadocia as the town that launches hot air balloons over fairy chimneys.  We made the same mistake, and on researching for our visit we learned that Cappadocia is in fact the entire region.  See our map below for a better understanding.   

This post highlights our top things to see and do in Cappadocia and so you’ll find some might involve up to a 40 minute drive to get to.  But trust me… every location we mention here is worth every minute.  If I could do it all over again I would.  

Before moving onto our really cool list of 18 things to do in Cappadocia, let’s first take a look at where to stay.  This is an important decision as it will greatly affect your stay in Cappadocia, particularly if you are like me and enjoy being at the centre of all the action.

Where to Stay in Cappadocia

The main village in Cappadocia is Göreme.  This is where we stayed and where I would recommend is best. We had friends who had visited before us and this piece of advice they shared with us served us well.

Aside from being a really cute little village, Göreme is the location that you see those now infamous photos of balloons in the background.  Ofcourse this also depends on the wind direction on the day, but generally speaking Göreme is the place to be. 

The second best location to stay is Uçhisar.  This is still very close to the action and can be a great vantage point to see the balloons from also.  

I recommend these three hotels in Göreme.

Budget – The Garden Cave Hotel

The Garden Cave is where we stayed.  We travel full-time so budget is important to us.  What we loved the most about The Garden Cave was that despite choosing budget accommodation we still had the cave room.  In other words, all the atmosphere at a fraction of the price. 

The staff were very friendly, the breakfast was great and the view from our balcony was perfect.  Ask for Room 2 if you can, as it has its own balcony.  The other thing is that the hotel is up high, it is at the end of a quiet road and is a short walk to Sunset View Point, which is one of the best views for catching the balloons in the morning.

In the same location come the following two midrange and high end hotels. And so you still benefit from the same beautiful, central, quieter location in Göreme, but just with a few more comforts.

Midrange – Grand Elite Cave Suites

If our budget was a little more flexible we would have stayed in the Grand Elite Cave Suites . This hotel is rated superb. They were right beside our hotel so the location was perfect. They have a great breakfast and pool to boot!

High End – Divan Cave Suites

And if we were still living and working in Dubai and travelling as we used to, the Divan Cave Suites would have been my top choice.

Their terrace provides the perfect view over Göreme and the hot air balloons. This is the perfect luxury location for a visit to Cappadocia.

For more information and choices on where to stay in Cappadocia, see this post here (coming soon.)

Things to do in Cappadocia

There are literally loads of things to do in Cappadocia as the area is massive.  What was once a destination for hikers and geology enthusiasts has now become a busy tourist hub.  With the arrival of Instagram and the hot air balloons Cappadocia blew up in terms of popularity.  

As a result, the region became big on adventure tourism – from hot air balloon rides, to ATV safaris to horse treks.  And so now they have a little bit of everything for everyone.

They have incredible walks for all levels of hikers and they have museums and historical sites for the history lovers. Basically, if you want any of the above OR to go carpet shopping, pottery making or get a photo shoot, then you are going to love Cappadocia.

Hot Air Balloon

Phew what an experience this is… and it isn’t just like any normal hot air balloon.  Given that you are surrounded by some other 200 balloons is what makes this hot air balloon ride stand out beyond all the other balloon rides.  

When it comes to price, it varies greatly.  Depending on the season, holiday seasons in Turkey, school holidays in Europe and plain old supply and demand.  During the peak it can go over 250 Euros and in winter you can get it for 100 Euros. 

The great thing about booking a balloon ride is if the weather doesn’t come to the party, you’ll always get your money back.  Usually tour providers hold the money and you go up when the weather is agreeable. But if you haven’t gone up before the end of your stay, then you can expect a full refund. 

The whole process is one extremely slick operation.  These tour providers know exactly what they are doing.   But see this post for our full review of a hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia .

Hot Air Balloon Booking

As always we like to book our tours with Get Your Guide original tours. Below are two of the best tour providers for balloon rides in Cappadocia. They are the most frequently booked with consistently high reviews. If you are on a tight schedule then we recommend booking your hot air balloon ride in advance. And note, that if you don’t get to fly you will receive a full refund.

Walks, Hikes & Valleys

Now before you assume I am a master hiker or something like that, I’ll let you know that I am nothing of the sort.  I enjoy nature and as a result love walking in nature.  Also, when you are on a budget travel mission, hiking and walking fits nicely into that category of travel.

So, the following walks and hikes that we did were beautiful and totally manageable for a non-hiker like me.  But most importantly were great for the kids – ours are nine and seven.  At times they needed a small motivational push, but mostly they handled it like champs.

Basically, you can turn up to any of these valleys and wander as little or as long as you like. There is no need to do the full track.

Rose & Red Valley

This hike was my favourite.  The starting point was only a five minute drive from town, two valleys, two completely different walks combined into one hike. 

The rock formations and colours on this walk are some of the best in Cappadocia. And the bit I loved the most was the total lack of other tourists.  I mean every now and again, we’d cross paths with another, but generally speaking… no one! 

The churches, and cave houses made for an interesting pit stop for the kids.  But also, the couple of tea houses where you can stop for a tea or fresh orange juice were a pleasant place to chill for five minutes.  

Download the AllTrail app if you don’t already have it.  We followed it very closely while walking the Rose and Red Valley tracks.  You don’t need the paid version, the free one is all we had.  It just helped to understand where we should be as the signs were a bit vague on route.  

We started from Rose Valley and walked the loop track in a clockwise direction.  Just keep the app open and use it to guide your path.  At times we had to backtrack a few metres when we realized we’d diverted from the trail.  To be honest I don’t think we would have finished the hike without the app.  All up we walked 9km and it took us four hours.

Note:  There is one section that involves some wall scaling.  There was a rope there to help and we whipped up it pretty quickly.  But you definitely want to bring some sturdy walking shoes and plenty of water.

Tip:  Rose Valley is a great spot to get photos of the hot air balloons, if they head in this direction.

Ihlara Valley

This was my second favourite walk and was about a 40 minute drive from Göreme.  We parked our car in Ihlara village near the Star Restaurant and walked to the starting point at the southern entrance of the valley, guided by the AllTrail app. There was small fee to pay to enter the national park and keep in mind this is not a loop track.  

We didn’t walk the full valley, instead we choose to complete it at Belisirma. You can also return and walk back the way you came. But as we had the kids we decided to grab a taxi at Belisirma to bring us back to the start.

What makes Ihlara Valley special is the river valley which you follow.  A contrast to the fairy chimney and rocky views typical of Cappadocia, in this valley you are surrounded by lush green scenery.  

All the way down the river you’ll find cave churches a few minutes walk up from the river’s edge. In some of these churches you will find stunning frescoes painted from 900-1000 AD. The beauty of the Ihlara Valley track is that you can pick and choose which cave churches you want to walk up to.  

In total the walk was 6.5 km and it took us under four hours to walk one way.  That included a lunch stop and plenty of photo taking.  

Some of our favourites churches were Kokar Church, Dark Castle Church, Jacinth Church, Kirkdamalti Church (also known as St George Church).

When you get to the end of the track walk out the gates and head left up the road a little further to the Direkli Church.  This was actually one of my favourites with the central columns a striking difference from the other churches we had seen.  And the frescoes painted on the columns were incredible.  Back down the hill we caught our taxi back to the car for around 100 Lira.

Love & Pigeon Valley

This walk can be taken from Göreme and connects two well-known valleys into one.  It also includes Uçhisar Castle (more below).

Starting from Göreme and heading through Pigeon Valley, look out for the small pigeon sized holes carved into the rock walls.  Historically speaking, pigeon poo was very important to the people living in these valleys.  The holes were carved to encourage pigeons to set up nest here.  This gave locals access to their manure, which played an important role in fertilization for gardens.

Link up to Uçhisar castle for some lunch or a tea and then carry on back towards Göreme via Love Valley.  This one is famous for the phallic shaped fairy chimneys most commonly photographed in Cappadocia.

Once again, check the AllTrail app for a detailed and interactive map for navigating this trail.

Tip:  Love Valley can also be a great spot to photograph the hot air balloons early in the morning, wind depending.

Devrent Valley – Imagination Valley

Imagination Valley is a good one for the kids.  We treated it as a drive by really, jumping out of the car for a couple of quick pictures and stretch the legs.  

The rock formations in this cluster are a little more unique than the other areas and are subject to interpretation.  Take a wander and use your imagination… what is it that you see?

Sunset View Point

Sunset view is a must see… pure and simple.  We went for sunset, but ofcourse it is peaking at 5.30am for sunrise as well when the balloons are in the air and the day is clear.  There is a small charge to get in which is paid just a little further towards the bottom of the road.

If you decide to have a tea at Sunset View Point, first ask the price!  We had friends who were stung with a high bill because they forgot to ask first.

Underground Cities

Did you know there are some 30+ underground cities visited in the Cappadocia region?  Neither did we!  They were a real surprise and an experience that we really enjoyed.  I am not a lover of small spaces, but these underground cities were an exceptional place to visit.

They have literally been carved deep down into the earth. At some point we were down four stories.  And when you stop to think about that when you are four stories down the thought becomes a little overwhelming.  So, you make the decision to stop thinking about it and carry on exploring more dark corners.  They are maze like and great fun for the kids.

There is a small fee to enter the underground cities.  Each varies depending on the location.  We were recommended the following three caves by a local friend and so we explored the first two.

This was the smaller underground city of the three mentioned and less visited by tourists.  We visited Özkonak first and this gave us a great introduction to what an underground city was all about. 

What we liked about Özkonak was the grounds just outside the exit.  Take a stroll through the grassy area and you can see more cave dwellings above ground. 

I recommend arriving early to avoid the tourist buses.  It did get a little crowded while we were there as a large bus arrived just before our visit.  Also, there are a few dark corners to explore, so bring a headlamp and go a bit further into the lesser explored rooms should you choose.

Kaymakli  

Kaymakli is the wider of the three caves mentioned here.  There is a route in and a route out which makes navigating the caves in and out relatively easy amidst the other tourists.  It was probably one of our favourites of the two because of the depth you get to.

There was a little documentary at the entrance to the cave which also helped explain how these underground cities came about.  It was interesting to learn that they were only inhabited when under threat of invasion.  Basically, when the villages were attacked they would go to ground and hide. 

In Kaymakli there were rooms, a church, wine pressing chambers a kitchen.  There were also large ventilations shafts that gave a perception of just how deep down they would go.  But probably the most intriguing fact is that we were only able to explore a fraction of the city.  In many cases, the underground cities were not entirely excavated. 

This is the most visited underground city and certainly the most popular. It is the deepest of the three mentioned here, at eight floors down you’re getting pretty far down!

We didn’t visit Derinkuyu as the first two came highly recommended. And when you’ve seen two, I think that’s enough for one trip. When we go back to Cappadocia we’ll be sure to make a stop at this one too.

Open Air Museums

There are a couple of open air museums worth visiting, but read below to narrow down which is better suited to your budget or preferred experience.

Göreme Open Air Museum

The Göreme Open Air Museum is one of the main tourist attractions in Göreme.  Confession – it wasn’t one that we visited. We had so many other places to see and visit that we just didn’t get to this one.  

About 1.5km out of the main village in Göreme this is nice and close and walking distance from town.  Inside you’ll find churches, incredible frescoes and believe it or not more cave houses!  

In total honesty, we had friends that visited and the reviews from all were mixed.  In my opinion, if you are walking the Rose and Red Track or Love Valley then you’re essentially seeing more of the same thing.  If you perhaps don’t have a rental car and therefore no access to these trails then it would be worth the visit. 

Açık Saray Museum – Free to Enter

This special little place is one totally off the tourist trail… a little secret shared by a friend living in Göreme.  What was once a museum that tourists used to pay to enter, is now open for free.  A few years back, the museum commission decided to up and leave and so now it is essentially abandoned. Gates wide open for all to explore at will.

Given that there was no one there, this was one of my favourite places to visit in Cappadocia.  And if you go early May when we did, you might be lucky to see the wildflowers in bloom. It brings the space to life!  And an hour or two before sunset is the picture perfect time of day to walk through the caves.

Our friend took us for a family photoshoot and got these beautiful pictures.  Read below for more details on getting your own family photos in Cappadocia.

The open air museum spans a few kilometres in total.  And when you stroll from the path to explore the cave houses, the church and cathedral it feels surreal that you would have it all to yourself.  

Uçhisar Castle

If you happen to enter Göreme from the East, then chances are this is the first glimpse you will get of iconic Cappadocia.  The castle is an impressive sight and is one of the tallest points in the area.  The castle was inhabited until the 1960’s but now is only open for tourism.

While there is not a lot to see inside the castle aside from the normal cave rooms and passages the panoramic views from the top can’t be beat!  

There is also a walk via Pigeon Valley that ends at Uçhisar Castle, so you might like to combine the two sights into one.  Read the Love and Pigeon Valley above for directions on how to get there.

Photoshoots in Cappadocia

Now it has to be said that Cappadocia is the most ideal instagrammable destination.  Images of rooftops covered with carpets and cushions flood the gram.  And if you want a little piece of this action then we can tell you how to get it.

First of all, don’t be fooled by these Instagram shots.  They are more often than not shot by photographers and that carpet and table with bowl of fruit is essentially a photoshoot. The insta reality is that there is a line of people waiting in the wings for the same photo.  

But hey I get it, Cappadocia is a bucketlist destination and let’s be honest there is no place on earth with these unique views.  Fairy chimneys, cave houses and hot air balloons as I said in the beginning, are stuff that fairytales are made of. 

So, if you want this view then book yourself a night at the Sultan Cave Suites .  They are perched high on the hill and their in-house photographer will help you get that family photo you are looking for. But prepare yourself ahead for the queue of people who are waiting for the same photo. It isn’t actually the dreamy relaxed breakfast it is made out to be.

My Favourite Photographer in Cappadocia

If you want my favourite photographer in town, Maria claims to be a hobby photographer but in reality, she is the real deal!   Look her up on Instagram and reach out, she might be in town if you are lucky… home is the Ukraine, but her second home is Cappadocia.

Best Spots to Photograph the Hot Air Balloons

If you want to get your own photos of the balloons in the morning like I did then read on.  I woke up early every morning.  No sleep-in for our family in Cappadocia.

In truth everyone will tell you they know the best place… but on the day it really all depends on which way the wind blows. And this basically means, there is a bit of luck involved. I recommend, got to bed with a bit of a plan the night before, get up just before 5am and then monitor which way the balloons are headed. Then get there pronto!

• The best view of course is from a hot air balloon.  
• The next best way is to head to Sunset View Point (read above).
• Drive to the launch points or landing points to get really close.
• Book a night at Sultan Caves Suites for a rooftop view.
• Wake up early – keep an eye on which direction the balloons are veering towards and then drive to either Love Valley or Rose Valley.

Alternative Things to do in Cappadocia

One of the things we love about Cappadocia, were the reasonably priced tours. There are so many ways to explore this region and honestly something for everyone.

We recommend booking a couple of things and going for it… chances are you won’t be back. So might as well splash out on a few of the more unique things to do in Cappadocia and make some cool memories.

Sundowners at Crazy Ali’s

Now I know we mentioned visiting Sunset View Point at sunrise, well now I’m going to tell you where to go for an alternative sunset. Follow the road Dr. Zeliha Berksoy Blv. out of town to the top of Rose and Red Valley. Grab a beanbag or a cushion, order a drink and enjoy the sunset.

For more clarification on the location, check our map below.

Red and Green Tours

If you don’t have a rental car but you don’t want to miss the sights then book yourself a Red or Green tour of Cappadocia. The red tour is centred around the history and culture of Cappadocia, while the Green tour visits underground cities and usually Ihlara Valley.

Big Bus Tour

Yes, I was also surprised to see that the Big Bus Tour company are in Cappadocia! From the open air double decker bus you’ll have a great view of the mountains, fairy chimneys, valleys and scenery of Cappadocia. Also included is a stop at the Zelve Open Air Museum.

Horse Riding Tours

IF you are a horse lover then consider booking a two hour horse riding tour through the Rose and Red Valley. We passed a few groups going out on a trek while we hiked and the backdrop and surroundings couldn’t be prettier. The horses look well cared for and the tour includes a pickup from your hotel. Easy peasy!

Make Pottery in Avanos

For something a little different take a drive to Avanos and explore the town of pottery. As soon as you drive in you begin to note that the craft of pottery making is a central focus. This is because of the red clay that comes from the river banks.

As a result there are many workshops and ateliers to visit, and hey why not take a quick crash course in the art. Culture trip recommend avoiding the large tourist shops and head for where the real art happens in the smaller family run ateliers.

Final Thoughts on Cappadocia + Map

This about exhausts our list of things to do in Cappadocia. We know you’ll find something from this list to keep you busy and to get you on your way towards making holiday memories of a lifetime.

Cappadocia is superb and I have no doubt you will absolutely love your time there. Still have some more questions? Drop them below and we’ll get right back to you!

Check out our other posts on Turkey –

• Turkey Road Trip
• Visiting ANZAC Cove and Gallipoli
• 4 Days in Istanbul
• Planning for the Perfect Visit to Pamukkale
• 16 Awesome Things to Do in Kas
• Taking a Hot Air Balloon in Cappadocia – Is it Worth it?

And don’t forget to pin this post for later!

We now travel full-time and have plenty more itineraries and guides to share on all the destinations we visit. Sign up to follow our journey! (And don’t worry we won’t spam you with unnecessary emails.)

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Stories by Soumya

The Travel Blog of a Culture Addict

Green Tour Cappadocia – Itinerary + Price + All You Need To Know

Last Updated on April 17, 2023 by Soumya

Thinking of a Green Tour in Cappadocia, Turkey ? Keen to find out what is part of a Green Tour itinerary, what are the prices, and how long the tour takes? Is it good value for money?

I just came back from my month-long trip to Turkey and honestly, the Green Tour was one of the best things I did in Cappadocia . Well, the hot air balloon also! And the hundreds of rock-cut churches and the amazing fairy chimneys too! Cappadocia is one amazing place that you should definitely have on your Turkey bucket list.

But, a Cappadocia Green Tour is a great way to see some of the best attractions in the region in a short time. The tour includes one of Turkey’s mysterious underground cities, the picturesque Ihlara Valley, Selime Monastery, a panoramic viewpoint, and a couple of other smaller stops.

In my opinion, the Green Tour is good value for money especially because you get to cover a lot during the tour. These attractions are not particularly close to each other and not easy to get to by public transport which is not the case with a Cappadocia Red Tour (I delve into details in my Green Tour vs Red Tour section here) .

That’s why it makes all the more sense to sign up for a Green Tour in Cappadocia. One of the highest rated tours in the market is this small-group tour with a knowledgeable tour guide.

However, I highly recommend that you red through this entire post and then decide if the Green Tour is a good fit for your Cappadocia itinerary .

Table of Contents

Quick link to the best Cappadocia Green Tour

Which green tour did I join?

Small-group Cappadocia Green Tour

Please note: This post may contain affiliate links which means I may earn a commission if you make a purchase by clicking a link on this post. This will be at no additional cost to you. Affiliate links help me keep this website up and running. Thanks for your support!

What is a Green Tour in Cappadocia?

A Green Tour in Cappadocia is a popular, full-day tour that covers some of the best attractions in southwestern Cappadocia including an underground city, the Ihara Valley, Selime Monastery, and Pigeon Valley.

When I arrived in Cappadocia, I was surprised to find all shops and stores displaying signs of Red, Blue, and Green Tours. Apart from the famous Cappadocia hot air balloon rides , of course.

After some asking around, I found that red tours covered the northern part of Cappadocia including the more popular spots such as Goreme Open Air Museum and Uchisar Viewpoint. Green tours covered the southwestern part of Cappadocia and included an underground city, Ihlara Valley, and Selime Monastery. Blue tours were somewhere between the two and the least popular.

If you have enough time like 3 days in Cappadocia or more, I would recommend that you do both the Green Tour and the Red Tour. However, if you are spending fewer nights here and have time for only one tour, I recommend doing the Green Tour. I have reasoned it out my section on Green vs Red here .

Note that all these tours are full-day tours but start around 9:00am in the morning. So, you can easily do them even if you are doing a hot air balloon ride in the morning.

Sample Green Tour itinerary

Depending on which agency you pick, your Green Tour itinerary may differ a little bit. But overall, this is what a sample itinerary for a Cappadocia Green Tour looks like.

Goreme Panorama

The first stop on our itinerary was the Goreme Panorama. This place, as the name suggests, offers a stunning panoramic view of Goreme. The viewpoint gives a 180-degree view of Cappadocia’s fairy chimneys with the Uchisar Castle at a distance.

There are several benches in the area where you can just sit and absorb the beauty of the landscape that surrounds you. I urge you to venture a little away and find a quieter spot for yourself, without the crowds.

Small shops have cropped up in the area. They sell everything ranging from dondurmas (Turkish ice cream), gozlemes, and small trinkets in case you wish to purchase some. But feel free to venture away and capture some of your best photographs in Cappadocia, here.

Your tour guide will allow you 20-30 minutes to enjoy the views at Goreme Panorama.

If you decide not to do the Green Tour in Cappadocia, you can visit the Panorama on your own. It is a 30 minutes walk from Goreme City Center in the direction of Uchisar. A good bit of the walk is uphill, though.

Onyx factory or Pigeon Valley

Next up on our list was a tour of the Onyx Factory and a view of Pigeon Valley. Since both are located right opposite each other, we could pick what we liked. There was no pressure to go to the Onyx factory.

I am always a little wary of factories that process precious stones (or claim to do so). Plus, I have heard of some stone scams in Turkey. Therefore, we decided to do Pigeon Valley, instead. And boy! What a view that was! This was even better than the one at Goreme Panorama.

Pigeon Valley gets its name from the hundreds of dovecotes that have been carved into the soft tufa rock in this region. Our guide told us that pigeons have always played important roles (as messengers and their poop as fertilizer) in the lives of Cappadocian people. This place was, once, home to thousands of pigeons. Now, only a few hundred remain.

Pigeon Valley is one of the best places to watch a sunset in Cappadocia, if you decide to come back later. Or you can do a Cappadocia Blue Tour which almost always ends with the sunset at Pigeon Valley.

Kaymakli Underground City

One of the best things that is included in the Green Tour itinerary is a visit to an underground city in Cappadocia. You’ll probably have Derinkuyu or Kaymakli on the list. Both are located in southern Cappadocia and just 10mins from each other.

Cappadocia is famous for its strange martian landscape and out-of-the-world fairy chimneys. However, not many people know of the hundreds of subterranean settlements that remain hidden within the surface of Cappadocia.

Huge, multi-tiered cities complete with living rooms, community kitchens, wine cellars, stables, and sanctuaries dot the insides of this region in Turkey. Many of them date back to the 1st century when Christians fled from Roman persecutors and chose to hide in these underground colonies. The cities were repeatedly used during the Arab raids and Ottoman attacks later in history.

We visited Kaymakli on our green trip. It was surreal to enter into this hypogeal world and wonder how life would have been for people who spent months hiding. Be sure to notice the tall ventilation shafts that were used to provide citizens with fresh air.

Here are a few points to prepare you for the underground trip.

• You’ll need to walk through narrow tunnels and enclosed spaces while exploring. If you are extremely claustrophobic, it is best to avoid the underground city tour. However, if you’d like to test the waters, I highly recommend going down the first level and then gauging if you can do it. You can always come back from the first level.
• Wear a hat to avoid bumping your head especially if you are taller than 70 inches.
• There isn’t much light inside, so be prepared for low light photography.

Ihlara Valley hike

After being done with Kaymakli Underground City, we headed to our next destination – Ihlara Valley. The valley was a good 1-hour drive from Kaymakli and many in the van enjoyed a quick nap.

Ihlara is a stunning green valley located in a canyon between the villages of Ihlara and Belisarma. A glittering, gurgling Melendiz river flows through it and you can enjoy some tea or lunch by the river in a traditional Turkish setting.

Perhaps, the most interesting part about Ihlara Valley is the presence of numerous rock-cut churches here. Dating back to the 7th century, these Byzantine churches are adorned with gorgeous murals and religious frescoes.

We visited the first church on our way down the stairs of Ihlara Valley. It was the Agacalti Church with frescoes dating back to the pre-Iconoclast period of 9-11th centuries. Some of the remarkable scenes that you can still see here are the Annunciation, the Nativity, and the coming of three Magi.

There are several other churches that you’ll notice during your hike through the valley. You can always come back and visit them on your own.

During the easy hike by the river, you’ll come across a sort of a restaurant area where you can enjoy a cup of tea by the river or dig into some gozlemes (Turkish stuffed bread). You’ll have for these on your own.

At the end of the hike, you’ll have lunch (included in the cost of the tour). Our meal consisted of soup, salad, bread, and a veg/non-veg casserole. The food was okay, nothing out of the world.

A few points to note before the Ihlara Valley hike.

• You’ll need to climb down about 350 stairs to get to the bottom of the canyon from where you’ll begin the hike.
• It is an easy hike by the Melendiz River, not much climbing involved. Honestly, it is not really a hike, more of a walk with a few ups and downs. A long walk for sure! Get a good pair of walking shoes.
• There are several Instagram spots by the river where you can click great pictures.
• Note that your tour will usually have one rock-cut church in the itinerary. If you want to see more, you’ll have to come back later on your own.
• Toilets are available at the end of the hike at the restaurant where you are going to have lunch.

Yaprakhisar

Yaprakhisar is a massive rocky outcrop with rock-cut churches and monastic dwellings. It provides a stunning view against the clear blue skies and is apparently the place that inspired several scenes in Star Wars!

We just passed by this attraction but I guess, you can ask your guide to stop for a few minutes if you need some pictures.

Selime Monastery

Our next stop was Selime Monastery which was probably the most tricky climb of the day but totally worth it.

Selime is one of the most elaborate cave complexes in the region and an absolute must-have on your Cappadocia bucket list . The entire complex is cut into a cliff that is 50m above the valley and is home to a cathedral, monastery, kitchen, and even a stable. The walls were once covered with colorful frescoes but not much remains today.

It is believed that the Selime Monastery was built sometime between the 8th – 9th centuries. As a result, it has seen the Byzantines, the Romans, the Persians, the Ottomans, and nearly everyone that has influenced Turkey’s history.

At one point of time, Selime was used as a caranvanserai for merchants and travelers on the Silk Road. No doubt, there’s a ton of history hidden here.

Climbing to the top of Selime Monastery can be a little hard (because of the undulating structure of the tufa rock) but not undoable. Good shoes are key.

There are toilets and Turkish gifts stores after you are done with the complex tour.

Mt. Hasan view

On our way back to Goreme, we stopped for a few minutes to get some pictures of Mt. Hasan glistening in the sun. This was definitely the best end to our Cappadocia Green Tour.

Quick note: The eruption of Mt. Hasan is what created the canyon that Ihlara Valley rests in.

Itinerary map for Green Tour

Green Tour or Red Tour?

Honestly, both. But if you need to prioritize, I would recommend you pick the Green Tour over the Red Tour in Cappadocia. And there is a reason for that.

Green Tour takes you to places that are hard to reach by foot or public transport. For seeing Ihlara Valley or Selime Monastery, you’ll need to hire a taxi which costs about 100 EUR per day in Cappadocia.

However, the Red Tour covers attractions that can be accessed by public transport. And sometimes by walking. For example, the Red Tour includes Goreme Open Air Museum, Pasabag, and Avanos which can be easily reached by a dolmus (shared mini-buses that are the best public transport in Turkey) from Goreme City Center.

These mini-vans run every hour, from 7:00am – 8:00pm, from Urgup – Avanos and vice versa. The dolmus ride will cost between 7 – 15 TL depending on where you are going.

To get to Uchisar, you can use the Avanos – Nevshehir bus.

Price of Green Tour in Cappadocia

Depending on the travel agency you choose, the price of a Green Tour in Cappadocia can vary between $40 – $50. The tour price includes entrance fees to all the historical sites and lunch. If you decide to buy anything else, then you will have to pay on your own.

This price is for a small group tour (14-16 people) and you’ll be traveling in an air-conditioned van. There will be a tour guide who will lead the group, an aide who makes sure everyone is coming along, and a driver.

Important point to remember.

If you have a Turkey Museum Pass, note that entrance to Kaymakli, Ihlara, and Selime are covered in your museum pass . Be sure to mention that to your Green Tour provider and ask him for a discount that equals the sum of the value of these tickets. We got a $5 off our tour tickets because of our museum passes.

Book your Green Tour

You can always book your Green Tour online and reserve your slot.

My favorite go-to sites are GetYourGuide and Viator because they are easy to use and have flexible cancellation policies. Based on my personal experience, the rates on these platforms are competitive with the ones that you get on site or through your hotels. But you can always ask your hotels and check.

Here are some of the highest-rated green tours in the market.

• This highly-recommended Green Tour in Cappadocia comes at a really attractive price. Guests love the knowledgeable guide and the underground city tour.
• On this small group tour , you’ll not just see the usual Green Tour attractions but also get a chance to visit the beautiful crater Lake of Nar.
• If you are looking for a private tour, here’s a great one . You’ll not just visit the green places of interest but also step into the Sarihan Caravanserai from the 13th century.

Green Tour pick up time

The pick up time is usually around 9:30am in Goreme.

We were staying at Design Cave Suites in Goreme, so we were picked up around 9:45am from our hotel (official pick up time was 9:30am but there was a traffic jam in Goreme).

If you are staying in Urgup or Mustafapasa, you might be picked up a little earlier, say between 8:30 – 9:00am. If you are staying in Uchisar, you may be picked up around 10:00am.

Green Tour travel tips

• Green Tours will pick you up between 8:30-10:00am depending on where you are staying in Cappadocia. Please ensure that you are ready on time to avoid discomfort to your fellow passengers and to make the most out of your own day.
• Carry a good pair of walking shoes because there’s a lot of walking in Ihlara Valley and a bit of climbing at Selime Monastery.
• Underground cities have narrow tunnels that you’ll need to bend and walk through. If you are claustrophobic, I would advise you to avoid this part of the tour. If you wish to give it a try, read my section on Kaymakli .
• You’ll find toilets at the Onyx Factory, Kaymakli Underground City, restaurant in Ihlara valley, and Selime Monastery. Some of these might be paid and require 2-3 TL. The toilets at the restaurant are free to use.

Is the Green Tour worth it?

The Green Tour in Cappadocia is absolutely worth it because it takes you to some of the best attractions in Cappadocia that are not easily reachable by transport. You get to explore an underground city, hike through a stunning river valley, and check out the fascinating rock-cut monastery of Selime, all on the same day at a very affordable price.

Loved our Cappadocia Green Tour guide? Pin it for later!

You may also like:

• Hot Air Balloon Ride In Cappadocia: What You Need To Know?
• 13 Best Cappadocia Tours That Are Totally Worth Your Money
• The Best Cappadocia Itinerary - How Many Days Is…

10 thoughts on “ Green Tour Cappadocia – Itinerary + Price + All You Need To Know ”

Hi, thank you for a great guide to Cappadocia! Do you mind providing a link for the green tour you did? I’ve looked at reviews of several green tours but all of them seem to do mandatory jewelry stops which I don’t want. The tour you did sounds perfect!

Hi Roopa, The tour that I did also had a jewelry stop – it was the onyx factory. But there was no pressure to go there. You can also excuse yourself from the factory tour and appreciate the scenery outside, instead. For us, the factory was right next to the Pigeon Valley so I had a good time capturing photos of Pigeon Valley. I have linked to the Green Tour that I took here . I have also linked to the tour in a yellow box on the top of my post.

Thanks a lot for the info! We’re headed to cappadocia in a few days. Just booked the same tour that you did 🙂

That’s great. Hope you have an amazing tour of Cappadocia. Happy travels.

Thank you for the information shared. Very helpful.

Glad you found this Green Tour info useful. Have a good trip to Cappadocia.

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Red Tour Vs Green Tour Cappadocia: Which Is Better?

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No Turkey itinerary is complete without visiting Cappadocia, a valley in Central Anatolia known for its surreal desert landscapes, rich history, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Goreme National Park , and of course, epic hot air balloon rides. 

If you’re short on time, you may be deciding between the Cappadocia Red Tour vs Green Tour. While there are many ways to explore the vast landscape of Cappadocia, the Green Tour and the Red Tour are two of the most popular ways for short-term visitors.

While the Green Tour and the Red Tour both feature some of the best attractions in Cappadocia, they each offer something completely different. Not a single attraction overlaps with what the other tour has to offer.

And for travelers that can only afford to pick one of the two tours, which one should they pick?

After exploring every attraction on both the green and red tour, we are here to tell you why one is better than the other…

Planning a trip to Cappadocia last-minute?

Make sure you book your tours, places to stay, and airport transfers ahead of time to ensure availability!

Here is our recommended airport transfer in Cappadocia:

• Airport Shuttle From Nevşehir Airport (NAV) or Kayseri Airport (ASR) (Super affordable!)

Here are our recommended tours in Cappadocia:

• Hot Air Balloon Ride In Cappadocia At Sunrise (A must-do In Cappadocia)
• ATV Tours At Sunset
• Green Tour In Cappadocia (Perfect for those not renting a car!)

Here are our recommended places to stay in Cappadocia:

• Koza Cave Hotel (Amazing views and great photo opportunities)
• Museum Hotel (Most luxurious hotel in Cappadocia)
• Kamelya Cave Hostel (Budget hostel with cave rooms!)

Quick Glance: Which Tour is Better? Red or Green?

Both tours are excellent, but if you have to pick just one tour out of the two, we recommend going for the green tour .

On the green tour, visitors can see some of the most well-known sights in Cappadocia, such as Derinkuyu Underground City , Ihlara Valley, and Selime Monastery.

These attractions are situated very far from Goreme, where most tourists stay in Cappadocia. This means that tourists usually either have to spend a lot of money or time to get to them.

Though the red tour has some iconic landmarks as well, such as the Göreme Open-Air Museum, it is an attraction that’s easily accessible by foot. Visitors can explore most of the sights on the red tour independently without much hassle.

But of course, there are circumstances where the green tour isn’t the best, so read on and find out if you should pick the red or green tour in Cappadocia!

Don’t Miss Out on the BEST Experience in Cappadocia!

No trip to Cappadocia is complete without taking an epic hot air balloon flight at sunrise!

Make sure you reserve your tour well in advance to avoid missing out or paying any additional fees last minute!

What Are the Stops on The Red Tour in Cappadocia?

The red tour is sometimes known as the North Cappadocia tour, and the following are the stops:

• Uchisar Castle
• Goreme Open Air Museum
• Avanos Town (Pottery Workshops)
• Pasabag Valley (Monks Valley)
• Devrent Imagination Valley

This is the general itinerary for the red tour in Cappadocia. Depending on the tour company, the order of these stops might change. It is a protocol to stop overcrowding. Just imagine every tour bus going to the same spot at the same time. Not so pretty, eh?

For example, Uchisar Castle is sometimes visited at the end of the tour instead of at the beginning of the tour. 

The red tour starts at 9 AM and ends at about 5 PM.

What Are the Stops on The Green Tour in Cappadocia?

The green tour is sometimes known as the South Cappadocia tour, and these are the stops:

• Esentepe Viewpoint (Pigeon Valley Viewpoint)
• Derinkuyu Underground City
• Ihlara Valley
• Belisirma Village (next to Melendiz River)
• Selime Monastery
• Onyx Jewelry Factory (Mostly for souvenirs and shopping)

This is the general itinerary for the green tour. Similar to the red tour, the order of these stops might change. The Esentepe Viewpoint stop can either be at the beginning of the tour, or at the end of the tour.

It’s only a quick stop though, so if you want to see more of Pigeon Valley, consider the Cappadocia Blue Tour .

The green tour starts at about 9 AM, and ends around 6:30 PM. 

Red Tour VS Green Tour: Which Is Best Value-for-Money?

Value-for-money is determined by how much it would cost (in time and money) if we were to visit the same attractions on each tour independently. We use Goreme as our base here, simply because most people end up staying in Goreme when they visit Cappadocia.

It is worth noting that both tours cover the entrance fees and tour guide fees, so we are not going to take that into account when considering which tour is worth more money.

For the red tour , all of the attractions are situated at most a 15-minute drive from Goreme. Many of these attractions, such as Avanos, Uchisar Castle, and Cavusin, are accessible via a beautiful hike through Cappadocia or public transportation.

For the green tour , the attractions are situated much farther away. Ihlara Valley is a 75-minute drive away and Derinkuyu Underground City is about 40 minutes away from Goreme. 

While Derinkuyu is accessible by public transportation, it takes more than half a day to get there with the transfers. Ihlara Valley is inaccessible via public transportation, meaning you must take a pricey taxi or rent a car to get there. 

When it comes to value-for-money, the green tour in Cappadocia is the clear winner.

Winner: Green Tour

Red Tour VS Green Tour: Level of Physical Activity

For physical activity, we’ll determine which tour requires more physical effort. While some people like physical effort, the majority don’t, especially not on vacation. So for this category, the lower the level of physical activity, the better.

The red tour is pretty laid back with a minimal amount of walking. You’re driven to every stop of the tour, the only walking you’ll be doing is inside the attractions.

For example, at Goreme Open Air Museum, you’ll need to walk around (just a little bit) to check out all the rock-cut churches, cave dwellings, and pigeon homes. But the physical activity is generally very low, so even families visiting Turkey with kids or elders can experience it all.

On the contrary, the green tour is much more strenuous . At Derinkuyu Underground City, there are tunnels where visitors may find tight spaces, but it’s not as narrow as its neighbor city, Kaymakli Underground City .

At Ihlara Valley, visitors have to descend about 400 steps to get into the valley, and then hike another 3 to 4 kilometers. The hike ends at Belisirma Village, where tourists will have lunch on the Melendiz River. This hike takes about 1 to 1.5 hours to complete.

It is not the most challenging hike as the terrain is quite flat, but visitors should be mentally prepared before coming in. The steps down into the valley are the most challenging part of the hike.

When it comes to physical activity, the red tour is the clear winner.

Winner: Red Tour

Red Tour VS Green Tour: Which Is Better For Attractions?

Which tour has better attractions? Red or green? While this category certainly depends on the type of traveler and what they are looking for, we’ll determine the answer through a general consensus among all tourists.

On the red tour , visitors can have a guided tour of the Goreme Open-Air Museum, arguably the BEST attraction in Cappadocia. Here, you can see some of the features that made Cappadocia so famous, such as cave dwellings, rock-cut churches, and stunning frescoes.

Another notable attraction on the red tour is Uchisar Castle , the highest point in Cappadocia. Unfortunately, you cannot enter the castle while you are on the tour, but you can go back another day if you wanted to.

Lastly, you have the Devrent Valley , which is a valley with fairy chimneys and rock formations that look like animals and other shapes. The most iconic one is the camel-looking rock formation.

On the green tour , visitors can explore the Derinkuyu Underground City, an 18-story underground city that is also the biggest underground city in Turkey. Though only eight stories are open to visitors. 

Tourists then head to the Ihlara Valley, a 15-kilometer long valley with lush greenery, cave churches, cave dwellings, and beautiful wildlife. Once upon a time, 80,000 people called this place home. The tour ends with a visit to Selime Monastery, a massive 13th-century monastery carved into a mountain.

Attractions-wise, both tours offer an amazing experience, but the green tour slightly edges out the red tour by offering a few more of the best attractions in Cappadocia .

Cappadocia Green Tour VS Red Tour: Which Has Better Photo Opportunities?

One of the biggest reasons to visit Cappadocia is to capture stunning photos. While both the red and green tours visit some of the most epic places in Cappadocia, which one is better for taking photos?

On the red tour , there are many places where you can take great photos. At Uchisar Castle, the highest point in Cappadocia, visitors have sweeping panoramic views of the Cappadocian Valley below. 

At Goreme Open-Air Museum and Cavusin, visitors can take photos of cool caves, churches, dwellings and frescoes. And finally, at Paşabağ Valley and Devrent Valley, you can get photos of some of the most unique fairy chimneys in the region.

📚 Read More: Love Valley in Cappadocia: Phallic Fairy Chimneys

There are plenty of photo opportunities on the red tour.

On the green tour , you have as many photo-taking opportunities as the red tour, but there is a lot more variety. You can get sweeping views of the desert landscape of Cappadocia at Esentepe Viewpoint. At Derinkuyu Underground City, you have the unique opportunity to capture the complex tunnel system that was built in the 8th century BCE.

At Ihlara Valley, the lush green landscape and the Belisirma Village next to the Melendiz River offer the perfect Instagram opportunity. Lastly, Selime Monastery is an epic rock-cut church with plenty of frescos.

Every stop on the green tour offers a very different scenery than the previous stop, which is not something the red tour can do. 

For that reason, the green tour offers better photo-taking opportunities than the red tour.

Green Tour Vs Red Tour Cappadocia: The Winner

For its excellent value-for-money, incredible attractions, and stunning photo-taking opportunities, the Cappadocia green tour is overall better than the red tour. 

However, there is one thing you might want to consider when booking your green tour, and that is how much walking and hiking you’ll need to do.

For visitors with mobility problems, this might be your dealbreaker. But worry not, the red tour still has plenty to offer and will wow you in every way.

If you have two full days in Cappadocia, then you have plenty of time to do both day tours and visit all the top destinations in the region.

If you are interested in the green tour or the red tour, make sure you check out our recommended tours down below. These tours are with GetYourGuide, a reputable international travel company that offers you FREE cancellation up to 24 hours before your tour!

I hope our red tour vs green tour Cappadocia guide has helped you decide which one is more suitable for you!

Any questions? Leave them in the comments!

Co-Founder of The Turkey Traveler

Sean Lau is a professional travel blogger and writer with adoration for Turkey. Originally from the USA, Sean frequently travels to Turkey to explore every nook and cranny. From bustling bazaars of Istanbul to the tranquil beaches of Antalya, Sean has seen it all. He hopes to share his first-hand knowledge, insider insights, and personal anecdotes to inspire fellow travelers to visit Turkey, especially to his favorite destinations – Istanbul and Cappadocia.

27 thoughts on “Red Tour Vs Green Tour Cappadocia: Which Is Better?”

Thank you for your comprehensive descriptions of each tour. Can you describe the time and type of walking of walking in the valley please. Is it very rough terrain. And how far is the walk, is it there and back to the vehicle, and at what point is lunch served?

Hey Marianne, thanks for leaving a comment.

If you are referring to the Ihlara Valley on the green tour, then the hike is about 3 to 4 km and takes about 1 to 1.5 hours to complete. The terrain is actually quite flat and the scenery is beautiful. However, to get down to Ihlara Valley from the village, you have to climb down about 400 steps. The hike stops at Belisirma Village, where you’ll have lunch on one of its iconic floating restaurants at around 1 PM. The transport picks you up here, so you don’t need to worry about hiking back to where you started.

Hope that answers your questions!

Hey, is it possible to do green tour with 1 year old Kid?

Yes, but you’ll have to carry the kid around.

Would the baby stroller works in green tour?

No, a baby stroller would not work for the green tour. You’ll need a baby carrying bag.

This was incredibly helpful! Green tour it is.

This is incredibly useful! Is it possible to book any of these tours after landing in Cappadocia? I was thinking about booking a tour a day prior (traveling in December!).

Hi Nandita, yes you can book a day before for most tours. Because you are traveling in December, you might find some tour companies have closed for the winter so make sure you arrive in Cappadocia with enough time to walk around the town and scout out options. There will be some tours still operating but not as many. Worst come to worst, you can book online the day before as well.

Super helpful! Thank you. What kind of public transportation is available in Cappadocia? I have come across only renting self drive cars or hiring a cab as options to go around in the city.

There are public buses that go between the big cities/towns, and you can get off anywhere along the road. They are mostly reserved for locals because the bus drivers hardly speak any English. The schedule is also quite sporadic, so you might have a difficult time getting to somewhere you want on time. Tourists typically don’t take public transportation when they are in Cappadocia.

I am planning to do the green tour on one of the days of my travel. But the other day I want to explore 1-2 places by myself. Maybe, the Love valley or the Uchisar castle. But I do not want to do the entire red tour and cramp both the days of my stay there. Do I have any other option to explore a place or two by myself? I have read we can rent a cab but I’m assuming it’s not worth the cost.

Yes, you can easily explore Uchisar Castle or Love Valley by yourself without a tour. Love Valley is within walking distance of Goreme and there are public buses that go to Uchisar Castle every 30 minutes from Goreme bus station. You can get around on public transport easily without renting a cab, but buses tend to run on “Turkish Time” meaning they are not always on schedule. If you’re not staying in Goreme, you can get a bus to Goreme and then go from there. We actually hiked to Uchisar Castle through Love Valley and White Valley, and back through Pigeon Valley. It was a great full-day activity for us. It’s a long walk (about 5km each way) but it’s mostly flat, so wasn’t too streneous. I hope this helps!

Hey thank you for this very useful post! We are going to Cappadocia next week and we are planning to do the Green Tour on one day. We’d like to explore the Red Tour spots on our own and this hike to Uchisar Castle you’ve mentioned sounds perfect. We want to see the castle and also Love Valley and Pigeon Valley? Is the path signposted clearly? Would you recommend using Google maps or is there another app?

Hi Roopa, thanks for reaching out! Love Valley and Pigeon Valley are not well signposted, but I recommend you download an app called MapsMe, which is an offline GPS app that has the trails marked very clearly. It’s free to download and use. I hope this helps!

Hi, Is it possible to do Green and Red Tour in one day? If I want to include visiting Mount Erciyes (around 1-2 hours for experience), is it possible to include this within Green or Red Tour day? TQ

Hi Shazia, unfortunately, you cannot do both tours in one day if you book using one of the travel agents. The tours are both full day tours.

Your best option would be to hire a car or a taxi driver for a day and ask them to take you from A to B. This is the most feasible way to see as many attractions as possible in one day. I am not sure which area you plan to stay in, but maybe ask your hotel for a driver as they are likely to have someone they use often and know is reliable.

You may need to pick and choose which attractions on the two tours you would like to see the most. Some of the valleys you could visit for 20 minutes or so, but you will need to allow at least an hour or two to see the Goreme Open Air Museum. We also spent about 1 hour at Uchisar Castle and the underground cities.

Also bare in mind the Ihlara Valley is in the opposite direction to the mountain and is a 2.5-hour drive, so you might want to skip this.

I hope this helps!

Hi I’ll be visiting Cappadocia and staying in Goreme on 20 until 22 Jan 2023. Is it possible to book a green tour and visit uchisar castle and the open air museum?

Hi Jane, Yes it’s possible to do both in two days. You could do the Green Tour on one day and visit the Open Air Museum and Uchisar Castle on the other day. The Goreme Open Air Museum is within walking distance of the town of Goreme, and you could see it in the morning and take a bus to Uchisar Castle in the afternoon. You can walk to Uchisar Castle from Goreme through Love Valley and White Valley, but it might be a lot of walking if you do this! The bus leaves every 20 minutes from the town center.

Is it possible to combine balloon flight with green/red tour on the same day?

Yes, it’s possible, since the balloon flights are at sunrise and only take around an hour, you usually fly and are usually back at your hotel and have time for some breakfast before the tour starts. But do tell your tour company so they know. In fact, a lot of companies offer the hot air balloon as an add on.

Are either of these tours better (cost-wise and time-wise) than touring these places on your own by renting a car? We are traveling with a 7 yr old and I’m not sure how much she’ll enjoy the tour. Also, how long are you at the shopping spots and are they waste of time? Thank you very much for this post and this website. They’ve been super helpful.

If you are traveling as a family of 3, renting a car is almost always more economical than taking a tour. And since you are traveling with a young kid, you might want to explore some of the attractions at your own pace instead of the pace set by the tour guide. The disadvantage of renting a car is that you’ll have to drive and do a bit of planning in advance. You are usually at the shopping spots for a max of 30 minutes or so. Some people really like the shopping spots, especially those on a short visit. But since we know quite a bit about Turkey and Cappadocia, those souvenir shops are not as nice (or cheap) as some of the ones we can go to on our own.

How difficult is the hike to Uchisar Castle from Goreme through Love Valley and White Valley? Are there clear signs that are easy to follow ? Do we need hiking boots and poles? We were hoping to pack light and wear our regular sneakers. Thank you.

It’s not too challenging since it’s mostly flat, you just need to hike up the slope at the end to reach Uchisar, but the markers are not very obvious. They have painted stones on the ground, so you need to look out for them. You can download an app called MapsMe which is an offline GPS. It has the route well marked on there. It’s also free to use. We didn’t use poles and wore sneakers. The ground is a little slippery at times where the stone has worn away, but we were fine in trainers. I don’t believe poles are necessary for this hike.

I’ll be travelling with a 3 year old and a 1 year old. Is the green/red tour charged per person event for little kids? Also…how feasible is it to take a preplanned tour with kids this young? Or should we customize to our needs and rent a car ourselves??

Hey Sana, as far as we know, most companies charge a reduced fee for infants and kids. We would NOT recommend you to go on a tour with two young kids (especially the green tour), since there is quite a bit of walking around and you’ll most likely have to carry them all the time in order to keep up with the tour guide. The underground cities are going to be a struggle because they have limited headspace. We recommend you rent a car and a private guide, or go on a private tour that comes with a guide and tour such as this one here .

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Pigeon Valley

Derinkuyu underground city, ihlara valley.

• Top 15 Best Places To Visit
• Fairy Chimneys
• Panoramic Viewpoints
• Churches & Monasteries
• Cavusin Village
• Underground Cities
• Mustafapasa
• Where to Stay Guide
• Accommodation & Hotel Guide
• Best Cave Hotels
• Best Honeymoon Hotels
• Top-Rated Goreme hotels
• Top-Rated Urgup Hotels
• Top-Rated Uchisar Hotels
• Top-Rated Avanos Hotels
• About Cappadocia
• Towns & Villages
• Reasons to Visit
• First Timers
• Cost to Visit
• New Year’s Eve
• Getting from Abroad
• Kayseri Airpot (ASR)
• Nevsehir Airport (NAV)
• What to Bring, Wear?
• Nevsehir Hospitals

Cappadocia Green Tour: TOP 10 Best Tours, Prices + Insider Advice

Cappadocia Green Tour is a popular sightseeing tour covering the popular attractions and sights of the south-western part of Cappadocia, such as valleys, fairy chimneys, underground cities, castles, viewpoints, villages and Ihlara Valley. Majority of the tours are made via professional tour guide and driver.

Table of Contents

• Cappadocia Green Tour is a great way to see some of the most popular sights on the south-western Cappadocia .
• It is a full-day tour , usually starting at 9 am and ending at 5 pm.
• The tour covers places such as Derinkuyu Underground City , Ihlara Valley , Selime Monastery , and the Pigeon Valley .
• This tour is ideal for those who want to explore the less crowded and more natural parts of Cappadocia.
• Hotel pickup and drop-off included on most tours.

Top Green Tour Tickets

If you are looking for the best Cappadocia Green tours, trust our recommendations, save time and money, we have you covered . Below are some of best experiences you can find! Feel free to  book online in advance, and make an eco-friendly option of online tickets .

• Cappadocia Green Tour: Ihlara Valley & Pigeon Valley with Transfers
• Green (South) Tour Cappadocia (small group)
• Cappadocia Green Tour (Pro Guide, Tickets, Lunch, Transfer)
• South Cappadocia Green Tour with Trekking in Ihlara Valley
• Cappadocia Green Tour – All-inclusive
• Cappadocia: Green Tour with Lunch, Guide, and Entry Tickets
• Cappadocia: Small-Group Guided Green Tour with Lunch
• Cappadocia: Green Tour – Ihlara Valley & Underground City
• Cappadocia Green Tour (VIP Service, Small group, Expert Guide)

What to Expect?

Cappadocia Green Tour is a popular sightseeing tour and one of the best way to explore the top attractions of Cappadocia. Typical tours mostly start early in the morning upon you’re being picked-up from your hotel around 09:30 am in the company of a professional tour guide, and goes for about 8-9 hours. At the end of the tour, you’re being dropped-off to your hotel.

The Cappadocia Green Tour is an excellent choice for those who want to experience the best of Cappadocia’s natural and historical sites in a single day.

Attractions & Sights to Explore

The schedule of the sights and attractions of Cappadocia Green Tour may change but you’ll finish your day out by exploring the top Cappadocia sights including;

• Goreme panorama from viewpoint,
• Derinkuyu Underground City,
• Ihlara Valley + hiking,
• Village of Belisirma
• Selime Monastery
• Onyx workshops

Typical Cappadocia Green Tour Itinerary

The Cappadocia Green Tour is one of the most popular tours in the region, offering visitors a chance to explore some of the most beautiful and unique natural landscapes in the area. This tour takes visitors to the southern part of Cappadocia , where they will have the chance to visit a number of incredible sights and experience the region’s natural beauty.

Goreme panorama

The Green Tour starts with a visit to Panoramic viewpoints (Esentepe and more) overlooking the amazing Goreme National Park , located in the hilly area on the Goreme-Avanos road, are very popular with the travelers.

Esentepe viewpoint  is located on a hill overlooking the town of Goreme. Visitors can enjoy panoramic views of the surrounding valleys and unique rock formations. It is a popular spot for watching the sunrise or sunset.

You’ll enjoy the stunning views of Cappadocia while you enjoy your drink at the variety of lovely restaurants and cafes lined up along the hill overlooking the Goreme Valley.

The next stop is the Derinkuyu Underground City , one of the largest and most impressive underground cities in Cappadocia. This underground city was built in the 8th and 7th centuries BC and was used as a place of refuge during times of war and natural disasters. The city has eight levels, with the deepest level reaching a depth of over 80 meters.

Extending to a depth of approximately 85 metres, it’s large enough to have sheltered more than 20,000 people. While visiting, guests will have to crouch down and move slowly through the tunnels, which were mostly created with the purpose of saving people during the ongoing wars.

The next stop on the tour is the Ihlara Valley , which is one of the most picturesque areas in Cappadocia. The valley is located in the middle of a volcanic plateau and is home to a number of ancient churches and monasteries, some of which date back to the 11th century.

Village of Belisirma and Selime Monastery

Visitors can also explore the village of Belisirma, which is known for its beautiful river and traditional Turkish restaurants. The tour also includes a stop at Selime Monastery, which is carved into the side of a mountain and provides a stunning view of the surrounding area.

The Cappadocia Green Tour is ideal for those who love nature and enjoy exploring historical sites. It provides a unique opportunity to see some of the most beautiful and unique landscapes in the region, and to learn about the history and culture of Cappadocia.

Pigeon Valley  is a lovely valley located near  Uchisar town named after the thousands of pigeon houses carved into the soft tufa since ancient times and offers another spectacular panoramic views over  Cappadocia  together with the spectacular views of the dovecotes.

Pigeon Valley is a fantastic place where certain cave dwellings have been painted white to attract the birds for their valuable droppings. The valley is also famous for its beautiful views.

Summary of All

One of the biggest advantages of taking a guided tour like the Green Tour is that visitors will have a knowledgeable guide who can provide interesting and informative commentary about the sites they are visiting. This can make the experience much more enriching and enjoyable.

Additionally, visitors will not have to worry about transportation, as the tour includes pick-up and drop-off service from their hotel or accommodation.

Why Take This Guided Green Tour

• The Ihlara Valley , known for its natural beauty and historical sites, is visited on the Green Tour. You are able to explore the valley and visit the magnificent rock-carved cave churches and monasteries.
• One of the region’s largest and most spectacular monasteries, Selime , is visited on the Green Tour. You can discover the monastery’s fascinating history and unusual architecture in a lovely and isolated environment.
• The Green Tour visits Derinkuyu Underground City , an intriguing underground complex, where early Christians sought safety under persecution. You can explore the tunnels, halls, and chambers of this amazing underground metropolis.
• The Green Tour includes a traditional Turkish lunch , a terrific way to experience local friendliness. You can try local cuisine and socialize with other travelers.
• You can also explore the countryside casually on the Green Tour. You’ll have time to admire the scenery, snap photos, and delight in this unique and intriguing place.
• With its stunning scenery, fascinating history, and warm hospitality, this tour is a must-do for anyone visiting Cappadocia.

What is the Cappadocia Green Tour?

The Cappadocia Green Tour is the way to get to the south-western part of Cappadocia, such as valleys, fairy chimneys, underground cities, castles, viewpoints, villages and Ihlara Valley.. This environmentally friendly trip takes you deep into the beautiful landscapes of Cappadocia, showing you the secret beauty of Ihlara Valley, the mystery of Derinkuyu Underground City, and the view from Selime Monastery. It's a one-day trip for people who want to combine adventure with nature's peace and quiet. It's a quiet but exciting way to get away from the busy tourist places.

Who should go on the Cappadocia Green Tour?

There is something for everyone on the Green Tour, from people who like to explore and history buffs. This tour has something special for everyone, whether you're a traveler looking for peace and beautiful scenery by yourself, a couple looking for a romantic day in the nature, or a family wanting to teach and entertain kids with stories about historical wonders. This tour is something you should do if you want to see beautiful scenery and learn about the past.

Where does the Cappadocia Green Tour take you?

Start your trip from the Goreme Panorama and amazing Derinkuyu Underground City, which is one of the darkest of its kind. Next, through the lush Ihlara Valley, which is a hiker's and nature lover's dream. The adventure goes on to the Selime Monastery, which has beautiful views and detailed cave churches. You can think of each stop as a chapter in a story. Each one is full of natural wonders and historical details that are just ready to be told.

Why should I choose the Cappadocia Green Tour over other tours?

The Green Tour is different from the others because it includes both beautiful nature and a deep look into Cappadocia's old underground civilizations. The tour is an excellent choice for those who want to experience the best of Cappadocia's natural and historical sites in a single day. The Green Tour is the best way to spend a day if you want to take long walks, see beautiful scenery, and learn about interesting history.

How long does the Cappadocia Green Tour last?

The Cappadocia Green Tour is meant to make your whole day full of wonder. It usually starts at sunrise and ends as the sun goes down over the beautiful scenery. With eight to nine hours of guided time, this tour gives you plenty of time to fully enjoy each place, take in the beauty, and enjoy lunch in the great outdoors.

What should I bring on the Cappadocia Green Tour?

Make sure you have comfortable walking shoes, sunscreen, and a camera with you so you can remember the special times. Since the valley can get cool at times, you might want to bring a light bag with water, snacks, and maybe a light jacket or sweater. Remember your sense of excitement and get ready for a day you'll never forget in the middle of nature and history!

How much does the Cappadocia Green Tour cost, and where can I book it?

You can start your Green Tour adventure by booking straight through our website, where you'll find clear cost breakdowns and low prices. You can also come to our office in the middle of Cappadocia for a one-on-one meeting. Prices depend on the size of the group and the time of year, but we promise that you will get a great deal for a day full of discovery and wonder.

Will there be a guide on the Cappadocia Green Tour?

Of course! There will be knowledgeable guides, who speak more than one language, will lead your trip and tell you stories about old civilizations, natural wonders, and the valleys' secrets. Their knowledge and love of Cappadocia's history will make your trip more enjoyable and turn every moment into a story you'll want to tell others.

How can I prepare for the Cappadocia Green Tour?

Get ready for a busy day by getting enough rest the night before. To deal with the changing weather and landscape in the valley, dress in layers. Learn about the past of Cappadocia to get a better sense of the places you'll see. The most important thing is to charge your camera and get your mind and heart ready for an amazing trip through time and nature.

How to Book Cappadocia Green Tour?

You can determine your day tour schedule by specifying the popular places you prefer. If you don’t know much about Cappadocia, you can check the popular places and activities below to get to know these places and choose the places you want to see.

Typical green tour includes; south-western part of Cappadocia, such as valleys, fairy chimneys, underground cities, castles, viewpoints, villages and Ihlara Valley .

Top Rated Cappadocia Green Tour Options

We believe that booking your Cappadocia day tour with one of the below companies and online not only guarantees a world-class experience but also provides the convenience of flexible booking, free hotel transfers, and the assurance of thousands of satisfied travelers who have shared their positive experiences through online reviews. It’s the smart choice for a hassle-free and memorable adventure in Cappadocia.

Here we only suggest the proven ways and top rated ones with travelers’ comments. You can feel free to book one of the below top selling Cappadocia Green Tour.

1. Cappadocia Green Tour: Ihlara Valley & Pigeon Valley with Transfers

This is one of best Cappadocia green tours made by Headout through the south-western Capapdocia. The famous Derinkuyu Undergroun City , Ihlara Valley and Pigeon Valley visits are also included in this tour. We highly recommend this. You’ll enjoy Cappadocia’s scenic beauty and rich history, complete with convenient round-trip transfers and a delectable lunch.

• Full-day guided tour of Ilhara Valley
• Expert guides
• Round-trip hotel transfers
• Entry to the scheduled museums
• All local tax and insurance

You can cancel cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund

Read more and book this Green Tour online

2. Green (South) Tour Cappadocia (small group)

This has a badge of excellence and over 1100 very good reviews on Viator. You’ll experience the lush part of the Cappadocia region that many travelers overlook on this small-group day tour to the southern area.

You’ll hike to traditional villages in the Ihlara Valley without the risk of getting lost when you go with a professional guide. Have lunch by the river and check out the ancient Selime Monastery and the amazing Kaymakli Underground City.

3. Cappadocia Green Tour (Pro Guide, Tickets, Lunch, Transfer)

This has a badge of excellence and over 600 very good reviews on Viator. You’ll experience the southern region of Cappadocia on this small-group tour from Goreme.

You’ll visit the Derinkuyu Underground City; stroll beside the river through the Ihlara Valley; visit Selime Monastery, an enormous rock-cut monastery; take in views of Pigeon Valley and Göreme; and tour an onyx stone factory. A Turkish lunch and all museum entrance tickets are included.

4. South Cappadocia Green Tour with Trekking in Ihlara Valley

This has a badge of excellence and over 450 very good reviews on Viator. This is ideal for travelers with limited time in Turkey, and this 8-hour tour showcases the best of south Cappadocia’s natural landscapes.

You’ll explore top sights such as Pigeon Valley, and discover the culturally-rich villages of the Ihlara Valley. This group tour is limited to 15 people to maintain an intimate atmosphere. Lunch and round-trip transport from your Goreme hotel are included.

5. Cappadocia Green Tour – All-inclusive

This is one of the best on Getyourguide with over 450 very good reviews. You’ll discover the mystical beauties of Cappadocia on this tour of its historic sites, fairy chimneys, and natural landscapes. Visit the underground city of Derinkuyu and the volcanic Narligol crater lake.

You’ll enjoy the Cappadocia’s mystical landscape and unique rock formations, learn the unique aspects of local life at a gem factory and in Pigeon Valley. You’ll experience a different world while exploring an ancient city underground, build your appetite with a visit to Narligol Lake and a hike in Ihlara Valley. And relax with lunch by the riverside before seeing the impressive Selime Monastery

6. Cappadocia: Green Tour with Lunch, Guide, and Entry Tickets

This also has a badge of excellence and over 400 very good reviews on Viator. You’ll experience historical and natural attractions of the region on this full-day. You’ll see the views from Göreme Panorama and Yaprakhisar Panorama, enter the subterranean chambers of Derinkuyu Underground City, and see ancient rock-cut churches at Selime Monastery.

Also, take a leisurely 1-hour walk through the scenic Ihlara Valley, and check out Pigeon Valley. Includes lunch, entrance fees, and hotel pickup and drop-off.

7. Cappadocia: Small-Group Guided Green Tour with Lunch

This is a great tour where you’ll explore the marvels of Cappadocia on a bus tour from Göreme. Discover the unique fairy chimneys, deep valleys, and rich history of this region in Turkey, including a tasty lunch with local flavors.

You’ll experience the other-worldly desert landscapes of Cappadocia in person. Immerse yourself in the labyrinthian tunnels of the underground city of Derinkuyu, and learn about the region’s hidden treasures and history from your local guide.

8. Cappadocia: Green Tour – Ihlara Valley & Underground City

This is a great tour on Getyourguide that you can enjoy the nature on a hike through the Ihlara Valley and marvel at the fairy chimney rock formations of Cappadocia. You’ll visit the Derinkuyu Underground City and learn about the traditions of the locals.

You’ll also hike through the Ihlara Valley, learn about monastic life at the Selime Monastery and watch how onyx is shaped by a master craftsman.

9. Cappadocia Green Tour (VIP Service, Small group, Expert Guide)

This is a top rated one on Viator where you can join a small group on one of the biggest adventures in Goreme, Turkey.

This full day tour is packed with an 8-stop itinerary, including Goreme panorama, Pigeon valley, Ihlara valley, Selime monastery, Yaprakhisar Köyü Muhtarlığı, Uchisar castle, Derinkuyu Yeralti Sehri, and Narligol Krater Golu. Tour guides are available to take you through these locations.

All Recommended Alternative Tours

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before activity starts

by Getyourguide

• ATTRACTIONS
• GUIDED TOUR
• POINTS OF INTEREST
• SIGHTSEEING

Related Reading

3 days in cappadocia itinerary: best things to do & see advice, best valleys to see in cappadocia (fairy chimneys, caves, churches), atv & quad safari in cappadocia (2024 prices with best tours), istanbul to cappadocia tour by plane for 2 nights – 3 days, local recommendations from cappadocia4u team.

If youʻre visiting Cappadocia for the first time, we have you covered. Below are some of the top recommendations, tours and experiences!

Some useful info

• Cappadocia is the name of the region situated in the middle of Turkey . It is mostly known by the three popular towns of Goreme, Urgup  and  Uchisar  but actually  it is the name of the very big region  spread through the  cities of Nevsehir, Kirsehir, Nigde, Aksaray and Kayseri .
• If you are first-time visitor , want to get familiar, please read our Cappadocia for first timers guide.
• If you are not sure how to travel , please read our Traveling to Cappadocia guide.
• If you don't know where to stay , please read our Where to Stay in Cappadocia guide for regions, and Accommodation guide for hotels.
• If it is hard to plan your days , please read our Ideal 3-Days Cappadocia itinerary .

Top Attractions & Sights

There are 6 must do and see in Cappadocia that you won't want to miss!

• Hot Air Balloon Rides (the most exciting attractions in the world)
• Goreme Open Air Museum (some best-preserved examples of Byzantine rock-cut architecture and frescoes in the world)
• Pasabag Monks Valley (one of the most popular  fairy chimneys  areas)
• Uchisar Castle ( highest point, the biggest fairy chimney )
• Derinkuyu Underground City (one of the largest underground cities in the world, 8 th  century BC)
• Ihlara Valley (fantastic  canyon with a depth of about 100 mt. and 14 km. length)

Tip-1: One of the best ways to explore Cappadocia is by taking a sightseeing tour, so that you can cover all the top sights. Three main sightseeing tours available:  Red Tour  (covers the highlights of the region), Green Tour (best of natural  and  historical sites ), and Blue Tour  (lesser-known sights, off-the-beaten-path experience )

Tip-2: Private Tours are also good choice within a well-planned and custom itinerary along with a private vehicle, driver and professional guide. Great for those who don't have a car or don't know the region well.

For leisure activities we'd recommend 2 must-take attractions ! Don't miss! Wine Tasting and Photo Shooting

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