Visiting Cappadocia Türkiye

At the end of one month in Istanbul, we headed to Cappadocia. We’ll talk about some great things to do when visiting Cappadocia, Türkiye.

We decided to fly as the bus would have been about 10 hours. We stayed at Arch Palace Hotel, which was in a great location but wasn’t the best stay. For one, it was the middle of June and experiencing 90-degree days, but the hotel had no air conditioning or fans.

While it did get cool at night, it was still so uncomfortably hot to sleep! For another, there was a mosque directly outside the hotel, and the minaret was right outside our window, so this meant we couldn’t fully open the windows for cool air, and we were woken up every day around 4:30 AM when they did the call to prayer. Anyway, we got through. The hotel had a great rooftop for viewing the hot air balloons at sunrise, and they offered a decent free breakfast. We stayed for a week and did a lot of hiking.

Do a Hot Air Balloon Ride

This is bucket list stuff! It’s expensive but a once-in-a-lifetime experience when visiting Cappadocia, Türkiye. Originally we booked a hot air balloon ride through GetYourGuide that was around $500 USD total. But when we arrived at the hotel, the guy at the check-in desk said he could help us book one for a fraction of that cost, it was around $130 USD per person.

They booked us with Brothers Balloon, but we had no information until the very night before. They kept telling us we could pay on the day, and they’d let us know what time we’d be picked up. As anxious Americans, we were stressing a bit as we wanted to make sure it was happening. This was the main reason we were in Cappadocia!

Well, it all went smoothly! They picked us up around 3:45 AM and we were up in the balloon for sunrise. It was an incredible experience! The landscape is like nothing I’ve ever seen, and it was very cool to see all the other balloons around us. Even if you’re afraid of heights like me, it’s doable!

Hike Pigeon and Love Valleys in Cappadocia, Türkiye

The day after our hot air balloon excursion, we woke up at 5 AM to hike Pigeon Valley to Love Valley in Cappadocia, Türkiye. If you’re visiting Cappadocia, Türkiye, in the summer, go early, as it gets HOT! We had great weather. Since we were staying in Goreme, we did this hike from Goreme Town to Uchisar Town, but it can also be done in reverse.

We started the trail here, which took us about 15 minutes to walk from our hotel. The whole Pigeon Valley – Love Valley loop is about 6 miles. It took us a total of around 8 miles to walk from our hotel all the way back to our hotel. We didn’t hike up to Uchisar Castle, though, because it was uphill, and we were already tired. I would recommend using AllTrails as some of the trails is hard to see, and it can be easy to get lost. Don’t be concerned if you get followed by a few stray dogs. They’re pretty harmless. Just be safe and smart, of course.

Hike Red Valley and Rose Valley Canyon

We again woke up at 5 AM (really like 4 AM since the call to prayer went off) for another hike. This time for Red and Rose Valleys. This is about a 5-mile moderate loop that requires some rope scaling in one section. If you’re using AllTrails, start the trail by going right to avoid climbing up the rope and instead you’ll just repel down it later.

The hike slowly increases until you have an amazing view of the valley. Along the trail, you’ll see old churches made from the stone that you can enter. There’s also a mid-point at Red Valley Park, where you can rest, use the toilet, and get something to drink with a wonderful view.

Again, this hike took us about 8 miles. We picked up a stray dog along the way, who was very helpful in letting us know where the actual trail was. Though he did try to headbutt Sean off a cliff!

Do One of the Guided Tours in Cappadocia, Türkiye

If you’re visiting Cappadocia, Türkiye and you’re short on time, the Red Tour seems like a great option. But if you’re visiting for more than a day or two, I would recommend doing the Green Tour. We booked our tour through the hotel and it was super easy. It cost us around 60 Euros per person.

The Green Tour lasts around 9 hours and picks you up from your hotel. We first stopped at a beautiful panoramic view of Goreme and the unique fairy chimneys. Here we got a little bit of history on how the landscaped was formed (basically multiple volcanic eruptions) and then had a few minutes for pictures.

Selime Monastery

Next we stopped at Selime Monastery. This is the largest religious structure in Cappadocia and dates back to the 8th or 9th century BC. It looks a lot like a fortress, cut into the rock formations. It’s pretty large and was not very busy so we had plenty of time and space to explore. It’s an incredible site and definitely worth seeing. Especially over one of the most popular sites, but I’ll talk more about that later.

After Selime Monastery, we took a hike through Ihlara Valley. It was beautiful, but also extremely hot. Thankfully, at the end of the hike, we had some free time to get a drink and dip our feet into the river. This was nice and refreshing.

Derinkuyu Underground City

From there we had lunch and then headed to Derinkuyu Underground City. This is one of the deepest underground settlements in the world. It could house as many as 20,000 people with their livestock and food stores! It was believed to be built around the 8th to 7th centuries BCE by the Phrygians. But apparently the date is debated. This underground city is both amazing and a maze! You definitely can’t go in without a tour guide. But we spend a couple of hours exploring the different tunnels and getting some history on its use.

After Derinkuyu, we were taken to a gem and mineral factory/shop. This is where it started to feel a bit scammy. They talked about the gems that were make in Türkiye and walked us through the shop. Sean and I did a pass through and then went outside for the look out view of Pigeon Valley. My advice: don’t be pressured into buying anything – only buy it if you want it.

What NOT to Do in Cappadocia Türkiye

Do NOT go to Goreme Open Air Museum! I repeat, DON’T DO IT!

Yes this sounds overdramatic. And really my thought is, if you want to do it, then do what you want. But I read a ton of reviews that it was not worth the price of 25 Euros per person and boy were they right! Too bad we didn’t listen.

Usually we try not to let reviews sway our opinions too much and this was always listed as one of the top things to do in Cappadocia. But I think it’s recently changed. The price increased dramatically, on top of several of the park being closed off. One of the main sites, the Black Church, is an additional cost to enter. It’s also stupidly crowded. I mean we could barely get in and out of the small churches.

So, unless you’re doing this as part of the Green Tour (which I think is included in the price), I would skip it. Instead, if you have the time (and it’s not 90 degrees Fahrenheit), just explore. There are so many of the amazing fairy chimneys that you can walk around for free. The landscape is beautiful and it can be incredibly peaceful.

That was our time in Cappadocia, Türkiye. Now I’ll leave you with some amazing picture from around Goreme Cappadocia, Türkiye!