Cappadocia Tour | You Must Visit These Beautiful Places in Cappadocia

It’s time for your getaway. You’ve saved up, planned the perfect trip, and packed your suitcases with everything you need to have a great time on vacation in Cappadocia. One of the most exciting parts of any holiday is exploring new places and making memories that will last a lifetime.

It is Cappadocia’s natural beauty that makes it one of the most fascinating places a fairytale destination in the world, the landscape around this place will mesmerize you at first look. Imagine when you wake up in the morning in your unique boutique-style hotel and you come out early in the morning with a hot cup of coffee and look above floating hot air balloons in the sky it is just an amazing dreamy experience. It is also known as hiking, biking, and tracking heaven.

Cappadocia’s landscape includes dramatic valleys, high mountains covered with volcanic ash from ancient eruptions, underground cities carved out of rock salt beds left behind by receding seas long ago. There are rock-cut churches and monasteries, houses carved into the rocks over thousands of years, fairy chimneys formed by wind erosion just to name a few features.

Cappadocia was named one of “The World’s New Seven Wonders” in 2007 by CNN News.

A visit to Cappadocia wouldn’t be completed without visiting the Cappadocia Plateau where you can see such amazing sights like Kaymakli Underground City, Ihlara Valley & Belisirma which is an ancient city that was built into a mountainside and is surrounded by Cappadocia’s famous red cliffs, called Cendere Bridge which was once a Roman bridge.

The area is famous for its unique fairy chimneys landscapes with exotic shapes & sizes to discover from high plateaus on top of mountains providing spectacular views to huge canyons below where you will find many impressive valleys inside the Goreme National Park (UNESCO site) or Devrent Valley (popularly known as ‘Monkey’ valley).

Travel Tips:

ID’s and Passports
Comfortable walking shoes
Sunglasses, Sunblock spray
Luggage as little as possible
Coldwater thermos if it is a hot day
Camera gears for stunning memories
Always book cancelable hotels or excursion
Check reviews of tour operators before booking any guided tour

Some general Q & A’s

What is the best month to visit Capadoccia?

The weather is usually warm not very hot from April – May and September – November.

How many days are enough for the Cappadocia tour?

Usually, 2 to 4 days are recommended to stay in Cappadocia. In two days you can start with a hot air balloon ride on day one as it will give a birds-eye overview of the entire area. On day two you can walk around explore Goreme, Churches, Cave houses and cave hotels.

What time do balloons go up in Cappadocia?

Because of the wind conditions the balloons usually go up around 5-am to 6-am that is the time that usually winds are favourable if not they will just cancel all balloon rides.

How far is the flight from Istanbul to Cappadocia?

The flight is the fastest and most recommended way it can cost around $45 to $70 a person. However, the distance between Istanbul to Cappadocia is 759 km about 10 hours drive.

Is Cappadocia safe for tourists?

Cappadocia is a completely safe location to visit, like the rest of Turkey. There is no terror risk in Turkey. However, In any trip, it is important to use some common sense to maximize your safety.

Many tourists usually start from Istanbul so I will quickly describe how to begin a Cappadocia tours from Istanbul especially those who are visiting Turkey for the 1st time.

Cappadocia Tour from Istanbul

I would recommend booking a guided tour with a tour company in turkey it will save you time and hassles. The guided Cappadocia tours are offered from Istanbul are usually 1 to 5 days depending on your needs, however, I would recommend having the two days small group tour booked which usually costs around $800/person

The 2 days tour usually includes…

Hotel in Cappadocia (try to get a boutique-style hotel for a unique experience)
Two-way airfare
Airport pickup and dropoff in Cappadocia and Istanbul (Double-check with the tour operator)
Free lunch (check details with tour operators)
Free entries to some paid attractions
Check the number of attractions is part of your tour itinerary
Must have a thing… Cappadocia Hot Air Balloons Tour
Cancellations terms (must discuss)

Note: Always check all the above details with the tour company before you book your excursion to avoid any miss understandings.

Cappadocia Top Attractions

Goreme National Park
Cappadocia Cave Houses
Devrent Vally
Goreme Open Air Museum
Fairy Chimneys (Pigeon Valley)
Cavusin Village
Town of Avanos & (Red River Kizilimark)
Cappadocia Cave Dwellings
Gulludere Vadisi

Things to Do in Cappadocia

Hot Air Balloons Cappadocia Tours
Book a Full Day Tour
Get Cappadocia Green Tour
Sulphur Baths
ATV Quad Tour
Cuisines
Hiking, Biking, Trialing
Horse and Camel Ridings
Nightlife

Cappadocia Top Attractions

Goreme National Park

Cappadocia National Park is the largest natural wonder a world heritage site located between Cappadocia and Nevsehir cities with unusual rock formations and natural history.

Most of these natural wonders are located within the national park area. It combines old cave churches, underground cities, castles and other interesting sights that were carved into the rocks over 6000 thousand years by man as well as mother nature.

The word Goreme means ‘fairy chimneys’ in Turkish. This area contains many fairy chimneys with different shapes, sizes and colours, rock cones up to 30 meters high decorated by millions of years old volcanic eruptions and wind erosion.

Goreme Open Air Museum

Goreme Open Air Museum is located in Cappadocia, Turkey. It contains more than 600 rock-cut churches and monasteries in this region from the Byzantine Empire period around 200–1100AD which reflects a true picture of ancient Christianity.

This area was carved by humans over thousands of years as homes, churches & underground cities hiding them from enemies during raids or wars which makes it a unique site in Cappadocia.

Evidence shows that human occupation began nearly 2000 years ago. Caves were used as homes, churches and monasteries and shops to live pray and sell their agricultural products & crafts in these rock-cut complexes.

The Goreme Open Air Museum is the most visited attraction of Cappadocia with over 600,000 visitors each year from all around the world. The entrance fee is 100 Lira and children 8 and under are usually free.

Tourists can walk to Open Air Museum from the city center it is an uphill walk that could take about 20 minutes to get there or a taxi can be used for quick dropoff near the Zemi valley entrance.

Cappadocia Cave Houses

Cappadocia cave homes are one that will mesmerize you they are just amazing pieces of nature and then how they were turned into boutique-style hotels where many tourists stay during the Cappadocia visit. This whole view just makes it so romantic with such a unique experience that was carved into the rocks by Turk people who lived there from the Byzantine era until up to the 1930s.

Many local owners of these cave alike hotels still live in Cappadocia but most of them turned those caved homes into caves hotels or cave shops and cave restaurants for tourism so travellers can have the best tours experience in this unique facility.

Devrent Vally

Devrent (also known as ‘the Develi’ or ‘Lale’) is a small valley with steep cliffs and rock formations located between Cappadocia about 10 minutes drive from Göreme Open Air Museum. It was formed after the powerful earthquakes of the Cappodocia region which shaped these unique rocks in recognizable shapes of animals and different objects from thousands of years ago.

Devrent Valley is only 10 minutes away from Goreme. It has an interesting landscape with many rocks that are shaped in different ways, you can spend an hour or so enjoying this nature. Also, a few souvenir shops and food stalls are around here to get some locally clay-made souvenirs and refreshments.

Another place not too far from here is known as Love Valley because of the special cheminay in mushroom shape formations as shown in the image below.

Fairy Chimneys (Pigeon Valley)

If you’re looking for a Cappadocia tour, then this is one of the places that should be included as it’s absolutely stunning and unlike anything else.

The fairy chimneys are scattered throughout Cappadocia in clusters known as “cities”, many of which have been abandoned over time due to human settlement. Some notable examples include Uçhisar, Ortahisar, Güllüdere, Devrent Valley (which looks like an elephant), Love Valley or Çavuşin.

You can even find some outside of Cappadocia near Aksaray. These cities were once home to thousands of people who lived inside these caved holes carved out by the wind and rain. Cappadocia is full of history, with the fairy chimneys used by different civilizations over time.

Cavusin Village

Cavusin village is the best-preserved medieval Greek village in Cappadokia with its impenetrable stone houses stacked upon each other. You can enjoy wandering around the narrow streets and meeting people who still live in Cappadokia.

Ihlara Valley

The Ihlara Valley is located in the southeast Turkey region of Cappadocia at the foot of Mount Hasan. The valley was carved by a river thousands of years ago and is over 100 meters deep and 14 km long. it is about a 1 1/2 hour drive from Cappadocia city center.

The canyon was developed in prehistoric times by the Melendiz Çayı. It lies between two villages, Selime and Ihlara. At one end is a stairway with almost 400 steps that descends 100 meters down into its depths, at another side, there are over 100 churches carved out of tuff stone which was once occupied by Byzantine monks who had settled this valley long ago around 500 AD! The early Greek name for BelisAMAma translates literally as “winding round” or “coiling up/into itself”.

While driving when getting close to this underground valley you will drive along the winding road and you will have a beautiful view of it. This ancient site opens around 9 am at the parking area you can find some nice restaurants with a seating area over the river in the water stream on picnic tables to enjoy the view and your meals such as grilled or fried fish or just a coffee or Turkish tea.

Town of Avanos & (Red River Kizilimark)

The red river is located near the town of Avanos river near Goreme about 8 miles away. The Kizilirmak River is the longest river in Turkey. The town of Avanos gets clay for pottery from that river. People have made pottery in Avanos for centuries and some of their techniques date back to 2000 BC. Some people called it Zu Wanes and it became Venessa during the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.

Avanos gives you a chance to see how this ancient craft works today. You can choose your own pots or help make them in one of their workshops where you will be given all the materials and instructions.

The best place to visit is the town itself as well as the tent farmer market full of things like fresh fruits, vegetables, clothes, pottery shops with the option of some very nice street foods. Try visiting on Friday to enjoy the tent farmer markets and make this visit one of your best tours.

Cappadocia Cave Dwellings

The Cappadocia Cave Dwellings is a must-visit in Cappadocia. It’s part of the open-air museum where you can see the cave homes that were carved into the rocks by people who had escaped persecution or slavery, most notably Christians escaping Roman rule and forced conversions to Christianity during Byzantine times (331 – 1453).

People came here around 4000 BC when there was nothing but small farming communities living in these underground dwellings carved out of volcanic rock. Today they are mainly used for tourism purposes with some still being occupied by locals today some have been turned into boutique-style hotels and restaurants.

You can walk across bridges suspended above deep chasms created from erosion over thousands of years. The caves themselves are incredibly beautiful with fairy chimneys emerging from them like mushrooms sprouting up all along.

Gulludere Vadisi

The Gulludere Vadisi Cappadocia Caves is a very special place to visit. It’s located near Avanos town not too far from Goreme. It is deep underground where you can see and amazing white hash rock formations along with fairy chimneys, stalactites and the famous ‘fairy grotto’ which has been transformed into an altar where people used to pray when they would hide away from their persecutors during Roman times.

This cave was inhabited by humans as far back as 4000 BC but it wasn’t until around 500 AD that the earliest inhabitants started carving out multi-storey homes for themselves inside these soft volcanic rocks that made up this area. You’ll find yourself descending down very steep staircases cut into the rock with high ceilings, large rooms and even indoor courtyards.

Things to DO In Cappadocia, Turkey

Hot Air Baloon Tour Cappadociap

What a magical experience to discover Cappadocia from above in a floating balloon. I had no idea the world was so vast and spectacular. Standing high up in the sky, it felt like anything was possible. The hot air balloon tour is one of the most unique and memorable experiences, not just because of the breathtaking scenery but also because it’s so different from what we’re used to seeing, feeling and hearing on Earth.

It seemed to be endless as we floated along at 1000 feet above ground level. The tour guide pointed out different landmarks below us such as villages and valleys shaped by centuries-old volcanic eruptions churches that looked like cake frosting, rock formations that resembled elephants or camels and even a giant volcanic crater. Get ready to be blown away. If you want to experience something truly out of this world, book yourself onto a hot air balloon tour in Cappadocia. It’s one of the most unique adventures imaginable with some truly spectacular views.

Get ready to be blown away. If you want to experience something truly out of this world, book yourself onto a hot air balloon tour in Cappadocia. It’s one of the most unique adventures imaginable with some truly spectacular views.

The hot air balloon tour ride is usually about an hour long and costs around $80/person the tour operators offer free hotel pickup-dropoff, Breakfast, and a landing drink party.

Cappadocia Green Tour

Cappadocia Green Tour is a wonderful way to explore this historical wonderland, hike through the fairy chimneys and underground cities, hike up the Devrent Valley and admire its rock formations.

You can also visit ancient Byzantine monasteries such as Karanlik Kilise (Black Church) or Ozkonak Underground City, which has been carved out of volcanic ash by humans during Roman times. This tour will not only provide you with spectacular views but an opportunity to learn about Cappadocia’s history.

It is a kind of full day tour and is offered by many tour operators before you book a full day tour with a local operator (make sure you check their reviews on TripAdvisor). The tour takes around 6 -8 hours, they will usually pick you up from the hotel and starts from Goreme, ilhara valley, Derenkuyu, Selime Monastery, Pigeon valley and many more along the way. As per my experience, this is among the best tours in Cappadocia after the balloon ride.

Sulphur Baths

The Cappadocia region has sulphur hot springs and Cappadocia is famous for its sulphur mud baths which are believed to have medicinal properties.

It’s a great way to relax and rejuvenate after exploring Cappadocia’s many attractions, such as visiting the Cappadocia Cave Dwellings. There are sulphur hot springs everywhere with pools of bubbling brownish-yellow water like an oasis surrounded by red sandstone rocks sculpted into fairy chimneys and the Cappadocia Cave Dwellings.

Tourist usually would jump into the sulphur muddy pool stay and have fun for 10 15 minutes then come out baked in sun for a bit to let that mineral absorbs in your skin you can have cold drinks or a coffee while baking and chit-chatting in the sun. Once you are done taking bath you can jump in the pool to get cleaned or just take shower right at the spot there.

ATV Quad Tour in Cappadocia

ATV Quad Tour in Cappadocia offers adventurous tourists an opportunity on a sturdy ATV (quad) four-wheeler bike, you will discover Cappadocia’s spectacular sightseeing of rock-cut valleys going along the hills and narrow trails on the way.

With a guided tour led by experienced drivers on a separate ATV, there’s no need to worry about getting lost or missing out on any of the sights. This tour is great for families with kids who love adventure and thrill-seekers alike.

The ATC Quad tour costs $25/person it takes around 2 hours, the reservation can be done by your hotel or just hop on to the trip advisor website to book one for yourself.

Cappadocia Cuisine

If you’re looking for a taste of Turkey that’s not your typical kebab or döner, then Cappadocia is the place to go. The most famous dish in this region is kısır, a traditional local specialty made from bulgur wheat and tomatoes.

This hearty dish is served with meatballs called “Kisir” and can be topped with grated tomato, onion, parsley, sumac (a spice), garlic paste or pekmez (a syrup). Kebaps are also popular here as well as dishes like sucuklu, yumurta an egg with spicy sausage wrapped around it.

Cappadocia also boasts a number of desserts like güllaç, tulumba and baklava. Cappadocians love their tea here it’s often served with sugar cubes or Kandis (rock candies) and they’re famous for having many varieties such as lemon-mint, fennel seed and pine bark to name just a few.

Just to name a few famous restaurants we have visited while our visit is Cafe Safak, Cappadocian Cusine Restaurant, Oscar Steak House, and CanCan Cafe offers amazing food and friendly staff and yes we got some free appetizers at CanCan cafe.

Nightlife In Cappadocia’s

Cappadocia is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Turkey. With its breathtaking landscapes and rich history, you can see why it’s so popular.

The city has a great nightlife scene with clubs, bars and even dance clubs if you’re looking for something different to do in Cappadocia. It doesn’t matter what your taste is because there are plenty of options for everyone to enjoy themselves without having to worry about going home alone!

I’ve included a list below of some of the best spots that Cappy offers each night of the week!

Cappadocia Lounge – This is a great place to start your night out because it’s an upscale lounge with live jazz music.

Cappadocia Club – Cappadocia club offers live Turkish music and international DJ mixes if you’re looking for something different than just straight-up techno or house.

Gogo Bar & Disco Nightclubs – There are three nightclubs in Cappadocia on these nights offering anything from Latin, hip hop, Italian pop and even some alternative rock/metal which isn’t really common here so this is definitely worth checking out!

Conclusion:

Cappadocia is a fascinating place for travellers to come and explore. Its unique landscape has attracted many visitors from all over the world, looking for new places to see and experience. Whether you’re taking in its natural beauty while hiking through one of the valleys or staying at one of the boutique hotels that dot this region, there’s something here for everyone. Cappadocia has become popular with tourists looking for new places to visit, and it deserves this attention.

Have you been there? Tell us about your experience in the comments below!

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Cappadocia Tour | You Must Visit These Beautiful Places in Cappadocia