Hiking in Cappadocia

Trip Description

Accomodation

Stay program

• day 1

  Kayseri - Cappadocia

  

  Flight to Kayseri. Transfer and check-in at the hotel in Cappadocia. Transfer: 1h.

• day 2

  Çavuşin - Zelve

  

  Hike towards Cavusin, one of the important centers of Christianity since the 3rd century. The Church of Saint John the Baptist, which stands in the middle of a maze of troglodyte dwellings, is worth a visit for its architecture. Our walk continues through the fairy chimneys of Pasabaglari. Arrival at Zelve, in an ancient troglodyte village emptied of its population in 1957 due to erosion and transformed into an open-air museum. 2h walk. Type of accommodation: in hotel. Transfer: vehicle, 20 min.

• day 3

  Gomede Valley and its fairy chimneys - Kepez and Sarica (churches) - Kizilçukur Valley (red valley)

  

  Minibus transfer to the Gömede valley (10 min). Hiking in the Pancarlik valley with its peaks, valleys, pinnacles, and countless fairy chimneys. Visit of the Kepez and Sarica churches, dating from the 10th and 12th centuries, standing in nature as if to face the passage of time. Picnic in the valley. Our hike continues in the Kizilçukur valley (Red valley), which owes its name to the beautiful red and pink colors. Here you will see the magical result of millions of years of erosion by wind and rain on soft volcanic rock. Human ingenuity has added a special touch, out of the need to blend into this lunar landscape: the troglodyte dwellings. Transfer: 20 min.

• day 4

  Golgolu - Cemil - Sinasos

  

  A short journey (10 min) allows us to arrive at an extraordinary rock-cut monastic complex surrounded by apricot trees. We walk through the winding Keslik valley, then above the village of Cemil (1150 m) to reach the Damsa Baraji lake (1100 m). By a cart track, we arrive at the astonishing site of Golgoli (1200 m), then at Mustafapasa, a former Greek village with the most beautiful houses with sculpted pediments in all of Cappadocia. Night in a guesthouse. 4 h of walking. Type of accommodation: in a guesthouse.

• day 5

  The White Valley - Uçhisar - Güvercinlik Valley

  

  Hike to the village of Uçhisar through the White Valley. It is a vast valley dominated by enormous fairy chimneys, where the tuff is a beautiful white, sometimes stained with sulfur. The crops nestle on small sheltered terraces at the foot of the walls. Once very populated, the troglodyte dwellings of the valley now serve as sheds or stables. These hamlets of capped maidens, whose old doors and windows carved into the tuff open onto now deserted living rooms, lend a strange life to these serene places. Visit of the fortress (mass of volcanic tuff) erected on a rocky promontory that dominates almost all the valleys of Cappadocia. After a picnic in the shade of fruit trees, we continue to discover the lunar landscapes of Cappadocia. Then, in the afternoon, we continue our hike in the Güvercinlik valley (valley of the dovecotes), which leads us to the famous village of Avcilar. 5h of walking. Type of accommodation: in hotel. Transfer: 15 min.

• day 6

  The Zemi Valley - Kiliclar Valley

  

  The descent of the Zeminderesi valley passes through small isolated gardens that alternate with poplars and fruit trees, up to the renowned "Valley of Love" of Göreme. Here, nature has erected numerous phallic shapes towards the sky. Our hike then continues in the Kiliçlar valley, in the very heart of Cappadocia, one of the most beautiful valleys where you can find tuffs of various colors, fruit trees, ancient troglodyte dwellings, pigeon houses, and rock churches. Arrival at the village of Çavuşin and return by bus to our accommodation. 4 hours of walking. Transfer: 15 min.

• day 7

  Derinkuyu Underground City - Ihlara Valley

  

  In the morning, transfer to the village of Ihlara. On the way, we will visit the underground city of Derinkuyu, dug over 8 levels at a depth of 55 m. Arrival at Selime, then hike to Belisirma. A true sword cut in the rock, the Ihlara valley, with its steep walls, contains many richly decorated churches. Their paintings, very well preserved, bear witness to great religious fervor. We enter the Ihlara valley. Formed as a result of fractures and collapses that occurred during the cooling of lava expelled by the Hasan and Erciyes volcanoes, then widened by erosion due to rain and wind, this valley is a real canyon with vertical walls that can reach up to 150 m deep. Walk in this wonderful canyon, which provided refuge to different civilizations for millennia. We follow the Melendiz river and visit troglodyte dwellings as well as rock churches dating from the 6th to the 12th century, whose frescoes are still intact. We continue our walk in the valley, rich in vegetation. Through the willow and poplar plantations, we arrive at the village of Belisirma, where we have lunch by the river. Return by bus to Cappadocia. 4/5 h walking. Type of accommodation: guesthouse. Transfer: minibus, 2 h transfer: 2 h round trip.

• day 8

  Return flight

  Transfer to the airport and return flight.