Trekking in Cappadocia

Flight to Kayseri. Transfer and installation at the hotel in cappadocia. 

Transfer: 1h.

Hike towards Cavusin, one of the important centres of Christianity from the 3rd century. The church of St John the Baptist, which stands in the middle of a Gruyère of troglodytic dwellings, is worth a visit for its architecture. Our walk continues through the fairy chimneys of the Pasabaglari. Arrival at Zelve in an old troglodytic village emptied of its population (1957) due to erosion and transformed into an open-air museum.  2 hours walk. Type of accommodation: in a hotel. Transfer: Vehicle, 20mnt.

Transfer by minibus to Gömede valley (10mn). Hiking in the Pancarlik valley with its peaks, valleys, penitents and countless fairy chimneys. Visit of the churches of Kepez and Sarica from the 10th and 12th centuries, standing in nature as if facing time. Picnic in the valley. Our hike continues in the Kizilçukur valley (Red Valley) which owes its name to the beautiful red and pink colours. Here you will see the fairy-tale result of millions of years of wind and rain erosion on a soft volcanic rock. The ingenuity of man has added a special touch, by the need to integrate into this lunar landscape, the troglodytic dwellings. Transfer: 20 mnt.

A short drive (10 minutes) takes us to an extraordinary rocky monastic complex surrounded by apricot trees. We walk through the tortuous valley of Keslik, then above the village of Cemil (1150m) to reach the Damsa Baraji lake (1100m). By a cart path we reach the amazing site of Golgoli (1200m), then Mustafapasa, an ancient Greek village with the most beautiful houses with carved pediments in all of Cappadocia.

Overnight in a pension. 4 hours walk.

Type of accommodation: in a pension.

Hiking to the village of Uçhisar through the White Valley. It is a wide valley dominated by enormous fairy chimneys where the tufa is a beautiful white colour sometimes stained with sulphur. The crops nestle on small sheltered terraces at the foot of the walls. Once densely populated, the troglodytic dwellings in the valley now serve as sheds or stables; these hamlets of coiffed damselflies, whose old doors and windows carved in the tufa open onto now deserted living quarters, lend a strange life to these serene places. Visit the fortress (a mass of volcanic tuff) built on a rocky promontory that dominates almost all the valleys of Cappadocia. After a picnic in the shade of the fruit trees, we continue our discovery of the lunar landscapes of Cappadocia. Then in the afternoon we continue our hike in the Güvercinlik valley (valley of the pigeons), which leads us to the famous village of Avcilar. 

5 hours of walking.

Type of accommodation: in a hotel.

Transfer: 15mnt.

The descent from the Zeminderesi valley leads through small, secluded gardens alternating with poplars and fruit trees to Göreme's famous "valley of love". Here nature has erected numerous phallic forms towards the sky. Our hike then continues to the Kiliçlar Valley, in the heart of Cappadocia, one of the most beautiful valleys in which we find tuffs of various colours, fruit trees, ancient troglodytic dwellings, dovecotes and rock churches... Arrival at the village of Çavuşin and return by bus to our accommodation.

4 hours walk.

Transfer: 15 mnt.

In the morning, transfer to the village of ıhlara . On the way, we will visit the underground city of Derinkuyu, which is dug 8 storeys high and 55m deep. Arrival in Selime and hike to Belisirma. The Ihlara valley is a real sword in the rock, with its steep walls and many richly decorated churches. Their very well preserved paintings bear witness to a great religious fervour. We enter the Ihlara valley. Formed as a result of breaks and collapses, which occurred during the cooling of the lava expelled by the volcanoes Hasan and Erciyes, then widened by erosion due to rain and wind, this valley is a real canyon with vertical walls that can reach up to 150m in depth. Walk in this marvellous canyon, which has offered refuge to different civilizations for thousands of years. We follow the river Melendiz and visit troglodytic dwellings and 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 reach the village of Belisirma where we have lunch by the river. Return by bus to Cappadocia. 

4/5h walking. 

Type of accomodation: in pension. 

Transfer: Minibus, 2h transfer: 2 h a/r.

Transfer to the airport and return flight.