Cappadocia Travel Guide: Balloons, Fairy Chimneys and Cave Hotels

In the heart of Turkey, wind and rain have carved soft volcanic rock into a surreal landscape of cones, pillars and "fairy chimneys". People have been carving homes, churches and entire underground cities into the rock for thousands of years – and today you can sleep in a cave hotel and float above it all in a hot-air balloon at dawn.

In the air and on the valleys

1. Take a hot-air balloon flight

Watching the sunrise from a balloon, surrounded by dozens of others, is the experience Cappadocia is famous for. Flights leave from around Göreme just before dawn and last about an hour. Book a flight early in your stay so there's time to reschedule if the weather cancels it.

It starts in the dark: hot coffee, the roar of the burners and the slow swelling of the giant envelopes. Then the basket lifts silently off the ground and you rise into a sky filling with dozens of balloons, the valleys glowing pink and gold below. Flights depend on the wind, so book for your first morning to leave room for cancellations.

2. Watch the balloons from the ground

If you'd rather stay on the ground, get up early and watch the balloons rise from a viewpoint above Göreme or from your hotel terrace – almost as magical, and free.

Get up before dawn, find a viewpoint above Göreme or a rooftop terrace, and watch the sky fill with balloons drifting silently over the fairy chimneys as the sun rises. It's free and just as unforgettable.

3. Hike the Rose and Red Valleys

The pink-tinged rock of these neighbouring valleys glows at sunset. Trails pass hidden rock-cut churches with faded frescoes.

The trail winds between soft rock walls in shades of pink and cream, past cave churches with faded frescoes and tiny tea stops. At sunset the whole valley glows rose-red – walk in the late afternoon and bring a torch for the way back.

4. Walk through Love Valley and Pigeon Valley

Love Valley is known for its tall, smooth rock pillars. Pigeon Valley, between Göreme and Uçhisar, is an easy walk past dovecotes carved into the rock.

In Pigeon Valley, the cliffs are pockmarked with dovecotes carved into the rock, and in Love Valley tall, strange rock pillars rise from the orchards. The paths are sandy and easy, with views opening at every turn.

5. Climb Uçhisar Castle

The highest point in the region is a huge rock riddled with rooms and tunnels. Climb to the top for a 360-degree view across Cappadocia.

The steps wind up through the rock to the top of the castle, and the wind and the view hit you at the same time: the valleys, fairy chimneys and Mount Erciyes on the horizon. Sunset here is spectacular.

History underground and in the rock

6. Visit the Göreme Open Air Museum

A UNESCO-listed complex of rock-cut monasteries and churches, with Byzantine frescoes. Pay extra to see the Dark Church, whose paintings are remarkably well preserved.

Stepping into the Dark Church is like stepping into a painted cave: frescoes of Christ and the saints, still vivid after almost a thousand years, cover every surface. The site gets very busy with tour groups – go early.

7. Explore an underground city

Derinkuyu and Kaymaklı are vast underground cities carved many levels deep, where thousands of people once sheltered with their animals. Passages are narrow and low – not for the claustrophobic.

You duck through low, narrow passages into the cool, dark rock, descending level after level past stables, kitchens, chapels and great round stones once rolled across the doorways. It's fascinating – but not for the claustrophobic.

8. See Paşabağ and Devrent

Paşabağ (Monks' Valley) has the most striking multi-capped fairy chimneys, and Devrent Valley's rock formations look like animals – look for the camel.

Paşabağ's fairy chimneys look like giant mushrooms, some topped with dark stone caps, while in Devrent the eroded rocks look like animals – people stand around trying to spot the camel. Easy, quick and very photogenic.

9. Hike the Ihlara Valley

South-west of Göreme, this green gorge runs beside a river for 14 km, with rock-cut churches in its cliffs. Walk a section and stop for lunch at a riverside restaurant.

Walk down the steps into a deep green canyon where a river runs beneath poplars and willows, the cliffs dotted with rock-cut churches. It's cool, shaded and peaceful, and riverside cafés serve fresh trout at the end of the walk.

Local experiences

10. Try pottery in Avanos

The riverside town of Avanos has made pottery from Red River clay for millennia. Workshops let you try the potter's wheel.

In a workshop by the river, the potter kicks the wheel and the clay rises under his hands; then it's your turn, laughing as your bowl collapses. The town's red clay has been used here since Hittite times.

11. Sleep in a cave hotel

Cappadocia's cave hotels range from simple to luxurious, with rooms carved into the rock and terraces with balloon views. Göreme, Uçhisar and Ürgüp are the best bases.

Your room is carved into the rock – thick stone walls, arched ceilings and a cool, quiet atmosphere. Breakfast on the terrace at sunrise, with balloons floating past, is the moment most guests remember.

12. Taste the local food and wine

Try testi kebab – meat slow-cooked in a sealed clay pot that's broken open at the table – and the region's wines from local grapes.

Testi kebab arrives in a sealed clay pot, which is cracked open at your table with a dramatic tap. Pair it with a glass of local wine from the region's volcanic vineyards.

Getting there and around

Fly to Kayseri or Nevşehir (Kapadokya) airport; shuttle buses connect with hotels. Join a tour or hire a car to reach the sights, which are spread out. For more of Turkey, see the most beautiful places to visit in Turkey.