Ohhh it's so good to be on proper holidays again. While I do have the incredible privilege of getting to travel nearly full time as I work remotely (and most recently spent five weeks based in Istanbul), it's the joy of traveling purely with the intent of seeing the world and documenting my adventures that excites me the most.
After the wonderful time I had in Istanbul, I was so ready to uncover more of Türkiye and, along with a colleague of mine, took a ten-day holiday covering the many varied highlights of this totally underrated country.
You know when you've had a place on your bucket list for years, consistenly fueled by hundreds of photos and videos always being shared on every form of social media, so much so that you're not even sure it will be able to live up to the hype because you've put such high expectations on the experience? Cappadocia is one of those places oft captured on Instagram – an incredible bucket list destination home to a sky full of balloons at sunrise, an ancient castle built into the rocks and beautiful and varied rock formations begging you to wander through them. And it surpassed every expectation.
How to Get to Cappadocia
Most visitors to Cappadocia will travel from Istanbul. You can either take a bus which takes about nine hours (best traveled overnight) or the easiest and quickest way is to fly from IST down to either Nevşehir or Kayseri. Kayseri typically has better schedules and is more affordable, however Nevşehir is closer to Göreme which is the village you'll most likely be based in during your time in Cappadocia. Having said that, it really doesn't make much difference at all which airport you end up in; they're both very easily accessible from Cappadocia so just find the best option from Istanbul on the date and time you wish to travel, regardless of the airport.
We flew into Nevşehir from Istanbul on a 1h 15m flight with Turkish Airlines and we flew out of Kayseri down to Antalya with Pegasus Airlines.
I recommend pre-booking an airport transfer with your hotel to and from the airports; this cost us 10 EUR per person each way and was the easiest option to get us in to town.
Where to Stay in Cappadocia
Cappadocia is one of those fairytale little tourist towns full of hotels and restaurants all designed to accommodate travelers. There are options for all budget ranges.
We wanted to stay at two of the most iconic hotels in the region - be sure to book these in advance as they are boutique hotels with less than twenty rooms each and both quite popular thanks to Instagram! Having said that, most hotels in the area all offer the rooftop terrace that all visitors to Cappadocia are so eager to experience at sunrise when the hot air balloons take to the sky.
For our first night, we stayed at the iconic Charming Cave Hotel, home to the highest rooftop terrace in town and one of the most insta-famous hotels possibly ever. It is from this rooftop terrace - the place to be from just before sunrise - where you can witness for yourself the spectacle that is the Cappadocia balloon flights. Nearly a hundred balloons take off in the early morning light (so long as the weather is favourable; sometimes they get canceled) and rise softly and slowly into the sky. They float overhead as if by magic, some even drifting so close to the town that you can wave hello to the passengers aboard.
For our other two nights in Cappadocia, we stayed at the Local Cave House, home to one of the world's most famous pools. While it doesn't have that incredbile rooftop terrace, the view of the balloons is just as spectacular across the valley and, if you're lucky with the wind direction, you might even get the balloons drifting straight overhead. The major perk here is the spectacular pool set against the backdrop of the rooms built into the curving rock faces of the Cappadocian landscape.
Both hotels offered a delicious Turkish breakfast (Local Cave House was particularly impressive) and great service, strong Wi-Fi, walking distance into town and lovely rooms. Well worth the splurge!
Charming Cave Hotel
Local Cave House
Breakfast at Local Cave House
Where to Eat Vegan Food in Cappadocia
We ate at three restaurants during our time in Cappadocia, aside from our hotels. As I am vegan, I am always on the hunt for great vegan spots when I travel. Happy Cow is a wonderful resource for discovering places!
In Göreme, we ate at Family Cave which was a sweet local family run place with lots of comfort dishes including pasta and manti (Turkish ravioli) and at Fat Boys which did a delicious vegan pottery kebab, a local Cappadocian must-try!
In Uçhisar, we ate at House of Memories which was probably one of our favourite restaurants of the whole trip, thanks to the very low prices for a delicious Turkish spread and the wonderful service.
Things to Do in Cappadocia
We spent three days in Cappadocia which I believe is the minimum number of days you need to get a varied number of activities in. There is SO much to see and do here, so you're going to want to make sure you've allotted a good amount of time to see everything you want to see.
On our first day, we hiked through Pigeon Valley and explored the neighbouring town of Uçhisar. On the second day, we booked a tour through Get Your Guide which enabled us to see a ton of sights all around Cappadocia in a succint amount of time, plus having a tour guide gave us loads of insights about the region. On the third day we enjoyed hanging out at our beautiful pool, wandering through Göreme and hiking through Love Valley.
Here's everything we saw in our three days:
Day 1 - Pigeon Valley & Uçhisar
1. Find the viewpoint over Pigeon Valley
The first thing we did when we arrived in Cappadocia was to get out into the exquisite landscapes that make the area so famous. The viewpoint over Pigeon Valley is just outside Uçhisar and offers an impressive look over the intricate rock formations of the valley.
2. Then hike along the floor of Pigeon Valley
The mind-blowing rock formations and surreal raw environments here make for the perfect playground to get out into nature. The hike to Pigeon Valley is a loop trail that can be started in either Uçhisar or Göreme. It is on the valley floor where you can get up close and personal with the rock formations and really admire what makes this place so special.
Day 2 - Cappadocia Day Tour
4. Watch the hot air balloons at sunrise
For so long I had visualized the big hot air balloons floating up into the sky while I looked on from an idyllic rooftop terrace. So, at sunrise each day, we witnessed for ourselves the spectacle that is the Cappadocia balloon flights. Nearly a hundred balloons take off in the early morning light (so long as the weather is favourable; sometimes they get canceled) and rise softly and slowly into the sky. They float overhead as if by magic, some even drifting so close to the town that you can wave hello to the passengers aboard. It's a surreal feeling to have such a highly anticipated moment come to life before your eyes and I can confidently say that this experience surpassed all expectations - and that's quite the feat.
5. Take in the views over Uçhisar
During our tour, we started off back in Uçhisar where we were taken to a wonderful viewpoint overlooking the entire village where you can spot the little homes carved into the rocks where people actually used to live. We were told that Uçhisar was the central trading and traveling point between merchants and travelers going between eastern and western Türkiye so, aside from being absolutely exquisite, it was also a crucially important geographical location.
6. Go inside one of the rock houses of Uçhisar
Occupied as recently as the 1980s (!!), for just 10 lira you can pop inside this old man's house and check out what the interiors of one of the fascinating carved-out homes looked like. It was certainly a difficult way of life, with none of the modern-day comforts, but what a unique way to live!
7. Explore the churches of the Göreme Open Air Museum
This fascinating spot was home to loads of churches, all carved into the rock formations of the Cappadocian landscapes. Each of the churches features various frescoes depicting the life of Jesus in various stages of preservation; we had no idea Christianity was so prevelant in this part of Türkiye.
8. Spot the camel rock in Imagination Valley
This rock cluster is called Imagination Valley or Devrent Vadisi because so many of the structures in this giant open space, when using some imagination, resemble some pretty funky objects. Most famously of all is camel rock, which looks like just a camel perched in the desert!
9. Wander through the Fairy Chimneys
These beautiful basalt rock formations once used to be a massive flat-topped rock which has been worn down by erosion into cone-shaped "chimeys." As I've said about this whole region, it really is fairytale-like to get to wander through these gigantic rock formations and witness the majesty of millions of years of nature. The exact Google Maps location of the Fairy Chimneys is here.
Day 3 - Love Valley
10. Hike through the aptly-named Love Valley
They don’t call it Love Valley for nothing – the rock formations here are quite unlike anything else in the area and have become a bit of a memorable place to visit and photograph. Love Valley is an easy trek, with a dusty sandy well-trodden path through the valley base. There is a viewpoint above the valley where many tours swing past, but you’d really be missing out if you didn’t take a few hours to walk the entire trail below.
CHECK OUT MY VLOG OF CAPPADOCIA HERE!
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Hi! I’m Jana, a Dutch-German-British-Canadian with a dream of seeing every country in the world. I am a storyteller, photographer and adventurer passionate about documenting and sharing my travels.
