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. We had hiked through Pigeon Valley on our first day in the area and visited a number of other iconic spots such as the Fairy Chimneys on our day tour of Cappadocia so decided to round off our exceptionally photogenic trip with a hike through 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. You can see why below…!
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.
From Goreme, you can walk about twenty minutes to the trailhead which is unmarked on Google Maps – but here is the exact starting point of the Love Valley Trail in Göreme. If you want to start in Uçhisar, it’s also about fifteen minutes outside of town – here is the exact end point of the Love Valley Trail in Uçhisar.
The trail is one-way, so we grabbed a taxi back from Uçhisar to Göreme for 40 lira.
LOVE VALLEY HIKE DETAILS
When: year-round, but there will likely be snow from December – February
Where: between Uçhisar and Göreme
Difficulty: easy
Length: including the walk from Göreme town to the start of the trailhead, the hike is 8km which took us just under two hours
Directions: from Göreme, follow Google Maps along the main road to the starting point of the Love Valley Trail in Göreme. Then, follow the dusty road through to the main valley, and on to Uçhisar. Alternatively, if you’re starting in Uçhisar, follow Google Maps along the main road to the starting point of the Love Valley Trail in Uçhisar. Google Maps does not have this trail marked, but Strava does, and it is extremely accurate and easy to follow.
Bathrooms: yes, in Uçhisar and Göreme
Public Transit: not needed as you can walk from your hotel in either Uçhisar or Göreme. I suggest taking a taxi back from whichever end you finish at for ~40 lira as it’s a one-way trail.
The start of the Love Valley Trail
The end of the trail in Uçhisar
CHECK OUT MY VLOG OF CAPPADOCIA HERE!
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Hi! I’m Jana, a British-Dutch-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.
