Before going to Cappadocia, Turkiye, all I knew about it was that it was a destination for hot-air ballooning over amazing rock formations. But I found out it is so much more than that. After my summer trip to Cappadocia, I have to recommend it for every bucket list. I was completely awestruck by my visit there. Ancient ruins, history, a castle, cave dwellings, hidden rock churches, underground homes, amazing hikes, great food, four wheeling, and of course the hot air ballooning was the icing on the cake.
When to Go
MakeThe high seasons for Cappadocia are April, May and September, October. I went at the end of June and the crowds were way down and the weather was wonderful. Of course warmer than April and May, but not bad. It seems that most visitors come for about a three day stay. Since my husband and I are slow travelers, we spent eight nights and had an amazing time.
The Cappadocia region is actually two small towns, side by side, Goreme and Uchisar. We spent four nights in each. The first four nights we splurged and stayed in a cave hotel in Goreme. Many of the old homes carved into the rock formations have been turned into boutique hotels and restaurants. From our hotel we were able to walk everywhere very easily. The last four nights we stayed in a hotel in Uchisar.
This small village huddles around Ushisar Castle and has been occupied since the 7th century. Even though it is in such close proximity to Goreme, it felt much smaller and more rural as it is surrounded by orchards. Here, the availability of very affordable and ripe apricots, nectarines, and cherries were a big plus for us. I really loved the feel of this place. It was small, very welcoming, and again, everything was in easy walking distance.
Hot Air Ballooning
The day we checked into our first hotel, in Goreme, the concierge told us that we should book our hot air ballooning in the next few days as no wind was forecast. They can’t fly if it is very windy. So we booked it for the next morning. A van picked us up at 4:00 am. After picking others up from various hotels, we were taken to the launch site and watched the balloons being aired up in the pre-dawn light.
Before we knew it, we were rising into the air to watch the sun come over the horizon. It was magical. Cappadocia is known for it’s amazing and uniquely shaped rock formations called “fairy chimneys”. Sailing over these amazing geological formations and chasms formed over time, by wind and water, was breathtaking.
Our balloon rose to 2,800 feet (853 meters) and we watched dozens more balloons rising beneath us. Generally, about 165 balloons fly every morning. These balloons are huge. Each basket holds 20 passengers plus the pilot in the middle.
Our pilot was so interesting too. He was from Cappadocia but had spent the previous three years flying hot air balloons across the Serengeti in Africa. After landing, our ground crew had a table set up with finger foods and glasses of sparkling wine for everyone. It truly was a magical experience.
Goreme Open Air Museum
There are several open air museums in the area, but this one is an easy walk from town. A UNESCO World Heritage site, this area contains eleven of the best preserved rock-cut churches from the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries.
I was really astounded. Situated high on the rock face, there are stairways leading to their openings now, but they were originally hard to get into. They were built when Christians were still persecuted and had to meet in secret. They all contain amazing frescoes painted on their walls and ceilings. A couple of them were remarkably well preserved with the colors of the paint still bold and bright. They were beautiful.
There is one in particular, called “The Dark Church” that is just unbelievable. It costs an extra 6 Euros to go into, and they limit the number of people a day that can go in. This is for preservation purposes. But it is definitely worth a little extra, I was awestruck. The feeling I had wondering through this ancient site and inside these caves was otherworldly. It was an amazing experience set inside a true piece of ancient history. It pays to get here early and the entry fee is 20 Euros. No photos allowed in this one.
Turkish Breakfast
After leaving the museum, we decided to a hike trail that we had seen on our way to the museum. We wandered a path back among hoodoos and fairy chimneys and to take some pictures.
When hiking out of the area, we came upon a lovely restaurant, Goerkundere Cafe, tucked back into the boulders. Their sign advertised breakfast, so in we went. It turned out that they were famous for their Turkish breakfasts and I can see why.
I have never had a breakfast spread like this one, and they just keep bringing food until you tell them to stop. Fresh fruits, fresh veggies, two types of eggs and sausage, cheese platter, meat platter, pastry platter, pancakes, home fries, syrups, jams, honey with clotted cream, yogurt, juices, Turkish tea, and more. I could not believe how wonderful everything was.
What an unexpected treat especially after the amazing open air museum and our hike. I almost needed to be rolled out of here. It’s a good thing we had a little way to walk to get back to our room, this helped all the food settled. The food in Turkey is amazing and we regularly ate way to much!
Uchisar Castle
Uchisar Kalesi or Castle is crisscrossed by numerous underground passageways and rooms which served as residential homes in Byzantine times. Although it is no longer inhabited today, it once housed around 1,000 people. Several of the royal rooms inside display unique antique furnishings. It offers great views from the top and it feels magical to walk through the rooms of a castle literally carved from a giant rock formation.
It is a little work to get to the top, but once you’re up there you can see why this place was such an excellent location for a castle. One apartment in particular really struck me as you could see where the cooking fire had been in the kitchen and the stunning view the cook would have had. Some rooms were apartments, some were work shops, and some were for schools. The area around the castle comes alive in the late afternoon and evenings with fruit, food, and souvenir vendors. The small streets leading away from the castle are filled with an array of restaurants and boutique hotels.
Hiking
There are a number of hikes you can do all around this area. None of them to taxing unless you go in the middle of the afternoon when the suns at its peak.
We walked to the edge of Uchisar village and hiked down into the river valley, this is where they grow many crops and orchards. The cliff faces along both sides of the valley are dotted with ancient carved out caves. Some were homes and some were pigeon houses.
They used pigeon guano for centuries to fertilize their crops. A large female Anatolian Shepard joined us for our hike and she was the sweetest girl. She came out of her front yard when we were walking past her house and stuck with us for the whole hike. When we came up out of the canyon, she went on her merry way.
We also did another short hike to find an ancient church. Aaron had read about this ancient, rock cut church. It is not an official site to visit. There is no entry fee, or upkeep of any kind. This was a side mission we chose to undertake, and it did require some searching, scrambling, and climbing. But once we found it and got inside, it was amazing.
It was huge inside with massive stone pillars that are carved with Syrian art and symbols. It’s origins are a mystery, they only know it was an ancient church and contains many ancient Christian symbols carved into the rock.
After the Ottomans took over it was turned into a pigeon house and used for pigeon guano for centuries. It now sits empty and hidden unless you take the time and effort to seek it out. I didn’t feel quite like Indiana Jones, but this place did feel like a hidden treasure that we had found.
More Adventure
There is so much to see and do in Cappadocia. For our last adventure here we opted to do a four-wheeler sunset tour. My husband drove the ATV and I held the camera. We followed our tour leader out among the amazing rock formations to another hidden church, then walked up a hill to watch the sunset. It was an easy and fun side adventure that allowed us to see another part of the surrounding area. You also have the option to do this on horseback.
As budget travelers we have to be a little picky about what see and do, and how much it costs. But we were able to fit in a lot of history, fun, and adventure here. We also had some great food to boot. Cappadocia was a magical place and turned out to be so much more than we were expecting. I am so glad we spent a full eight nights here as this allowed us to really see and do so much more than the hot-air ballooning. It is definitely a bucket list destination.
OUR GUIDE TO CAPPADOCIA VIDEO
Read Our Guide To Istanbul Blog.