Walk the Pigeon Valley
Goreme, Central Anatolia, Turkey[1 miles]
A spectacular 4km stroll through fantastical, magical landscapes. The trail links two of Cappadocia’s best-known towns – Goreme and Uchisar.
Best for ages: 4+ | Free | 1-2 hours
Best places to stay:
A real favourite, Kale Konak stands out for its wonderful location, atmosphere and for the personality of its splendid owner/manager Abdullah (Apo).
Set just beneath the castle on the upper lanes of Uchisar town, with wonderful views over Cappadocia to Erciyes Dag (Mount Argaeus) volcano, the konak (mansion) is a wonderful warren of 19th-century cave rooms.
There are terraces for sitting out in the summer, and a cosy lounge with an open fire for winter visitors, and the hotel also has its own hamam. The best views are from the breakfast room where evening meals can also be served on arrangement.
Uchisar is a classic Cappadocian cave town set on the upper slopes of the picturesque Pigeon Valley. The town is served by narrow, often steep lanes which preserve its tranquil feel.
Uchisar offers a superb central setting, a lovely low-key atmosphere, shops and restaurants, great views and easy access to some of the region’s best walking trails.
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Bucket list experiences our writer says you must do in this destination, closest first
Goreme, Central Anatolia, Turkey[1 miles]
A spectacular 4km stroll through fantastical, magical landscapes. The trail links two of Cappadocia’s best-known towns – Goreme and Uchisar.
Best for ages: 4+ | Free | 1-2 hours
Goreme, Central Anatolia, Turkey[2.6 miles]
One of the world’s great hot-air balloon flights, over a moonscape-esque landscape of arches, caverns, striking spires and eye-popping, giant protuberances resembling gigantic mushrooms.
Best for ages: 10+ | £75 | 4 hours
Goreme, Central Anatolia, Turkey[3.6 miles]
A remarkable natural amphitheatre of rock-hewn, fresco-filled churches and monastic dwellings dating back to Byzantine times. Cappadocia’s most visited site.
Best for ages: 13+ | £10 | 2 hours
Goreme, Central Anatolia, Turkey[4.5 miles]
A beautiful and undemanding 6km valley trail, with rock churches and formations galore, that offers walkers a grand glimpse of the surreal Cappadocian back country.
Best for ages: 8+ | Free | 3 hours
Other worthwhile experiences in this destination if you have the time or the interest, closest first
Goreme, Central Anatolia, Turkey[2.5 miles]
An Aladdin’s cave of a carpet shop, a warren of rooms packed with flat-weave kilims both from the region and Turkey’s other renowned carpet regions, piled, hung and draped in picturesque profusion.
Best for ages: 13+ | Free
Goreme, Central Anatolia, Turkey[5.1 miles]
The region is famous for its sunsets, most famously over the Red and adjacent Rose Valley, so-called for the pinkish tones the soft tufa stone acquires at sunset. Watch the show from the Goreme National Park’s Panorama Viewpoint, lined with simple cafes.
Best for ages: 18+ | Free | 2 hours
Goreme, Central Anatolia, Turkey[6.9 miles]
This 2km walk (from the ticket office) leads you through this beautiful Cappadocian valley, inhabited until the middle of the 20th-century, taking in churches, stables, and monks’ refectories.
Best for ages: 18+ | Free | 1+ hours
Urgup , Central Anatolia, Turkey[9 miles]
This recently-restored hammam occupies a fine old building and is family-run, for unisex visitors, with professional, only-male attendants. (Women-only times available with female attendants). The best place in the region for the quintessential Turkish Bath experience.
Best for ages: 13+ | £5 | 2+ hours
Destination guides including or relevant to this place to stay
Central Anatolia, Turkey
Surreal shaped landscapes rich in troglodytic ruins, walking trails and delightful cave hotels in the ancient heart of Anatolia.