Best places to stay:
If Cappadocia’s fantasy landscapes stoke your appetite for the outlandish and sumptuous, look no further than this striking, if slightly mad, Urgup hotel.
Within the townhouse you’ll discover a hallucinatory vision of full-on exotica, with interiors inspired by history, myth, Gothic fairy tale and dream. Lose yourself amidst antique tiles, marble altar pieces, chandeliers, medieval headboards, gilt mirrors, forests of candelabra, brass bathtubs and richly swagged hangings. There’s a spa and indoor pool decorated in similarly over-the-top style.
Tucked away on Urgup’s quiet backstreets, Sacred House is well placed for exploring the local town and the wider region. It’s an amazing place, though entirely inward-looking, without any views over Cappadocia.
The immediate locale is rich in 19th-century stone houses, many of them built from carved Cappadocian ashlar. It’s less touristy than Goreme or Uchisar, so expect the authentic rhythms of provincial Turkish life – even wandering livestock from the surrounding countryside. Ideal if you’re looking for a quieter, more authentic experience, with less other tourists around.
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Bucket list experiences our writer says you must do in this destination, closest first
Goreme, Central Anatolia, Turkey[5.6 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
Central Anatolia, Turkey[5.8 miles]
An extensive network of biking tracks, passing through striking and unique landscapes and moonscapes, makes Cappadocia a destination for exceptional mountain biking.
Best for ages: 13+ | Free | 3+ hours
Central Anatolia, Turkey[5.8 miles]
Discover Cappadocia’s excellent wines and learn about its centuries-old history of wine-making with a visit to its wineries and wine shops.
Best for ages: 18+ | Free | 1-3 hours
Cappadocia, Central Anatolia, Turkey[5.8 miles]
Surely one of the greatest places on earth to horse ride – in these unique, jaw-dropping landscapes of fairy-tale-like rock formations, ancient caves, and scenic valleys.
Best for ages: 13+ | £40 | 1-5 hours
Other worthwhile experiences in this destination if you have the time or the interest, closest first
Urgup , Central Anatolia, Turkey[0.2 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
Goreme, Central Anatolia, Turkey[5.6 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[6.2 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
Goreme, Central Anatolia, Turkey[7 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
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.
