Cappadocia, Turkey
You wake before dawn, and a hundred balloons come up out of the valley with the sun.
Why go
Volcanic ash laid this valley down soft and the weather carved it into cones, spires and hollows that people have been living inside for two thousand years. Your hotel is very likely a cave, warm in winter and cool in summer, with a terrace facing the valley. That terrace matters, because at sunrise the balloons go up, first a few, then a hundred, drifting over the rock at eye level. Underneath the ground there are whole cities, Derinkuyu goes down eight storeys, dug by people hiding from armies. Walk the Rose Valley late in the day when the stone actually turns pink, and eat testi kebab that arrives in a sealed clay pot you break at the table.
Good to know
- Fly into Kayseri (ASR) or Nevsehir (NAV), an hour from Goreme
- Three nights, four if you want two chances at a balloon flight
- Goreme for atmosphere, Uchisar for the quieter view
- Balloons are weather dependent, book the first morning so you have a spare day
Best April to June, and September to October.
Price this trip
Tell us where you are flying from and we will price flights and stays together, live.
