By air
Kayseri (ASR) or Nevşehir (NAV), ~1 h
Middle East · Türkiye
Cappadocia, Türkiye
Fairy chimneys and hot-air balloons
Getting there
Best time to visit
April to June and September to October — mild
Don't miss
The Göreme Open-Air Museum
Uçhisar Castle
The Derinkuyu underground city
The Rose Valley
Things to do
A sunrise balloon flight
Hiking the valleys
The underground cities
A night in a cave hotel
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Benh LIEU SONG from Torcy, France · CC BY-SA 2.0
What to pack
Layers for the cold dawns, walking shoes
A quieter corner
The Ihlara Valley's rock churches
Questions travellers ask
When should I plan a trip to Cappadocia?
April to June or September to October, when it's mild. Bring layers for the cold dawns and good walking shoes.
What is there to do in Cappadocia?
Take a sunrise balloon flight, hike the valleys (the Rose Valley included), explore the Derinkuyu underground city and spend a night in a cave hotel.
Which sights should I not miss in Cappadocia?
The Göreme Open-Air Museum and Uçhisar Castle — plus the Ihlara Valley's rock churches if you want somewhere quieter.
Which airport is closest to Cappadocia?
Kayseri (ASR) or Nevşehir (NAV), about 1 h away. Make your first dinner a pottery kebab, the testi kebabı.
About Cappadocia
- Inland
Where it is
Cappadocia is a historical region of central Türkiye on the Anatolian plateau, around the towns of Göreme, Ürgüp and Nevşehir, where ancient eruptions of volcanoes such as Erciyes and Hasan laid down the soft tuff that wind and water carved into valleys and fairy chimneys.
History
A province of the Persian and later the Roman empires, Cappadocia became an early centre of Christianity, where monks and villagers carved churches and monasteries into the rock and enlarged underground cities such as Derinkuyu as refuges. Later ruled by the Seljuks and the Ottomans, it kept Greek Orthodox communities until the population exchange of 1923, and Göreme and the rock sites of Cappadocia became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
People
Cappadocians speak Turkish and live by farming, tourism and old crafts such as the red-clay pottery of Avanos, made from the silt of the Kızılırmak river. Vineyards around Ürgüp produce wine, and testi kebab, cooked in a sealed clay pot that is broken open at the table, is a local speciality.
Known for
- Hot-air balloon flights at sunrise
- The fairy chimneys of Göreme and Paşabağ
- The painted rock churches of Göreme
- Underground cities such as Derinkuyu and Kaymaklı
- Cave hotels and the Rose Valley
Did you know?
The underground city of Derinkuyu reaches about 85 m below the surface, and in times of danger it could shelter thousands of people together with their livestock and food stores.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.