Best Hikes in Cappadocia, Türkiye (Turkey)

Although most visitors arrive in Cappadocia for a once-in-a-lifetime hot air balloon ride, the region is also an incredibly unique place to hike through. Whether you’re a big hiker like us, or are just looking for ways to escape the crowds, in this blog post we’ll detail some of the best hikes in Cappadocia that you could consider adding to your itinerary.

We spent 5 days in Göreme and dedicated most of our time to hiking through the incredible landscape of Cappadocia. Whilst we easily could’ve spent even more days hiking, we also wanted do some bucket list essentials, such as taking a hot air balloon flight. Overall, we still managed to cover a lot of miles on foot, which we hope will inspire you to visit some of these amazing hiking trails in Cappadocia.

If you’d like to see these hikes, then make sure to watch our Cappadocia video on our YouTube channel. For more Türkiye videos, check out our Türkiye Series.

Best Hikes in Cappadocia, Türkiye (Turkey)

1. Red and Rose Valley Trail to Cavusin

There are countless valleys to see around Göreme in Cappadocia but the Red and Rose Valleys are definitely two of the most visited. Both are scattered with ancient rock-cut churches and cave homes. They’re also home to many tuff rock formations, including fairy chimneys, which are conical or cylindrical shaped formations.

If you start your hike from Göreme, you can visit Göreme Open Air Museum first, then carry on towards the Rose and Red Valleys. We recommend walking along Meskendir Valley, before joining the Red Valley to take you up to the popular Red Valley Sunset Viewpoint. From there, just follow the Rose Valley trail that eventually passes Hacli Church, another beautiful rock-cut church in this area. Once in Cavusin, don’t forget to visit the Church of St. John the Baptist and Cavusin Castle, two of the main attractions in this small village.

The length of the Göreme to Cavusin via the Red and Rose Valley trail is about 10 km. It can take around 4 to 5 hours to complete this route. However, we recommend allocating some extra time for the Göreme Open Air Museum and any attractions you want to see in Cavusin. From the village, either hop on a dolmus (minibus) back to Göreme or walk back. The latter option would add an extra 2.5 km to your overall distance.

2. White and Love Valley to Uchisar Castle Trail

Another popular hiking trail in Cappadocia is the White and Love Valley path to Uchisar Castle. The Love Valley is known for its unique rock formations, or fairy chimneys, which are conical or cylindrical in shape. Some of them can reach over 30 m in height. The White Valley is basically a continuation of the Love Valley, leading all the way to Uchisar.

The start of the Love Valley trail is just south of Cavusin. To get there you can take a dolmus (minibus) or taxi from Göreme. You’ll walk past the incredible fairy chimneys in the Love Valley first. Soon you’ll enter the White Valley section of the trail, where the colour of the rocks is, as the name suggests, a little more white-washed. If you follow the trail, you should emerge near Ozler Art Centre, located just across the road from Uchisar.

Uchisar Castle is located 1,350 m above sea level, which makes it the highest point in the Cappadocia region. This means you’ll get stunning 360 degree views of the surrounding area from the top! The castle is made of volcanic tuff and was formed over hundreds of years due to erosion.

The total length of the White and Love Valley trail is about 5 km. From Uchisar you can take a dolmus back to Göreme, or walk back via the Pigeon Valley. The latter would add an additional 4 km on to your overall hike.

3. Pigeon Valley to Uchisar Castle Trail

The Pigeon Valley to Uchisar Castle trail from Göreme is another great hike in Cappadocia. The valley gets its name from the large number of dovecotes, or pigeon houses, that people have carved into the soft volcanic tuff. In the past, pigeon poo was used as fertiliser to boost the land’s production.

You can start the hike from the centre of Göreme by walking along the Uzun Dere Road out of town. Then, just follow the signs pointing towards Uchisar Castle. You’ll go through a few tunnels before the valley opens up a bit more. Eventually, the path will lead up to the top of the hill. From there, you can enjoy panoramic views of the Pigeon Valley and Uchisar Castle. After that, just follow the trail all the way to Uchisar.

The Göreme to Uchisar Castle trail via the Pigeon Valley is only about 4km long. From Uchisar you can either get a dolmus back to Göreme, or hike back the same way. For a slightly longer hike, you can follow the White and Love Valley all the way down before circling back to Göreme. This is what we did.

4. Göreme Open-Air Museum from Göreme Town

Possibly one of the most visited places in Cappadocia is the Göreme Open Air Museum. This museum has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1984. It contains some of the finest rock-cut churches in the area, with beautifully preserved frescoes inside.

Whilst it’s not really a valley, it’s still one of the best short hikes you can do in Cappadocia. You can easily reach the museum from Göreme town centre by following Muze Road all the way to the entrance. It’s only about 1.5 km, so it shouldn’t take you more than 15 to 20 minutes to get there. We recommend spending some time walking around and checking out all the stunning churches within the museum.

Don’t forget to visit the Buckle Church (Tokalı Kilise) just across the road too. It’s really beautiful inside, however you won’t be allowed to take any photos.

Top Tip. If you wish to complete a longer hike, then consider either combining the Open Air Museum with the Sword Valley to the north, the Zemi or Görkündere (Rocket) Valley to the south or the Red and Rose Valley further north. We did the latter and it was a fantastic loop.

5. Pasabag and Zelve Valley / Zelve Open-Air Museum from Cavusin

Pasabag and Zelve Valleys are also considered some of the best easy hikes in Cappadocia. Unlike the fairy chimneys in the Love Valley, the formations within the Pasabag Valley look more like mushrooms. Some of the formations have multi-bodies, twin, or even triple-heads. The Zelve Valley was actually inhabited until about 1950. However, due to erosion and earthquake damage people had to move out of their homes.

You can start your hike from Cavusin and follow the trail towards Pasabag Valley through some tall fairy chimneys. Spend some time wandering around the valley, before following the trail towards Zelve Valley and Open Air Museum. Once you get to Zelve you can walk along three main trails, with the longest only being around 1 km long.

The Pasabag to Zelve Valley trail from Cavusin is only about 4 km long. You can either take a dolmus (minibus) back to Cavusin or Göreme, or walk all the way back. Alternatively, you can also extend your walk by hiking back through the Red and Rose Valleys.

6. Görkündere (Rocket) and Zemi Valley Hike from Göreme

One of the most underrated hikes in Cappadocia is through the Zemi and Görkündere (Rocket) Valleys. They’re both located just outside of Göreme, so you can easily get to the trailhead on foot. Görkündere Valley has some of the tallest and thickest fairy chimneys. They look a bit like rockets, hence the name.

Start the hike by walking out of Göreme towards the Open Air Museum along Muze Road. You won’t need to go all the way to the museum as the trailhead to Görkündere Valley starts from the first left hand turn after the Tourist Hotel. The Zemi Valley hike starts at Cappadocia Adventure, only slightly further along the road from the Tourist Hotel. There will be a few signs pointing towards Zemi Valley and Görkündere Valley from the main road. If you’re not up for a long hike, you can just do a short loop by following the signs towards Görkündere Cafe Breakfast. Note that if you start your hike from the Cappadocia Adventure turn, you’ll get to Zemi Cafe Breakfast first.

There will be a fork just before the Görkündere Cafe, or after the Zemi Cafe, depending on which path you’re walking on. Here you can switch between the two valleys if you wish. We decided to carry on towards the cafe along Görkündere Valley. Soon you’ll see the rock formations which dominate the Rocket Valley. Here, just walk around the impressive fairy chimneys before making your way up to the ridge overlooking Göreme. Make sure to follow the trail towards Görkündere 5 viewpoint. You should come out on the Aydin Kiragi dirt road, which will lead you to the Sunset Viewpoint above the town.

This hiking trail, which mainly follows the Görkündere Valley, is only about 3 km long. You can definitely extend it by following the Zemi valley first, then circling back towards Göreme.

7. Sword Valley Hike from Göreme

Another short hike you can do in Cappadocia is the Sword Valley (Kılıçlar Vadisi) trail from Göreme. It’s another valley which is a bit overlooked because of more popular hikes in the area. As you may have guessed, the valley gets its name because the fairy chimneys look like swords here.

Again, start the hike by walking out of Göreme towards the Open Air Museum along Muze Road. The trailhead starts just after the Open Air Museum, although we did a shorter version and entered the valley just before the museum. Then, we followed the trail towards Göreme Camping Aquapark, from where we turned around and walked back along the straight dirt track to Muze Road.

This hiking trail is only about 2.8 km long. You can definitely combine the Sword Valley with Göreme Open Air Museum, or the Zemi and Görkündere (Rocket) Valleys, for a longer hike.

Practical Information on Hiking in Cappadocia

Best Time to Hike in Cappadocia

You can do any of these hikes in Cappadocia all year round but there are better and worse times of the year to do them. Spring and autumn are probably the best seasons, mainly because the temperatures are more bearable, so it won’t be too bad to hike all day long. We were there at the end of September / start of October and the weather was still on the hotter side.

The temperatures are going to be highest in the summer months, and it can be very hot, so we advise starting your hike very early or later in the afternoon. Whilst winter is normally colder and wetter, you can still enjoy some magical winter wonderland hikes if the conditions are right. If we ever return to Cappadocia, it will definitely be during the winter months to see the landscape covered in snow.

Navigating Through the Valleys of Cappadocia

We sometimes found navigating through the maze of valleys in Cappadocia to be a bit tricky. This is mainly because there are so many paths zig-zagging through the area. There were a few signs and maps with trail markings on them though, which we highly recommend taking photos of. This might help to give you a general idea on where you’re headed.

However, for a more accurate way of navigating, we also highly recommend having at least one of these apps downloaded on your phone:

• Offline Google Maps
• AllTrails
• Maps.me

What to Wear and Bring with You

Obviously it’s season dependent, but we recommend wearing weather appropriate clothing when hiking in Cappadocia. Our greatest advice is to wear a good pair of hiking shoes, boots or trainers that have good grip. The terrain can be a bit slippery, which is the reason I ended up wearing my white shoes, which have way better grip than my trainers.

Note that there won’t be much shade in the valleys, and it was still pretty hot for us at the end of September. So, if you’re there during the height of summer, you’ll want to make sure you’re wearing sufficient sun protection including SPF, hat and sunglasses.

Whilst there are a few places you can buy some refreshments along the above trails, we suggest bringing enough water to stay hydrated during your hikes. Also, bring some snacks in case you get hungry.

It’s always good practice to download some offline maps before you set off. You can always get an eSIM with Airalo to be able to use data whilst abroad, although you may not have much signal in the valleys.

Final Thoughts on Hikes in Cappadocia

Even though Cappadocia is one of the most touristy places in Türkiye, we truly enjoyed our time there. This is mainly because we dedicated the majority of our time to hiking through this incredible landscape. In many instances, we didn’t meet a single other soul for the majority of our hikes, which definitely helped us to forget just how busy Cappadocia can get.

Have you ever been to Cappadocia before? If so, did you go on a few hikes there? Which trails did you complete? If not, would you go hiking in Cappadocia? Let us know in the comments below.