Trails of Cappadocia – Hiking in Turkey (8 days) — Aventures Anatoliennes

8-day guided hike through the most beautiful valleys of Cappadocia: fairy chimneys, cave churches and underground cities. Level 2, between nature and culture.

In the heart of Anatolia, Cappadocia is an exceptional region, geologically, historically and architecturally. This high plateau was covered with a mantle of volcanic tuff before being sculpted by erosion into countless canyons, peaks and fairy chimneys. Our itinerary is both a hike and an in-depth discovery of a region and its past, led by a passionate local team.

8 days · Level 2/5

Day-by-day itinerary

  1. D1 – Paris / Kayseri / Cappadocia — Arrival in Kayseri, welcome at the airport and transfer to Cappadocia towards Mustafapasa (Sinasos), a Greek-faced village inhabited by Orthodox Greeks until the Treaty of Lausanne (1923). One of the finest villages in…
  2. D2 – Keslik Monastery / Golgoli cave dwellings / Mustafapasa — Short transfer to Keslik Monastery (10th century), showing the life of monks in the early centuries of Christianity. Then Cemil village and a picnic in the Golgoli cave dwellings, nests carved into the tuff cones. Retur…
  3. D3 – Gomede Valley / Pancarlik Valleys / Ortahisar — Departure through Gömede Valley, dotted with monasteries, rock dwellings and huge dovecotes carved into the cliffs. Late-afternoon arrival at Ortahisar village (the 'middle tower'), dominated by a rock fortress. Night i…
  4. D4 – Ihlara Valley / Derinkuyu / Ortahisar — Transfer to Selime in the Ihlara Valley, visit its 6th-century cave monastery. Hike in the Ihlara Canyon (14 km, up to 150 m high) along the Melendiz River, with its churches decorated with colourful frescoes. On the wa…
  5. D5 – Ortahisar / Meskendir Valley / Red and Rose Valleys / Çavusin — First steps in the still-secret Meskendir Valley, crossed by small tunnels. Then a hike to Güllüdere and Kizilcukur, the legendary Rose and Red valleys, with red tones lit by white streaks, at the foot of the Bozdag pla…
  6. D6 – Çavusin / White Valley / Uchisar / Pigeon Valley / Goreme — Departure through Akvadi, the White Valley, bristling with fairy chimneys of beautiful white tuff. Arrival at Uçhisar, gathered around its rocky promontory (the Fortress), climb to the top for the panoramic view. After…
  7. D7 – Çavusin / Bozdag Plateau / Pasabag Fairy Chimneys / Çavusin — Beautiful stage on a balcony trail circling the Bozdag plateau and reaching its summit, with a panoramic view over all of Cappadocia. Descent through the Zelve valley to the Pasabag fairy chimneys ('the Master's vines')…
  8. D8 – Kayseri / France — Transfer to Kayseri airport and return flight to France. Transfer: 1h.

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