Discover Cappadocia

Ürgüp

This is what Göreme looked like forty years ago. Grandmothers still bake bread in communal tandır ovens and will wave you over to try some.

Local tip:

Come hungry — the village women's cooperative serves a home-cooked lunch if you call a day ahead, and the manti is legendary among local guides.

Best time:

Late September-October, during the grape and apricot harvest

Ürgüp

Even in August you can walk the whole canyon and meet only a shepherd. It's the valley Göreme's guides hike on their day off.

Local tip:

Start from the Mustafapaşa end and walk towards Ayvalı so the stream crossings come early; wear shoes you don't mind getting wet in spring.

Best time:

Spring mornings (April-June) when the stream is lively and the vineyards are green

Çavuşin

Most hikers power past on the Rose Valley loop without noticing the ladder. Its early crosses are older than nearly everything in the open-air museum.

Local tip:

Look for the hand-painted wooden sign about 20 minutes from the Çavuşin trailhead; the short climb is easiest without a daypack, so leave it with a friend below.

Best time:

Golden hour, before sunset, when the rose-pink cliffs glow around the entrance

©Photo credit

Photo: prilfish · CC BY 2.0

Ürgüp

Tour buses skip it — you'll often share the whole monastery with the caretaker and his tea kettle. Locals from Cemil still picnic in the orchard like their grandparents did.

Local tip:

Ask the caretaker for the flashlight tour of the Archangelos Church; the frescoes hide under centuries of candle soot and only reveal themselves in side-light.

Best time:

Late afternoon, after 15:00, when day-trip groups have left the Mustafapaşa road