Full-Day South Cappadocia Tour

In the morning we will pick you up from your accommodation in Cappadocia. (Pick-up areas include Uchisar, Goreme, Urgup, Avanos, Ortahisar, Nevsehir, and Cavusin. We do not do pickup from Kayseri).

On the tour you will be able to see the following sites:

KIZILCUKUR VALLEY: One of the nicest and most beautiful places to go walking in Cappadocia in Red and Rose Valley. The two valleys are next to each other and are easily combined. Start at Sunset point (near Ortahisar) and hike down through the first Red Valley and then continue on the Rose Valley.

CAVUSİN VILLAGE: After our wanderings through Swords and Rose Valleys on our second day in the Goreme area, we arrived in Çavuşin village. It was a lovely quiet village and had some amazing sites to visit. The ‘old’ village, now abandoned, was all carved into the hillside. I’m not really sure how old the settlement is, but it’s definitely been around for a long, long time. All the buildings and churches and homes of the village were within the hill and were probably connected internally via tunnels and such. As we wandered around the ruins and took in the amazing view of the plains and hills stretching all the way to the horizon, I could understand why people living here would want to burrow into the mountains. Basically, if you lived out here in a village in Cappadocia, you were on your own. If raiders or brigands or enemy armies or whatever arrived in the area, there was really no one to help you. It must have been a strange and precarious life, living in such isolation. So, these villages built into the rock must have been much more secure and difficult to attack or raid than if the people just lived in houses on the plain.

KAYMAKLI UNDERGROUND CITY: is built under the hill known as the Citadel of Kaymakli and was opened to visitors in 1964. The people of Kaymakli (Enegup in Greek) village have constructed their houses around nearly one hundred tunnels of the underground city. The inhabitants of the region still use the most convenient places in the tunnels as cellars, storage areas and stables, which they access through their courtyards. The Kaymakli Underground City has low, narrow and sloping passages. While the underground city consists of 8 floors below ground, only 4 of them are open to the public today, in which the spaces are organized around ventilation shafts.

PIGEON VALLEY: Pigeon Valley is situated between Goreme and Uchisar and is ideal for walking, as the trek is relatively easy. The name comes from the thousands of pigeon houses that have been carved into the soft tuff since ancient times. Although they can be found throughout Cappadocia, they are especially numerous in this valley. They were carved wherever space allowed, including abandoned cave houses and churches. In Cappadocia, pigeons have long been a source of food and fertilizer. The advent of chemical fertilizers has reduced the use of pigeon dung. However, some farmers still maintain their lofts because they insist that the reputation of Cappadocian fruits as the sweetest and most succulent in Turkey is entirely due to pigeon dung.

INCLUDED in the Tour Price

• Hotel pickup and drop off
• Transport by air-conditioned coach
• English-speaking guide during the tour
• Lunch
• Entrance fees
• Local taxes and service charges

NOT INCLUDED:

• Gratuities (optional)
• Food and drinks, unless specified

IMPORTANT INFO:

• Pick up from Kayseri or Nevsehir Airport will be at an extra cost of USD 20.00 per person for one way.
• This is a regular group tour, but if requested at cost can be provided as a private tour.
• The regular group tour has a shopping stop included in the tour.
• The order of the itinerary is indicative and subject to change, but all visits described will take place.