Each valley in Cappadocia is unique, expressing its personality in colors, rock formations, and vegetation. At the official entrances to the valleys, you will find maps with markers showing the location of prominent features such as cave churches.
The Valleys of Cappadocia. Click for the larger Google Custom Map.
Devrent Valley
While it has no cave churches, Devrent Valley (Devrent Vadisi) is popular for its fairy chimneys that resemble people, animals, and everyday objects. For that reason, it is also called “Imagination Valley.” The first thing you will see when entering the valley is a rock formation resembling a camel or snail, depending on how your mind interprets it.
From its edges, Devrent Valley offers spectacular views, especially at sunset, of the Devrent and nearby Paşabağ valleys and the massive and beautifully layered Kızılçukur Hill in the distance.
The entrance to Devrent Valley is on the Avanos-Ürgüp highway, 6.6 kilometers (4.1 miles south of Avanos and 5.7 kilometers (3.54 miles) north of Ürgüp.
Allow two hours to hike Devrent Valley.
Göreme Open Air Museum
The Göreme Open Air Museum is in a small valley 1.4 kilometers (.86 miles) east of Göreme’s town center. It is the best place in Cappadocia to see the finest and best-preserved cave churches in a monastery complex. The museum has ample parking, souvenir shops, and food stands and is a good place for lunch.
The Göreme Open Air Museum contains numerous cave churches and monastic buildings dating to the 10th and 11th centuries AD.
Read more about the Göreme Open Air Museum.
Allow three hours to tour the Göreme Open Air Museum.
Görkündere Valley
Gökündere Valley (Görkünderi Vadisi) is at the southeast edge of Göreme Town. Its massive fairy chimneys are some of the tallest in Cappadocia.
You can walk into Görkündere Valley from Göreme. If driving, go 450 meters (490 yards) east on the main Müze Caddesi (road) toward the Göreme Open Air Museum. Just after the Zemi Hotel, turn right at the sign and go south onto the road. After 350 meters (380 yards), go right at the fork.
Allow two hours to explore Görkündere Valley.
Ihlara Valley
Ihlara Valley (Ihlara Vadisi), in the Güzelyurt District of Aksaray Province, is 80 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of Göreme, so it takes around one hour and 20 minutes to get there by car. A rental car is the best way to get there because it will allow you to enjoy walking around the entire valley at your own pace. You can park your car and record its location, walk the valley, and have a taxi take you back from wherever you end up.
Ihlara Valley is 9.3 meters long and up to 150 meters (492 feet) deep. It runs between Ihlara in the southeast and Selime in the northwest and through the village of Belisırma. All three villages have restaurants serving traditional Turkish fare.
From Ihlara, you can descend a 400-step stairway down 100 meters (328 feet) to the valley floor. There is an entry fee.
Ihlara Valley contains around 50 rock-cut churches, monasteries, and hermit houses. The Melendiz River, which created the valley, still flows through it. Because of its depth (providing plenty of shade) and the river running through it, Ihlara Valley is cooler and greener than the other valleys.
Belisırma
Belisırma is a small village in the middle of Ihlara Valley. It is an ideal place to stop for a break, refreshments, or a meal.
Selime Monastery
Selime Monastery is 450 meters (492 yards) northwest of the point where Ihlara Valley passes through Selime. Dating to the early 900s AD, it is the largest rock-cut structure in Cappadocia. It has multiple levels with living quarters, a cathedral-style church, stables, and a large kitchen. At the top of the cliff is a fortress providing breathtaking views of Ihlara Valley and the surrounding area.
From the road, you will go up a steep hill and through a tunnel-like corridor, then up a steep stairway to access the first courtyard. Around the first courtyard are the baths, the main kitchen, and a meeting hall. To the left is a second courtyard surrounded by another, more elaborate hall and churches, including a cathedral-style church with three sections separated by two rock-cut colonnades. Because it is a museum, there is an entrance fee.
To get to Ihlara Valley from Göreme, drive Highway D300 west for 50 kilometers (31 miles). Turn left (south) at the traffic circle and sign for Gülağaç, and drive for another 37.6 kilometers (23 miles).
Allow four hours to explore Ihlara Valley, two hours to see Selime Monastery, and additional time in Belisırma if you want to take a break there.
Love Valley
Love Valley (Aşk Vadisi), in the Uçhisar district of Nevşehir Province, is one of the most photographed valleys in Cappadocia. The valley runs for three kilometers (1.86 miles) parallel but 1.2 kilometers (.74 miles) west of the north-south road between Göreme and Çavuşin.
You can access Love Valley from the ridge along the western edge of Göreme, which provides amazing views, or from entrances along the highway. There are horse ranches near the highway entrances, so you can arrange to tour the valley on horseback.
Love Valley has no cave churches, but it should still be at the top of your itinerary because of its majestic rock formations, which are sure to impress. The fairy chimneys reach up to 40 meters (130 feet) high. There are also horse ranches beside the highway entrances where you can arrange to do your tour on horseback.
Allow three hours to explore Love Valley.
Meskendir Valley
Meskendir Valley (Meskendir Vadisi) is just 530 meters (580 yards) east of the Göreme Open Air Museum. It runs north to south, connecting with Red Valley and Rose Valley at its northern end and Sword Valley on its west side.
Between the soft folds of its terrain are numerous tunnels and cave churches.
Allow two hours to explore Meskendir Valley.
Paşabağı (Monks’ Valley)
Paşabağı, or Monks’ Valley, on the northeast edge of Çavuşin, is one of the less-visited valleys of Cappadocia. It’s also less than two kilometers (1.24 miles) from the Zelve Open-Air Museum, so you can combine the two in the same trip.
The fairy chimneys of Paşabağı are shorter and have thicker stems. Some have wide bases with two or three basalt caps. The Christian Monks’ dwellings, churches, and other rock-cut rooms were made by disciples of Saint Simeon, who spent 37 years living on the top of a rock pillar in what is now Aleppo, Syria. While Simeon was never in Cappadocia, a rock-cut church in Paşabağı was dedicated to him. The monks who lived here also dug dwellings into the fairy chimneys. Some of them are 15 meters above ground level.
The name “Paşabağı,” in Turkish, roughly means “vineyard of the hero.” Turkish war veterans, having fought in the Turkish War of Independence in the early 1920s, also settled here and tended vineyards to make wine.
To get to Paşabağı from Göreme, drive four kilometers (2.8 miles) north on the main Göreme-Avanos highway and go past Çavuşin. Turn right at the signs to Paşabağı and Zelve. The entrance to Paşabağı is on the road to Zelve.
From Avanos, drive south on the Avanos-Çavuşin road for 2.6 kilometers (1.6 miles), then turn left at the sign for Zelve.
Allow one hour to explore Paşabağı.
Pigeon Valley
Pigeon Valley (Güverçin Vadisi) is in the Uçhisar district of Nevşehir province, west of the town of Uçhisar. It gets its name from the hundreds of dovecotes carved into its cliffs and fairy chimneys to collect pigeon guano for fertilizer.
From Uçhisar, the valley stretches north for around 3.5 kilometers (2.17 miles) to the north of Göreme. It is entirely visible from the rock tower of Uçhisar fortress.
While Pigeon Valley has many trails and a few dead ends, you won’t get lost if you keep heading toward Uçhisar or Göreme, depending on your destination. A good plan is to walk Pigeon Valley from Göreme to Uçhisar, then climb to the top of Uçhisar fortress, where you can view it at sunset.
There are no cave churches in Pigeon Valley. What were once cave dwellings have mostly been converted to dovecotes. The draw of Pigeon Valley is its multicolored, multilayered walls and rock formations.
Allow three hours to explore Pigeon Valley.
Red Valley
Because of its surreal, colorful layers, rock formations, and vegetation, Red Valley (Kızılçukur Vadisi) is one of the most beautiful valleys in Cappadocia. It runs east to west, with Sunset Point, the best place to enjoy a Cappadocian sunset, overlooking its eastern end. It is one kilometer (.62 miles) west of Göreme.
Red Valley is also immediately south of Pink Valley (another of Cappadocia’s most beautiful valleys), so you can combine the two of them in a good day’s hike. Sword Valley and Meskendir Valley are just south of Red Valley, and their trails connect with each other.
In addition to its magnificent scenery, Red Valley contains several rock-cut churches with frescoes on their walls, other cave dwellings, and dovecotes.
To get to Red Valley (and also Rose Valley) from Göreme, go to the intersection of Müze Caddesi (which goes to the Göreme Open Air Museum) and Bilal Eroğlu Caddesi) which goes north and becomes the main road to Çavuşin.
Drive Bilal Eroğlu Caddesi north for one kilometer (.62 miles). Turn right (east). There is no sign, but the road will take you to Red Valley.
Allow three hours to hike Red Valley.
Rose Valley
Rose Valley (Güllüdere Vadisi), also called Pink Valley, is one kilometer (.62 miles) northwest of Göreme. It is a favorite of visitors to Cappadocia because of the pleasant pink color of its merengue-like rock formations. It contains many rock-cut churches with well-worn frescoes and bas-relief carvings on their walls.
Rose Valley runs for some eight kilometers (4.8 miles) and connects with Red Valley, another of Cappadocia’s most beautiful valleys. On a good day’s hike, you can see them both. It also connects with Sword Valley on its west side and Meskendir Valley at its south end.
You can get to the entrance of both Rose and Red Valleys from the intersection of Müze Caddesi (which goes to the Göreme Open Air Museum) and Bilal Eroğlu Caddesi (which goes north and becomes the main road to Çavuşin). Drive north on Bilal Eroğlu Caddesi for one kilometer (.62 miles). Turn right (east) onto the dirt road. There is no sign showing you where to turn. In front of the entrance will be a large open space with parked cars. At the end of the parking lot, there will be signs pointing to Rose Valley to the north (left) and Red Valley to the south (right).
Allow three hours to hike Rose Valley.
Soğanlı Valley
Soğanlı Valley (Soğanlı Vadisi) is in the Yeşilhisar district of Kayseri Province. It is 60 kilometers (37.3 miles) south of Göreme, 56 kilometers (34 miles) southeast of Nevşehir, and 30.7 kilometers (19 miles) east of Derinkuyu Underground City.
Being one of the farthest sites from Göreme and the other tourism centers of Cappadocia, Soğanlı Valley receives few visitors, making it an excellent choice if you want to hike in a very quiet place with few or no other hikers.
Byzantine monks inhabited Soğanlı Valley from the 9th to the 13th centuries AD. Originally, there were some 40 cave churches here. Most were buried, ruined, or converted to stables, leaving eleven of them that you can visit today.
The remaining eleven churches have frescoes still adorning their walls and ceilings. Tunnels interconnect rock-cut dwellings and cloisters, and dovecotes pockmark the walls.
You can access Soğanlı Valley from Soğanlı Village, then walk northwest into the valley.
Soğanlı Valley runs for two kilometers (1.2 miles) west of Soğanlı Village. Then it splits into northwest and southwest branches for another 900 meters on each branch. At the fork is the old Soğanlı Village, abandoned because the rock structure above it posed a danger of landslides.
I recommend that you go to the right of the fork to the northwest branch. At the end, you will find the Yılanlı (snake) rock-cut church. After exploring the church, walk up and out of the valley, then along the southwest rim back to Soğanlı Village (and to the other valley branch). After walking around 350 meters (383 yards), you will find two more churches worth seeing, the Kubbeli (Domed) Church and the Saklı (Hidden) Church.
While in Soğanlı, check out the local hand-made cloth dolls, which are another thing Soğanlı is famous for.
Allow half a day to hike Soğanlı Valley.
Sword Valley
Sword Valley (Kılıçlar Vadisi), running some 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles), is one of the smallest valleys in Cappadocia. It is 400 meters (437 yards) north of the Göreme Open Air Museum. The valley got its name from the short, broad, sword-tip-like fairy chimneys that adorn it.
Numerous cave churches, dwellings, and dovecotes have been dug into Sword Valley’s cliffs. Because of its generally flat terrain, it is popular for horse riding, ATV tours, and riding solo on rented ATVs.
You can access Sword Valley from the parking lot of the Göreme Open Air Museum. At one point, the trail will become a narrow gorge, and you will have to climb down a ladder and some stairs to see the rest of it.
In addition to the narrow gorge, there is also a 300-meter (328-yard) long dead-end tunnel in the rocks. Its original purpose is unknown, but it could have been part of the initial construction of an underground city.
The trails of Sword Valley connect with those of Red Valley, Rose Valley, and Meskendir Valley.
To get to Sword Valley, you can take the trail north from above the Göreme Open Air Museum.
Allow two hours to hike Sword Valley.
Zelve Valley
Zelve is an open-air museum east of the highway between Göreme and Çavuşin. It is actually three interconnected valleys. Zelve is at the place where these three valleys meet.
Zelve Valley has many cave churches, but they lack the rich and decorative frescoes of those in the Göreme Open Air Museum. However, it does have the highest concentration of fairy chimneys in Cappadocia, with thick trunks and pointed caps. The valley was also home to one of the largest Christian communities in Cappadocia.
It has three well-maintained walking paths with distances ranging from 170 to 1,000 meters (186 to 1,100 yards) and trails radiating from them.
Because Zelve Valley is less than two kilometers (1.24 miles) from Paşabağı (Monks’ Valley), you can combine the two in a single trip.
Zelve Monastery was a monastic retreat from the 9th to the 13th centuries AD and the first of Cappadocia’s seminaries. It is riddled with numerous rooms and passages that rise 12 meters (40 feet) above the valley floor.
Near the entrance of Zelve Valley is the Cone of Saint Simeon. It is a chapel cut into a fairy chimney topped by three basalt pinnacles, giving them a mushroom shape. At ground level is a chapel containing damaged frescoes that depict the life of Saint Simeon Stylites the Elder (lived c. 390—459 AD). Saint Simeon Stylites lived for 37 years on a platform 90 centimeters (three feet) wide on a 20-meter (65-foot) high pillar.
The cliff faces of Zelve Valley are honeycombed with cave dwellings and churches dating to the 9th and 10th centuries AD.
Zelve Open Air Museum is four kilometers (2.48 miles) east of Göreme. From Göreme, take the main Bilal Eroğlu Caddesi on the east side of Göreme going north. It will become the main road to Çavuşin. Drive 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles). At the traffic circle, turn right onto Zelve Yolu. Then, drive three kilometers (1.86 miles) to Zelve Open Air Museum.
Zelve Open Air Museum Opening Hours
Summer Hours (1 April to 31 October): 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Winter Hours (1 November to 31 March): 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Allow four hours to hike Zelve Valley.
Zemi Valley
Zemi Valley is a pleasant combination of everything Cappadocia’s valleys have to offer: amazing rock formations, natural rock arches, fairy chimneys, cave churches containing frescoes, dovecotes, lush vegetation, and a creek running through it.
Zemi Valley is one of the longest valleys in Cappadocia and one of the least visited. Its trail is 5.8 kilometers (3.6 miles) long. But its walls and trees provide shade, so your walk will at least be relatively cool.
Zemi Valley also connects with Görkündere Valley, so you could combine the two valleys in a full day of hiking.
To get to Zemi Valley from Göreme, go to Müze Caddesi and drive east toward (but not as far as) the Göreme Open Air Museum. After passing the Turist Hotel and Resort on the right, turn right. This road will take you to the north end of Zemi Valley.
Allow three hours to hike Zemi Valley.
Cappadocia Valley Hiking Tips
Go Hiking in the Morning
Cappadocia gets hot in the afternoon during the summer, and more people visit the valleys. Go in the morning to beat the heat and the crowds. Your photos will also look better if taken in the morning because the sun’s position is best for photography.
Go to high viewpoints at sunset
Sunset is the best time to enjoy a panoramic view of one or more valleys. Sunset Point, at the east end of Red Valley, provides spectacular sunset views because the sky’s colors make the valley’s colors even more vibrant.
Use a Map
Most hotels have printed maps showing the valleys. Just ask the receptionist or manager for one. You can also use my big Custom Google Map of Cappadocia. If you view it on your mobile device, you will see where the valleys are and where you are in relation to them.
Keep Water With You
Thirst is not a reliable indicator of dehydration. Drink water and have it with you. You may have to walk a few kilometers without seeing a store or a stand selling water, so buy some before your hike.
Keep Munchies With You
When you feel like you’re wearing down, you’ll be surprised what just a pack of crackers can do to restore some of your energy. Even better, a sandwich or granola bar,
Wear Sunscreen and a Hat
If you didn’t bring a hat and sunscreen,, you can find sunscreen and a descent hat in numerous shops and convenience stores.
Wear Sturdy Shoes
To hike the valleys of Cappadocia, wear at least a sturdy pair of athletic shoes with good tread. Hiking boots aren’t necessary; you’ll just need shoes that are good for walking long distances and climbing steep hills and rocks.
Sandals are not suitable because they won’t protect your feet against thorny vegetation and will slide around on your feet.
Do More than Hiking
In addition to hiking the valleys, you can also go on horseback or rent and ride an ATV or mountain bike.
Ken Grubb
I’m a retired US government investigator and adjunct instructor for the University of Maryland. I’ve lived in Türkiye for more than twenty years. I love learning about and investigating Türkiye’s ancient Christian sites. My archaeologist friends tell me my old job is a lot like theirs!
