Must-see attractions in Cappadocia

  • Güllüdere (Rose) Valley

    Göreme

    The trails that loop around Güllüdere Vadısı (Rose Valley) are easily accessible to all levels of walkers and provide some of the finest fairy-chimney…

  • Dark Church

    Göreme

    The highlight of Göreme Open-Air Museum is the stunning and fully restored Dark Church, famed for the vivid colours and excellent preservation of its…

  • Göreme Open-Air Museum

    Göreme

    This Unesco World Heritage site is an essential stop on any Cappadocian itinerary. First thought to be a Byzantine monastic settlement that housed some 20…

  • Cave dwelling for the ancient christians in Capadocia

    Zelve Open-Air Museum

    Cappadocia

    The road between Çavuşin and Avanos passes a turn-off to the Zelve Open-Air Museum, where three valleys of crumbling cave-habitations and churches…

  • The Kaymakl underground city, Kaymakl, Cappadocia, Turkey, Middle East

    Kaymaklı Underground City

    Cappadocia

    Kaymaklı underground city features a maze of tunnels and rooms carved eight levels deep into the earth, though only four are open to the public. The…

  • Eski Gümüşler Monastery

    Cappadocia

    Some of Cappadocia's best-preserved and most captivating frescoes are hidden within this rarely visited rock-hewn monastery that was only rediscovered in…

  • Kızılçukur Viewpoint

    Cappadocia

    One of the best views of Kızılçukur (Red) Valley's fang-like rock cones and wavy cliff ridges is from this lookout point, signposted off the highway,…

  • Buckle Church

    Göreme

    The Buckle Church is 50m back down the hill towards Göreme and across the road from the main Open-Air Museum complex, but is covered by the same entrance…

  • Soğanlı

    Cappadocia

    Let's get one thing straight: despite its science-fiction setting, no scene in Star Wars was ever filmed near Soğanlı. But don't despair Chewbacca fans;…

  • Church of St Jean

    Cappadocia

    On the main highway into Gülşehir, just before the turn-off to the centre (another 500m further) is a signposted trail leading to the incredible 13th…

  • Old Village

    Ürgüp

    The back alleys of Ürgüp are home to many examples of the traditional stone architecture of this region. In particular, in the northern section of the old…

  • Apple Church

    Göreme

    The 12th-century Apple Church (Elmalı Kilise) overlooks a valley of poplars below. Relatively well preserved, it contains both simple, red-ochre daubs and…

  • Camel rock at Devrent valley (Imaginary valley) in Cappadocia, Turkey.; Shutterstock ID 1086845579; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Devrent Valley

    Cappadocia

    Look: it's a camel rock! Nicknamed 'Imagination Valley' locally, Devrent Valley's rock formations are some of the best formed and most thickly clustered…

  • Monastery Valley

    Cappadocia

    The 4.5km Monastery Valley is full of rock-cut churches and dwellings cut into the cliff walls. Exploring it makes for a scenic stroll. From Güzelyurt's…

  • Ortahisar fortress with Mount Erciyes in the background, Cappadocia, Turkey

    Ortahisar Castle

    Cappadocia

    Slap in the middle of Ortahisar's town centre, this 18m-high rock outcrop was used as a fortress in Byzantine times. It was reopened after a restoration…

  • Paşabağı

    Cappadocia

    This small valley, halfway along the turn-off road to Zelve, has a three-headed rock formation and some of Cappadocia's most famous examples of basalt…

  • Hacıbektaş Veli Museum

    Cappadocia

    Right in Hacıbektaş' centre is this tranquil dervish dergah (lodge), now a museum as well as a place of pilgrimage for those of the Bektaşı faith. Several…

  • Derinkuyu Underground City

    Cappadocia

    Derinkuyu underground city, 10km south of Kaymaklı, has cavernous rooms arrayed on seven levels reached by skinny long tunnels. When you get all the way…

  • Hasan Dağı

    Cappadocia

    Hasan Dağı (Mt Hasan), Cappadocia's second-highest mountain, provides a challenging summit-bagging hike. The closest village to the 3268m inactive volcano…

  • Ihlara Valley

    Cappadocia

    Rimmed by high cliffs that hide rock-cut churches, the lush Ihlara Valley is one of Cappadocia's most popular hiking destinations. Most visitors arrive on…

  • Çavuşin Old Village Ruins

    Cappadocia

    Carved into Çavuşin's craggy cliff face is a labyrinthine complex of abandoned houses that you can wander through by climbing up the short cliff path that…

  • Özkonak Underground City

    Cappadocia

    About 15km north of Avanos, the village of Özkonak hosts a smaller version of the underground cities of Kaymaklı and Derinkuyu, with the same wine…

  • Sunset View Hill

    Göreme

    You get one of the best panoramas across Göreme by walking up the steep hill through alleyways to this wooden platform suspended on the edge of the cliff…

  • Tarihi Ev

    Cappadocia

    Mehmet Ali has thrown open the door of his old family home (which they moved out of in the 1970s) so that visitors can get a taste of what Cappadocian…

  • Keşlik Monastery

    Cappadocia

    About 200 monks once lived at this rock-cut Byzantine monastery complex amid its labyrinth caverns, which include living quarters, refectory and kitchen…

  • Three Graces Fairy Chimneys

    Ürgüp

    These three black-capped fairy-chimney formations (also known as 'the three beauties'), overlooking the rolling countryside just outside of town, are…

  • St Nicholas Monastery

    Cappadocia

    By far the most interesting religious building in Monastery Valley, this small monastery, centred around a small courtyard and semi-built into rock cones,…

  • Hallacdere Monastery

    Cappadocia

    The facade of this rock-cut complex has some of the most colourful geometric pigeon-house decorations in Cappadocia while inside there are unusual…

  • Sultan Marshes

    Cappadocia

    This Ramsar-listed wetland area encompasses over 24,000 hectares of marshland and is one of Turkey's most important birdwatching sites. A major resting…

  • Niğde Museum

    Cappadocia

    Niğde Museum houses a well-presented selection of finds from the Assyrian city of Acemhöyük near Aksaray, through the Hittite and Phrygian Ages to…

  • Open Palace

    Cappadocia

    This fine rock-cut monastery complex has a cluster of churches, refectories, dormitories and a kitchen, all carved out of fairy chimneys and dating from…

  • Pancarlı Kilise

    Cappadocia

    This rarely visited 11th-century church is snuggled amid a particularly photogenic vista of orange-hued rock. The small nave has a dazzling interior of…

  • Büyük Kilise Cami

    Cappadocia

    Just after the Monastery Valley ticket office, you come to the large Büyük Kilise Cami (Mosque of the Great Church), which began life as the Church of St…

  • Uçhisar Castle

    Cappadocia

    This tall volcanic-rock outcrop is one of Cappadocia's most prominent landmarks and visible for miles around. Riddled with tunnels, it was used for…

  • Chez Galip Hair Museum

    Cappadocia

    This pottery gallery, in the alley opposite the post office, is home to Cappadocia's infamous hair museum. Yes, that's right: it's a museum dedicated to…

  • Chapel of St Barbara

    Göreme

    It's posited that Byzantine soldiers carved the 11th-century Azize Barbara Şapeli (Chapel of St Barbara), dedicated to their patron saint who is depicted…

  • Kolonlu Kilise

    Göreme

    Within Güllüdere (Rose) Valley, this church is easily missed as it's carved out of a nondescript rock facade. Once inside though, the nave is notable for…

  • Zemi Valley

    Göreme

    The trailhead off Müze Caddesi leads into the narrow gorge of Zemi Valley lined with tall poplar trees and sided by cliffs studded with pigeon houses. If…

  • Güray Ceramic Museum

    Cappadocia

    Touted as the only underground ceramics museum in the world, this vast series of modern tunnelled-out caves, underneath the Güray Ceramic showroom,…

  • Aynalı Kilise

    Göreme

    From the Open-Air Museum entrance, a 1km walk uphill along Müze Caddesi brings you to the signposted trail leading down to the Aynalı Kilise. The main…