1 Day Backpacking Guide To Cappadocia

You can not go to Turkey and not see Cappadocia. Cappadocia is a land of rocks and caves that lies within the heartland of Turkey on a high plateau over 1000 m in altitude. It is one of the most alien-looking landscapes in Turkey and possibly in the world. Today, we will explore Goreme, a base used by most backpackers to traverse the land, the Red Rose, Pigeon, and Love Valley in its full gloriousness, and the place where George Lucas based his Tatooine design from. Let’s find out in detail what Cappadocia had in store for us, budget backpackers.

1. RED VALLEY HIKE & SUNSET VIEWPOINT

When it comes to hiking in Cappadocia, it is hard to go past Red Valley. The Sharp sandstone ridges glow a deep, vibrant red as the sun burns into the unique landscape in the last moments of the sunset each night. If you only have a couple of nights in Cappadocia, but this one up high on the list for sunset spots. There is a great trail loop including Meskindir and Rose Valley or you can drive straight to the sunset viewpoint to chill at the cafe or hike to the top of the flag viewpoint. Whether you hike or not, this is one of the must-visit places in Cappadocia.

The hike is joined with Rose Valley in most cases and leads you through an ancient church inside one of the caves, past yellow sandstone rock formations and incredible cave dwellings. The trail is diverse and only moderate in difficulty making it a perfect adventure and of the top things to do in Cappadocia.

2. ROSE VALLEY HIKE AND SUNSET SPOT

The Rose Valley hiking trail in Cappadocia winds through an incredibly unique area with sharp ridges, tinted in pink especially during sunset! Over thousands of years, the ridges have formed to create a unique corrugated landscape. Almost all of the time, one side of a ridge is in the sun while the other in the shadow, further accentuating the sharpness and scale of these sandstone formations.

What makes the Rose Valley one of the most unique places to visit in Cappadocia is that not only do you have these incredible rock formations but in this particular region, the minerals in the sandstone have a pink tinge. This pink becomes more and more evident throughout the day, peaking at sunset when the sun glows directly onto the Rose Valley giving it that fine shade of pink so many people come to see.

3. FLYING IN A HOT AIR BALLOON AT SUNRISE

The Cappadocia hot air balloons are fast-becoming one of the most common travel bucket list items in the world. It’s not hard to see why as you seamlessly float above the historic cave dwellings of Goreme Town with over 100 other balloons at sunrise in what can only be likened to a fairytale scene.

Each year more than half a million people enjoy hot air ballooning in Cappadocia, which is an incredible number and makes this region the number one hot air balloon destination in the world. I think half of the spectacle is seeing all the other balloons in the air at the same time, not just the epic landscape you are flying over.