In this fairytale geography where the sky is painted in pastel hues and the wind softly touches your face, you may not be the only traveler in the middle of a crowd of tourists, but you only need to take one step to understand the legends whispered in your ear. Cappadocia is like a unique stage that hosts an average of 2 million visitors every year (according to 2019 data), just like watching a theater play you saw years ago, but with a different set. Yes, life seems to take a short break when you walk at the foot of the fairy chimneys, and you want to open your mind to new experiences the moment you lift your eyes to the sky.

So I take notes in the notebook in front of me, sometimes I feel inspired enough to draw a painting, sometimes I make plans by listing a series of activities one by one:

• Valley tours with a wide palette of colors
• Balloon rides that you will surely enjoy floating in the sky
• Underground cities that cry out, “Take control and rewind history”

A friend of mine, referring to the saying “A traveler must first listen to the music of a place in order to understand it.”, fell down next to me on a recent trip and said: “The sounds coming from all around you sometimes echo in your ears like an old breath recording.” This feeling will ring in your ears as a guide throughout the list of 10 activities I will present to you.

The goal here is to reveal the endless surprises of Cappadocia and to be your companion in every answer to the question “What's next?”. Let's get started.

Adventurous Activities

Sometimes a silhouette of a mountain on the horizon, sometimes a herd of goats calling out to you from the roadside, and at other times a riot of colors in the sky shouting “Hey, look up!” in your face are just a preview of Cappadocia's adventures. The following four titles will get your heart beating faster and allow you to experience the exciting aspects of the region by letting your mind pass through the doors that have been kept closed until now. A little information for the curious: In 2020, 35% of visitors said they came to Cappadocia because they were “looking for a slightly different adventure”. So let's step into these activities that will take you not only to the hills but also to the corners of your soul.

Hot Air Balloon Tour

Imagine dozens of balloons floating in the sky in those enchanting hours when the first light of the day bids farewell to a still exhausted night. They seem to be making a colorful gesture, like the brush strokes of an artist carving his name in the sky. When you enter and ascend upwards, you feel that the earth is left behind with a slight rustle, and the rock formations sliding beneath your feet mesmerize you like a gigantic movie set.

Of course, sometimes, as my friends look at the world, which has turned into a sphere suspended in the sky, I wonder, “Isn't there still the energy left by the caravans of a thousand years ago?” and smile at the gentle sway of the balloon.

ATV Safari Tour

If you're looking for a fiery adventure, dusty trails and pebble-strewn roads offer the challenge you're looking for. When you ride an ATV, you control not only the route in front of you, but also all the chaos in your mind. You experience a sweet feeling of emptiness in your stomach at turns and micro stars exploding on sandy ground. Sometimes we are there, in the dust, like bright specks of paint thrown into the canvas of a master painter, but never monotonous, each bend is a new surprise.

As my friend said, “The sound of an engine can sometimes be the heartbeat of an entire journey, transforming the ordinary hiker in you into an adventurer in the dust.”

Nature Walks (Trekking)

Wandering through quiet valleys where a gentle breeze gently brushes your strands of hair, perhaps resembling the melodies of an old song... This is exactly what trekking is all about. As you move step by step through the labyrinth-like paths of Cappadocia, you simultaneously escape the hustle and bustle of the modern age and feel as if you are deciphering a centuries-old story. As you move up, down, across a plain, and back into a valley like the steps of a staircase, you establish a dimensionless relationship with time, as if you were turning the pages of a novel.

• The most popular route: Between Red Valley and Pigeon Valley
• Average Walking Time: 3-4 hours
• Take with you: Water, comfortable shoes, small snacks and a notebook

I once met an old traveler on the road who said, “Every step turns a page in history.” Since that day, I hear my footsteps like pages in a book.

Horse Riding Tours

Dusty roads, mysterious passages, fairy chimneys looming like silhouettes in the distance accompany the sound of horseshoes as if to remind you of the old name of this place (Katpatuka - Land of Beautiful Horses). The slight tremor felt on the horse's back allows the tempo in your mind to dance in the same rhythm. A horse galloping towards a wide horizon, perhaps pointing to the hustle and bustle of your life: “Slow down, take a deep breath, then join the wind.”

“On horseback, you can feel the smell of the earth on your toes,” I wrote in my notebook earlier. On the next page, I sketched the silhouette of a faintly silhouetted fairy chimney with a few quick scribbles. These tours offer you the opportunity to collect not only moments but also memories.

Cultural and Historical Discoveries

There is an atmosphere here that brings out the stories that the earth has been silently hiding for thousands of years. In this region, you feel that not only the stone is shaped, but also the human mind, beliefs and cultural textures take on new meanings. Cappadocia, which at first glance seems to be dominated by the color of earth, is actually a colorful ethno-cultural mosaic. So much so that, according to 2017 statistics, nearly 50% of visitors said they came here to get in closer contact with historical and cultural heritage. The curiosity I carry within me enchants me as I explore these lands, as if I were watching an engraving unearthed by the delicate brushstrokes of an archaeologist.

Visit to Goreme Open Air Museum

A friend once told me about the Goreme Open Air Museum: “There, it is as if you are in the middle of a history that has been paused for a while.” When I entered, my gaze, wandering through the frescoes of the churches carved into the rocks, wavered in the middle of a poetic pause in history.

• It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which makes it special.
• More than 10 rock churches and chapels are covered with elaborate frescoes.
• Visit Duration: Approximately 2 hours (but the concept of time is perhaps a bit flexible here, perhaps fuzzy).

I once wrote in my notebook, “Each fresco is perhaps a photo frame of an era,” and then added, “the faded colors of history still breathe.” Looking back, I remember that in the quiet echo of Göreme, the past still speaks softly.

Kaymakli Underground City Trip

Going deeper, embracing the earth, perhaps listening to the breathing of people who took refuge from fear thousands of years ago... Kaymaklı Underground City is a labyrinth of secrets. The intertwined rooms, tunnels and secret passages are like an old manuscript read by a storyteller. Here, as you move away from the sky and down into the earth, you feel like you've entered a time machine.

• It is an architecture spread over about 8 floors (4 floors are open to visitors).
• Underground, there are rooms, food stores and wine cellars that could accommodate thousands of people for a long time.
• According to 2024 reports, 30% of visitors to underground cities are historians, academics or curious researchers.

After having such an experience, a sentence left in a notebook explains: “Underground, in the very heart of the earth, the human spirit hides and is reborn.”

Panoramic View from Uchisar Castle

As you climb up, your breath gets a little tight, your heartbeat quickens, but the effort pays off. When you reach the summit of Uchisar Castle, you see a huge canvas spread out beneath your feet. In the daylight, the fairy chimneys turn into a white poem, and at sunset they look like an impressionist painting with orange and pink brushstrokes.

• The landscape has a panoramic perspective of almost 360 degrees.
• It is popular with day-trippers in summer (65% prefer to watch the sunset from Uchisar, according to a survey conducted in 2024).
• My advice to you: Take binoculars with you, maybe you want to get lost in the silhouette of a distant mountain.

When I stood there, at the top of the castle, my friend whispered to me, “Look at that, it's like the clouds are walking below.” We watched for a long time as history and nature danced in harmony while the sky was laid out like a mysterious carpet on the earth. I recorded this scene in my notebook as a poem, because sometimes it is not enough to describe what we see, we need to add our own inner music to it.

Nature and Landscape

Sometimes, in the middle of a quiet valley, while enjoying the horizon line, we listen to the echoes within us. Every corner, every curve in this geography opens a new page in our soul. Statistics show that 45% of visitors who participated in nature-oriented activities in 2019 were refreshed and recharged in the tranquil texture of Cappadocia. In a small sketch I have drawn, it is possible to imagine the orangish hues of the Red Valley, the serene paths of the Paşabağı Valley, the mysterious hands on the pottery looms of Avanos, all together, sometimes standing side by side as if they had jumped out of the pages of an old fairy tale.

Sunset Watching in the Red Valley

It is as if a painter, with a huge canvas in front of him and a delicate brush in his hand, re-creates the sky every evening. Watching the sunset in the Red Valley is just such an experience. In the midst of silence, while the shades of red color change every moment, nature paints the horizon as if to say, “Wait, let me make it a little darker now.” Time almost stops here, your senses are as clear as a cup of strong tea, a soft touch on a friend's shoulder or the lens of a camera.

Earlier, I wrote the following sentence in my notebook: “The sun here seems to be looking for a special timbre for its farewell, shrinking in the melody of red.” I remember this scene over and over again, because the human memory does not easily forget such a colorful experience.

Hiking in Pashabagi Valley

When you start walking, tranquility is whispered in your ears, and with each step, the unique form of the stones speaks first to your ears and then to your mind, as if they were an exotic narrator of the past. Paşabağı Valley is a scenic scene where fairy chimneys put on a theatrical show and paths stretch out like poetry on the ground. Every step here rewinds time a little bit. Numerically speaking, 40% of those who used the hiking routes in 2017 specifically mentioned the “calm and serene” atmosphere of Paşabağı.

• Walking Duration: 1-2 hours
• Take with you Comfortable shoes, water bottle, light snacks
• Personal Note: “My steps reorganize the rhythm in my heart,” I wrote in my notebook.

Every detail I capture here is like a hidden motif hidden between the sentences of a novelist. Maybe you will listen to the special song of a bird in the shade of a rock for the first time in your life, or you will be amazed for the first time by the presence of a delicate flower seeping through the stones, by such a simple miracle.

Pottery Making Experience in Avanos

Strolling along the riverside in Avanos, it feels as if clay, water and human hands have an ancient friendship. While the masters in the pottery workshops transform the earth into works of art on the rotating benches, perhaps for a few minutes you will involve your hands in this ancient game.

Sometimes a master whispers, “This soil has been speaking for centuries, it just needs ears to listen to it”. At that moment you feel the timid pulse of the soil in your hands. I tried to describe that raw smell coming out of the clay on a page of my notebook: “The sound of the earth turns into a song in my fingertips.”

When all of this comes together, Cappadocia's nature and landscape offer not only eye pleasure and relaxation, but also a meeting of the soul with the heart of the earth, the colorful brushstrokes of the sky and the curved hands of an ancient art. When you leave, you feel more fulfilled, more transformed.