We are visiting Cappadocia as a part of our grown-up trip to Turkey (we’re staying in hotels for the first time ever the whole time) and it’s a magical experience.

We are sleeping and walking a lot and eating so much I cannot believe it. But, as always, food is my favorite part of exploring the local culture, and we’re never ones to turn down culture. 😀 So haydari, baklava, gözleme, hummus, kebap, Turkish ravioli aka manti…(and I could go on and on) it is. Honestly, Turkish food deserves its own blog post.

We started our trip in Istanbul, but currently, we’re spending our third (and last) day in Cappadocia, which is far less crowded – at least at the beginning of May. But, due to its Instagrammableness, you should expect tourists anyway, especially at the most well-known places. With a bit of imagination, you can pick remote spots where you will be almost alone.

We’re yet to see the balloons, even though I tried hard two days in a row (getting up at 5 am). But, as opposed to what Instagram pics might make you believe, there are some days when balloons are not flying, even here, due to weather conditions. So, so far, no balloon vistas for us. If you are here for an Instagram photo only, you should definitely stay a few days, just in case. 😀

Currently, there are still lovely snowy mountains in the far distance from Göreme, which we chose as our base. Definitely a good decision. There are many things you can see here and many which are only a walking distance from here.

But the views are amazing even without balloons. Cappadocia is a hikers paradise. We are walking every day, and discovering its chimney structures, hidden valleys and churches, clifftop cities and the underground ones. Note: some valleys are really very well-hidden and local signs might not be 100% correct all the time. Some hiking trails are also overgrown etc. at least at the beginning of the season so you should come prepared and equipped with good walking shoes, plenty of water and at least cookies if you tend to get hangry like me.

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We’re staying in the amazing Kelebek Cave Hotel where you won’t miss a thing. The customer service is amazing – they take care of everything for you – from an airport shuttle to a 10-star breakfast (which you can also have at an organic local farm), pool, spa, amazing views, awesome rooms, 24h reception & bar and an amazing restaurant (börek is the best we’ve ever had). Honestly, Kelebek is an experience on its own. You could easily stay here the whole day, reading a book and sipping cocktails while enjoying the view.

Coming here we flew into Kayseri Airport and on day one we did (what was supposed to be a short hike) a hike from Göreme to Uçhisar, a cliff top village with a castle on top. There is a path that leads through the Güvercinlik vadisi and the best decision is to go back the same way. We chose the alternative and had to walk by the main road. Not the best (or fastest) idea. We finished the day with a fancy dinner at Seten Restaurant, which is just next door from Kelebek. Very convenient after a 15 km walk.

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Note that if you choose Göreme as your base it’s a good idea to rent a car for at least one day to get the proper Cappadocian experience. If you stay in Kelebek, they can arrange it for you. We had a car for a day and did a round tour from Göreme to Ortahisar, Ürgüp, through Mustafapaşa to
Keşlik Manastırı (PS: entrance fees for almost everything are much higher than the ones in Lonely Planet). We continued to Soğanlı Valley, which hides 6 churches and impressed us with its beautiful, StarWars like landscape.

There is a cute Hidden Apple Garden restaurant in an orchard of apples at the entrance to Soğanlı Valley park. They know an insane amount of languages and will keep your belly happy with simple yet amazing dishes.

We continued from there to Derinyuku underground city, with 8 floors under the surface (also hiding a lot of tourists underground, so be prepared). Not the best idea for claustrophobics and people with heart diseases, as it requires a lot of stairs climbing, but it is amazing nonetheless.

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For the end of the day, we wanted to check out the Love Valley, but only drove to the viewpoint because it started raining and we were honestly too tired to do anything else but eat and sleep. Ideally, we would have a car for two days and check out also Ihlara Valley.

Today, (our last day) we hiked again – from Göreme to Red & Rose Valley. Honestly, I still don’t know which one we found because it is not clearly marked. But we definitely found something and did 15 km in a blink of an eye again. We met maybe 10 people while hiking, so there are some places which are not overcrowded. If that is what you are looking for, skip the Göreme Open-Air Museum. On our way back we stopped for a long overdue
gözleme at Nazar Borek in Göreme city center.

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Tomorrow we are returning back to Istanbul for two more days before returning home. Hopefully, we get to see some balloons in the morning – keep your fingers crossed.

Verdict: We definitely should have stayed here at least one day more. At least 4 full days would be ideal, renting a car for 2 of those.