We arrived at the second and last part of my trip to Turkey, yes I’m sad too. Surely in the future will be back in this country, there are many areas that I have not visited. If you have any recommendation/advice, write to me as well. In this second part, we will leave from Pamukkale until arriving in Cappadocia, making some stops in the middle.
If you have not read how to organize your trip to Turkey, here it is! If you want to visit Istanbul, read here!
PAMUKKALE
In this second part of the journey, we start from Pamukkale and its famous thermal pools. In the previous post, I recommended you switch from Karahayit, 6km from Pamukkale, where you will find the so-called Pluto cave. You will immediately notice the difference, there are many fewer tourists and the colors of the pools are beautiful.
We leave towards Cappadocia, Göreme which will be your final destination is located 620km from Pamukkale. If you seem to be many km, try to take an intermediate break, for example, I recommend Guzelyurt.
GUZELYURT
Guzelyurt is located 560km from Pamukkale, I came here by chance, booking a hotel on booking.com (use the widget at your right). The Cappadocia Mayaoglu hotel, apart from a delicious breakfast, offers the possibility to dine in a cave a typical menu, a good point because the area does not offer much gastronomy. I think is one of the nicest hotels I have ever seen, the landscape when you wake up in the morning is very impressive. Guzelyurt is very similar to the famous Cappadocia, obviously much less extensive and less known.
Another tip I can give you is that at 100km from Guzelyurt you will find the famous Lake Tuz (Tuz Gul). The second largest lake in Turkey, one of the largest hypersaline lakes in the world and his three mines operating in the lake produce 63% of the salt consumed in Turkey. The only problem is that you have to get to Tuzgölü Restoran (the north of the lake) to take pictures.
DERINKUYU: THE UNDERGROUND CITY
Also in the Tuz Gulu area, there is the underground city of Derinkuyu, 85km from Göreme. The underground city can be visited with or without a guide, the number of tourists who visit it every day can make the visit unpleasant, the spaces are reduced, I do not recommend this tour to claustrophobic people. It extends to a depth of 60 meters (200 ft), allowing more than 20,000 people to live there, it is the largest excavated underground city in Turkey.
CAPPADOCIA
Finally, we arrived at our last stop, Cappadocia is a journey that I always dreamed of, it was my parents’ honeymoon and I always knew that how can be very romantic. Cappadocia was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
Göreme is where to book your hotel, there are many and all very beautiful I obviously recommend you mine: L’Arif Cave Hotel. Full breakfast, excellent quality/price, proximity to the center, Arif Cave Hotel organizes excursions to Göreme and Cappadocia and hot air balloon tours.
Once you have booked your hotel you have to think about the excursions:
AIR BALLOON TOUR
A typical of Cappadocia, you can book it through your hotel or with one of the thousand companies that organize the exit. Remember that the tours are at sunrise and not at sunset, wake up at 5am and departure at 6am. The tours normally cost from € 80 to € 120 depending on the company.
HIKING IN CAPPADOCIA
There are various forms of visiting the area, cycling, walking, 4×4 or motorbike always depends on how much you want to spend. Personally, I chose the simplest form: on foot and without a guide. There are various paths and all very accessible, the paths can reach up to 20km / 40km. During the walk, you will find maps and staging points where they sell water and food. My tips are:
- Always bring a backpack with water and food
- Hat if you choose the hottest hours
- Try to visit the area either early in the morning or afternoon
- If you choose the bike, watch the paths full of rocks
The recommended stops for your trip are Meskendir Valley, the Valley of the Roses, the Valley of the Monks, Valley of the Pigeons and the Valley of Uzegn. Although in Italian, I recommend this Web (a little expensive) but there are many others.
The closest airport is Nevsehir Kapadokya Airport, daily flight to Istanbul, the airport is very small, but there are some bars inside. Check always where the car rental is, to drop-off the car, normally is in Nevsehir. Do you want to know some more about planning a trip to Turkey? Read it!
CAPPADOCIA ACTIVITIES
- Hot Air Balloon Ride
- Private Tour of Cappadocia
- Goreme & Devrent Valley Tour
- Whirling Dirvish Show
- Dinner & Folk Show in a Cave
- Cappadocia: Cavusin and Kaymakli Tour
- Cavusin and Kaymakli Tour
If you have any question about the area or suppliers, I can help you organize your trip. If you want to take a look at other articles on Turkey, click here! Have a good trip.
