Earthlooping in Rose Valley
Three days in Cappadocia trekking and hiking through out of the world landscapes, visiting open air museums, underground cities and enjoying everything there.
Having left all the paperwork at the Tajikistan embassy in Ankara, we headed for Göreme, a 2000 inhabitants city in the middle of Turkish Cappadocia. We have to wait till Tuesday to hopefully collect the visa, so instead of staying in Ankara, much better to enjoy Cappadocia.
After 5 hours of bus we got there. First impression of Göreme is that it is a village fully prepared for tourists. Plenty of souvenir shops, bars, restaurants, etc. Anyway, it is set in the middle of Cappadocia surrounded by amazing karstic landscapes and it gives it an air of totally out of the world place.
After 5 hours of bus we got there. First impression of Göreme is that it is a village fully prepared for tourists. Plenty of souvenir shops, bars, restaurants, etc. Anyway, it is set in the middle of Cappadocia surrounded by amazing karstic landscapes and it gives it an air of totally out of the world place.
Arriving in Göreme at 7 in the evening doesn't allow you for much more than leave the stuff in the hotel (really nice one where rooms are carved in the rock), explore a bit the village and have a nice beer and a Turkish pizza in one of the restaurants. Next day in the morning in spite of being offerred several sightseeing tours and balloon tours, we headed on ourselves for the Göreme museum, an open air museum showing an ancient village where people used to live in houses carved in the rock, with their own churches and stuff. Really nice experience.
Göreme open air museum
Afterwards, we started walking through Rose Valley towards the village of Çavuşin, an 8 km walk where you can experience the typical landscape of Cappadocia. It really seems you are in a complete different planet. The village is quite nice, you can walk up a pathway where you can visit the mosque and the ruins of a castle from where you have impressive views of the surrounding valleys.
To go back to Göreme a really nice guy gave us a ride for free, which was quite appreciated because otherwise we had to wait one hour for the bus. Back in Göreme, time for beer and narghile (Turkish water pipe), sleep a bit in the cave, some food and to bed.
To go back to Göreme a really nice guy gave us a ride for free, which was quite appreciated because otherwise we had to wait one hour for the bus. Back in Göreme, time for beer and narghile (Turkish water pipe), sleep a bit in the cave, some food and to bed.
Following day we woke up at 6 in the morning to try to see the balloons lifting on the air (first day all flights were cancelled due to bad weather) and we did. It was really impressive to see some 40 or 50 balloons going up and quickly filling up all the sky. If you are not taking a balloon tour (our low budget doesn't allow us to do it) at least enjoy the view of seeing them in the air.
Back to bed till 9, breakfast and next trekking was waiting for us. This time we headed for pigeon valley, one of the most famous valleys up here, but honestly quite disappointing. Compared to other valleys it doesn't have anything special. You walk through it for an hour or so until you get to the village of Uçhisar.
Back to bed till 9, breakfast and next trekking was waiting for us. This time we headed for pigeon valley, one of the most famous valleys up here, but honestly quite disappointing. Compared to other valleys it doesn't have anything special. You walk through it for an hour or so until you get to the village of Uçhisar.
Balloons lifting over Göreme
The village is quite nice, with a castle you can climb to, but instead we decided to take a minibus to Kaymakli, where you can visit the underground city. It is a complete underground city with 5 levels carved in the rock built in times of wars and invasions to protect the people. Really interesting but quite painful if you are tall, as it is full of really low tunnels where you have to squeeze like a snake if you want to make your way through them.
Minibus back to Göreme after Kaymakli, sleep a bit in the cave, some dinner with beer and back to the cave. Last day in Cappadocia was devoted to our last trekking. This time the fairy chimneys or mushrooms were waiting for us in Love Valley. It is some 4 km far from Göreme, so we headed there on foot. After getting lost a couple of times, we finally made it to the chimneys and the way was worth it. It is a really nice valley full of rock constructions that really look like chimneys. You can enjoy the awesome view from the top and you can even go down to the valley, which we didn't because we didn't have much time due to a Skype conference awaiting with the students of Escola Prat in Barcelona.
Fairy chimneys in Love Valley
After that conference, we climbed to a viewpoint from where you can see whole Göreme and the surroundings and that was the end of the weekend in Cappadocia. Now a bus back to Ankara was waiting for us and hopefully a beautiful Tajik visa was also waiting for us at the embassy.
All in all, the visit to Cappadpcia was a really enjoyable experience and we could witness a totally out of the world landscape. Although everything here is focused to tourism, unlike in other places you don't feel any hassle, people are nice and lanscapes are impressive.
Don't forget to check out all of the Cappadocia pictures!
See you on the road!
All in all, the visit to Cappadpcia was a really enjoyable experience and we could witness a totally out of the world landscape. Although everything here is focused to tourism, unlike in other places you don't feel any hassle, people are nice and lanscapes are impressive.
Don't forget to check out all of the Cappadocia pictures!
See you on the road!
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