Cappadocia 2-Day Itinerary

This plan assumes you're staying in or near Göreme and have booked the balloon for the first morning. If it's cancelled, swap the two mornings: most operators will move you to day 2.

Day 1: balloons, frescoes, Rose Valley

Before dawn. Balloon pickup from your hotel. You'll be back by about mid-morning, hungry. If you're not flying, walk up to the ridge above the village and watch them rise instead.

Late morning. Breakfast, then walk or take a short taxi ride to the Göreme Open Air Museum, about 2 km out of the village. Allow two hours, including the Dark Church and Tokalı Church on the way out.

Lunch. Back in Göreme. Try a testi kebabı, the stew baked in a clay pot that's cracked open at the table, or keep it simple with gözleme.

Afternoon. Rest. It's been a long day already, and the heat peaks now in summer.

Late afternoon. Walk Rose Valley and Red Valley from the Göreme end, past the rock churches, and aim to reach the viewpoint at the top for sunset. Arrange a taxi pickup or walk back along the road in the dusk with a torch.

Day 2: underground and up high

Morning. Drive or take a tour south to Derinkuyu. Arrive near opening time, before the coaches. See our underground cities guide for how it compares with Kaymaklı.

Midday. On the way back, stop in Uçhisar. Climb the castle for a view over the whole region, then have lunch in the village.

Afternoon. Walk Pigeon Valley from Uçhisar down to Göreme, about an hour, mostly downhill past dovecotes cut into the cliffs. In the late afternoon, drive or take a taxi to Paşabağ and the Devrent valley, where the rock formations look like animals. The camel is the famous one.

Evening. Dinner in Ürgüp, or a glass of local wine on a terrace back in Göreme.

With a third day

Take the Green Tour to Ihlara Valley and Selime, or walk Love Valley and visit the pottery workshops in Avanos. Either way, a third day means another sunrise, which is the real reason to stay longer.