Best Rock Formations in Cappadocia

Written by Viator, September 2012

RECOMMENDATION Keywords:
Good for Kids, Good Views / Viewpoint, Nature & Wildlife, Tip - What to See & Do, Monument - Natural

The wonderful landscape of Cappadocia was formed thousands of years ago by wind and water erosion on soft volcanic rock. This left cliffs and valleys and also the spectacular chimneys of rock rising up to 130 ft (40m). The softness of the volcanic ash rock (tufa) enabled the inhabitants of the area to dig into the cliffs to make houses and churches, or deep underground to create cities to shelter from attackers.

Some sites you won’t want to miss are:

Pigeon Valley for its fairy chimneys, locally called peri bacaları, which used to be pigeon dovecotes.
Göreme Open Air Museum with its cave churches and Byzantine frescoes.
Devrent (Imagination) Valley with its animal-shaped rock formations.
The underground cities of Kaymaklı (the largest) and Derinkuyk (the deepest), made up of many levels of city dug into the rock including stables and kitchens and churches.
Ortahisar Castle, a fortress dug into the rock during Roman times and honeycombed with tunnels and rooms.
Ihlara Valley, the deepest gorge of Cappadocia with its spectacular cliffs and cave churches.

Cappadocia includes the towns of Ürgüp, Göreme, Avanos, Uçhisar, Derinkuyu, Kaymaklı and Ihlara Valley; and from all these places you can reach many, wonderful valleys and hills of other-worldly rock formations. Explore by foot, car, bicycle, horse, camel or hot air balloon and you’ll see sights you’ll never forget.

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All Best Rock Formations in Cappadocia Reviews

Reply by Viator, September 2012
Doing what: Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon Ride

The staff were friendly and accommodating. The balloon pilot was fun, but professional, working hard to engage with all of the passengers during the course of the hour-long flight. The pilot went out of his way to provide a variety of different aerial perspectives, including close approaches to rock formations. The post-landing champagne celebration and medals were a great touch.

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Reply by Viator, September 2012
Doing what: Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon Ride

Amazing hot air balloon ride! Cappadocia's landscape is really stunning from above and was absolutely gorgeous from our hot air balloon. We took a million photos because everything looked so beautiful at sunrise. Definitely worth it, there was a nice breakfast snack before we left and a champagne toast when we landed. These guys really knew their business and the whole event was really efficient and super safe. Would highly recommend to anyone visiting Cappadocia.

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Reply by Viator, September 2012
Doing what: Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon Ride

I absolutely loved this experience, and is definitely on my top 2 together with the helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon! If you go to Turkey, you can´t miss a balloon ride in Cappadocia. It was amazing being suspended in the air on the balloon, and felt so peaceful and like being on a dream. The views from the balloon were incredible, being able to see the amazing rock formations, the beautiful sceneries and the other hundreds of balloons in the air. Definitely recommend it!

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