Travel Talk

Hiking Around Goreme, Cappadocia, Turkey

Greetings,

There is LOTS TO DO in and around the Cappadocia area. The primary attraction is the hot air balloon rides, horse back riding tours, ATV tours, bus tours, (insert anything else) tours. You can also rent a bike, an ATV and probably a horse. You can do all this or you can take a hike, opted for the latter which took us from Goreme to Cavusin and back.

Was late at night and this gent named Mustafa began muttering about a mission into the hills through his magnificent mustache, I listened. If you wish to go on a 10KM hike, you can basically see most of what this area has to offer, he drew a map and the next day, set out on the adventure.

First stop is the “Open Air Museum”, upon arrival noticed there was about 30 tour buses and gents trying to sell you photos of yourself with a camel for 20 lira, not my scene, skipped it and into the long valley. This was the coolest part.

This isn’t some “secret” hiking trail so if you do come, just ask your guest house about the trip past the Open Air Museum, into the valley en route to Cavusin. The valley was filled with old settlements and random tunnels that appeared to have been made by erosion. The coolest part was running into a small cafe that was literally, in the middle of nowhere.

After exploring numerous troglodyte homes and camps we made our way to Cavusin. Cavusin hosts a very large ghost town, it’s basically like all the other settlements only much more complex. It was quite the sight.

The only bad part of this hike is the walk from Cavusin back to Goreme, it’s 4KM on the road and you’re rather tired at this point, at least I was. We decided to try our luck at hitchhiking and within minutes, the gents below picked us up, burnt rubber all the way to Goreme and tipped their fictional hats goodbye.

This is a very cool area and highly recommend you visit it if in Turkey. That said, unless you are really into the history, wrote a research paper on it or something of that nature, a day or so is enough. Since we leave on a night bus at 11PM to Anatayla, will have been 3 full days in the area. There are many other settlements but honestly, once you’ve been in a few troglodyte homes, they aren’t that different. Can we say “same same but different?” Yes, we can.

Not to preach or pry but this is a very touristy town, can only imagine it in full tilt. If you’re on one of those hikes and see a little old lady in the middle of nowhere selling nuts or something for 4 lira, hook her up. Same for some tiny cafe built out of whatever is around and some guy who lives next to it, has a nice lounge and sells cheap drinks. The few lira you spend there are most certainly appreciated and definitely make a difference. If you are looking for items for hikers, check out this awesome post from Look What’s Cool.

Tips hat,

P.S: As odd as it sounds, this place reminded me a few times of Arusha, Tanzania. Most people living very modestly but a real presence of the wealth being brought in by the operators of the more lucrative tours. It’s not a good or bad thing, it’s just a connection my mind put together.

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