This hike combines the Pigeon Valley and Love Valley with the Uçhisar Fortress.
The tour combines two hiking highlights and the imposing rock fortress of Uçhisar, from which you have a view over the whole area. In the Pigeon Valley there are countless abandoned pigeon houses on the hillside, which you can explore (preferably with a torch).
The White Valley leads to the Love Valley.
This is famous for its bizarre rock formations, which look either like giant asparagus spears or oversized phallic symbols. In any case, we had a great time ...
From the edge of the valley at the end of the hike you have a beautiful view of the whimsical rock formations.
♡-Factor: ♡♡♡♡♡
Starting and Endpoint: Göreme
Duration: 5 h
Distance: 13.7 km
Difference in altitude: 350 eup and downl
Refreshment stops: There are several cafés and restaurants in Uçhisar.
Level of difficulty: blue - easy
Tip: In Uçhisar you can fortify yourself in one of the small cafés for the second section of the hike. Of course, you can walk the Dove Valley and Love Valley on different days.
Directions
In Göreme, take the Uzundere Caddesi road south and follow the stream to the Dove Valley (signposted). Walk slightly uphill towards Uçhisar. At a fork in the path, keep to the right, as the old path on the left is impassable due to a landslide. In the valley below Uçhisar you can also see the dovecotes from the inside.
In Uçhisar (1270 m) you should definitely climb Castle Rock - from there you have a fantastic panoramic view. After the exposure, continue towards Liebesta: the path descends to the right of the prominent castle to the road to Göreme. Cross it at a bus stop and follow the road north towards Love Valley. After a short descent you can already see the rock walls of the White Valley. Now you can't miss the path: The path leads further north to the striking rock formations of the Love Valley. On the left side of the valley, stairs lead to the viewpoint - you should not miss it. At the end of the valley, you return to Göreme via a gravel road.
I will tell you about 4 hikes with GPS data in the next blogs:
If you want, you can also read the article in ALPIN magazine 03/2023 (only in german. You can order the magazine here.
Click on the first picture to start the photo gallery of the hike through Dove Valley and Love Valley
INFO
General information and some photos and films for a first impression are available at:
ARRIVAL
From the airport in Kayseri (ASR) it takes one hour by bus to Göreme, which is the best starting point for all adventures.
Maximum flexibility? Then a rental car is a good idea; these can be rented relatively cheaply directly at the airport (research, for example, at billiger-mietwagen.de). Caution: Many hotels are in small alleys and have no parking space. It's best to ask beforehand
BEST TIME
April to May and September to October are the best times for an active holiday in Cappadocia.
Spring is beautifully green and there are lots of flowers, but the humidity can make it hazy.
In autumn, nature is parched and brown, but the air is clear and the weather tends to be more stable.
LITERATURE
The travel guides I found are out of date. The most recent one is from 2016. There are no printed hiking guides (at least I couldn't find any).
MAPS
So far there is no detailed walking map (at least I couldn't find one) of Cappadocia.
There is not really good map material yet I have saved some tours with GPS data on my blog
If this is too wild for you, you can also book a hiking guide.
HIKING GUIDE
Ali is a Turkish original with Berlin roots, or the other way around. His family comes from Cappadocia and he came back 30 years ago. Since then he has been showing visitors his country with a great sense of humour and in perfect German.
Ali Kaya +90 532 614 4132 (WhatsApp), aliguide@yahoo.com
Bilal also speaks perfect German, can be booked for hiking and sightseeing.
Bilal Coskun +90 533 719 99 42 (WhatsApp), coskunbilal@gmail.com
EQUIPMENT
Hiking shoes with a good tread, rain and sun protection, and - for cooler days - warm clothes are recommended. Göreme is situated at 1104 m. We had sub-zero temperatures and snow at the beginning in March.
Click on the first picture to see the beautiful Henna Hotel
ACCOMMODATION:
The Henna Hotel is so Influencer-worthy that we hardly dared to book there. Balloons fly over a perfectly appointed terrace with fresh fruit and silver teapots that look like Aladdin's magic lamp. A 400-year-old tea room in velvety green and with stained glass windows resembles my idea of 1001 Nights luxury.
The rooms are beautiful, the staff super helpful, the breakfast a rich blast and although the hotel was always booked up, the roof terrace was never crowded. Priceless? Not even that: double rooms with breakfast start at 45€ in low season.
At Hotel Utopia in Ürgüp you can sleep in original cave rooms. These look super great, but are not necessarily something if you don't like narrow rooms and want to sleep with an open window at night.
The hotel has a great hammam and delicious breakfast is served on the roof terrace. The only drawback is that the balloons rarely pass by here.
EATING:
Our absolute favourite restaurant with mega scenery and rooftop bar is Seten in Göreme. We found the meze particularly delicious - especially the muhammara made of peppers, tomatoes with pomegranate and walnuts.