You are going to be picked up by our driver and tour guide from your hotel at 9:30AM, our first stop of the day is Göreme Panorama. It’s a great place to get acquainted with Cappadocia’s famed fairy chimneys.
Then, we will drive about 40 minutes from Goreme Panorama to Derinkuyu Underground which is the biggest and deepest underground city of Cappadocia Region. The underground city of Derinkuyu is buried in mystery. No one knows when or why it was built, how many people it housed, or even how deep it really goes. Many theories about its history abound but no one really knows for sure.
No one really knows for sure but it’s estimated that up to 20,000 people lived in Derinkuyu at any given time. It contained churches, food stores, livestock stalls, wine cellars, schools, even commercial spaces. There’s a ventilation system to filter out smoke and an irrigation system that supplied drinking water from wells filled by an underground river. Places like this make you realize how remarkable human ingenuity is.
Next stop will be Ihlara Valley that Around 14 km long (8.5 miles) and 100 m deep (330 ft), Ihlara Valley is one of the most popular places in Cappadocia for hiking. We make our way down into the valley using 385 steps. The valley has four entrances in all. But we will use second gate for entrance where we will start hiking 3-4 km. This is the best part of Ihlara Canyon. What makes Ihlara Valley unique is the fact that its canyon is honeycombed with rock-cut dwellings and churches. We visited just one church today — Agacalti Kilise or “Church under the Tree”. A river runs through Ihlara Valley. The Melendiz River cuts through the valley making for a pleasant hike. Nice to hear the sound of the water while you walked. We will walk along Melendiz River.
After hiking, we will give a break for lunch in Belisirma Village in a local restaurant near by :Melendiz River. We will have a chance to local foods of Ihlara Canyon.
After lunch, we will get on our tour minibus and we will drive approximately 15 minutes from middle of Ihlara Valley to Selime Village. Then, we will reach Selime Monastery. A rock-cut monastery similar to the ones at Göreme Open Air Museum, Selime is notable for two things — its cathedral-sized church and Star Wars. Selime Monastery is the largest religious building in Cappadocia.
Apart from the church, the monastery also contains monks’ quarters, a huge kitchen, and a stable for mules. Also Selime was part of the Silk Road trade route.
After Selime Monastery,we will drive back toward to Goreme Area approximately one and hald hour. Then, we will stop local Onxy Workshop. We will see different gem stones and some jewelleries. The last stop on today’s Silver Tour — beautiful Pigeon Valley. A valley connecting Uchisar to Göreme, there are many pigeon houses here hence the name. As previously described, farmers used these pigeon houses to collect their droppings which are an excellent natural fertilizer.
Around 18:00, we will come back your hotel. You can take a rest in your hotel
or you can take flight or bus to your other destination.
Tour Include
– All entrance fees per itinerary
– Professional English-speaking tour guide
– Lunch
– Transfers from / to any cave accommodation