- Testi kebap: the clay-pot kebab cracked open at the table.
- Cave restaurants in Göreme for the full evening: folk dance and local wine.
- Pumpkin dessert (kabak tatlısı) with tahini.
Göreme and Cappadocia Guide
Hot air balloons over Göreme, Cappadocia, at sunrise. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Göreme is the village at the heart of Cappadocia: fairy chimneys, cave hotels, and a hundred hot air balloons rising over the valleys at sunrise. The whole region is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Göreme Open Air Museum's frescoed cave churches are the cultural core; the underground cities, the valleys for walking, and the balloon flight are the rest of the classic circuit. Stay in a cave hotel: it is the point.
What to do in Göreme
The valleys
- 1
Hot air balloon flight Sunrise over the valleys: the essential Cappadocia experience, book ahead. - 2
Göreme Open Air Museum The rock-cut churches and their Byzantine frescoes. - 3
Paşabağ (Monks Valley) The great mushroom chimneys. - 4
Love Valley The classic sunrise viewpoint walk. - 5
Uçhisar Castle The rock fortress and the highest panorama in Cappadocia.
Underground and around
- 1
Derinkuyu Underground City Eight levels, 60 metres down: the deepest underground city. - 2
Kaymaklı Underground City The widest underground city, 20 km south. - 3
Ihlara Valley The canyon walk: churches in the cliffs along the river. - 4
Avanos pottery The pottery town on the Kızılırmak river.
Göreme Hotel Guide
How to choose the best places to stay in Göreme. Verified properties below; for the full list, search live availability on Booking.com.
Luxury
Sultan Cave Suites
The famous rooftop terrace over Göreme: the classic balloon-view hotel.
View on Booking.comLuxury
Argos in Cappadocia
The restored Uçhisar monastery complex, with its underground tunnels.
View on Booking.comWhere to eat
Getting there and around
Fly to Kayseri (ASR, 1 hour away) or Nevşehir (NAV, 40 minutes). Shuttles serve Göreme. Balloon flights launch at sunrise and cancel in wind: book your first morning.