Because of many volcanoes being exploded at the same time, Cappadocia was covered by a thick tuff layer whose height is sometimes 100 meters. During the time, the rivers carved deep valleys and caused interesting geographical formations. Each of the valleys carved by the rivers today became the important trekking racecourses of Cappadocia. Most of the racecourse have virgin beauties and simply are waiting to be discovered. Trekking in Cappadocia is never only trekking. The nature and history interwine so much that you can not turn your back on. These are the most significant features of Cappadocian racecourses and distinguishing them from the other racecourse of Turkey. Trekking in Cappadocia is like listening a fairytale story in fairy chimneys realm.
As you start the valleys of Cappadocia, sometimes a deep cliff may block your way suddenly or sometimes a natural tunnel made by the old river may show you an underground path. It is such an atmosphere that makes you think that you are on another planet but then suddenly a hidden church overtakes you; at the moment you come back to earth. The fox, the hawk and the doves know about all the secrets of these valleys. The wild roses, poppies, lilies, daisies and the other colorfu flowers that you do not know their names, hide their scents for you in Cappadocia valleys. Here butterflies never get tired of flaying from one flower to another. You are surrounded by various fruit trees that you can even kill your hunger only with fruits.
We can say that trekking is the most common outdoor sport in Cappadocia. and this is not an exaggeration. As you arrive to Cappadocia, you come across with the trekking groups with their backpacks and walking sticks. They start to walk very early in the morning towards the valleys. During summer trekking in Cappadocia valleys start either in the morning or in the afternoon in order not to be affected by the sun. If you will walk in the afternoon, it is better for you to calculate well the hour for the sun set. It would be better if you finish your walking before the sun set. Cappadocia valleys are not difficult and long trekking racecourses. The racecourses are around 4-5 km and you can enjoy walking throught them 3-5 hours. But it is necessary to walk with a guide. Before you start is sure that you have enough water and food with you. In some of the valleys, popular for tourist groups of trekking, there are kiosks by the local people. Sometimes the kiosks are not sympathetic for the ones who are familiar with nature but a fresh orange juice or a cup of coffee might be a good idea. In addition, it is better to think about the details such as hat, sun glasses and sun lotion before your start to walk.
The other important point in valley trekking is that your entrance and exit points are different from each other, in another word, as you start walking you can not come back to the point where you started. This situation can be a problem for the ones who leave their cars at the entrance of the valley. However there is no problem for the tourist groups because the vehicle brings them to the entrance, easily go the exit point and wait for the group. If you have more than a car, you may solve the problem by leaving one of them to the exit point. But if you have one car, it is better for you to plan before hand according to your exit point.
Trekking companies in Cappadocia
Most of travel agencies in Cappadocia organize trekking activities in the region. If you contact with one them, either as a group or an individual you can participte in one of the activities.
Trekking racecourses of Cappadocia
There are countless trekking racecourses in Cappadocia. The travel agencies can propose you different choices due to your request. Tourist groups generally prefer Cappadocia valleys for trekking. Some of the valleys have romantic knick names which will attract the tourists. For example “Love Valley” is such popular that several valleys are being mentioned like this. Here we prefer to use the geographical names of the valleys. Actually most of the valleys are named by the river passing through. There are 15 classic and well known trekking racecourses in Cappadocia. These can be listed as: Baglidere valley, Güvercinlik Valley, Zemi valley, Görkündere valley, Kizilcukur valley, Güllüdere 1 Valley and Güllüdere 2 valley, Meskendir valley, Gomeda and Uzengi valleys, Çat and firinasma valleys, Balkanderesi valley, Ihlara valley and Manastirlar valley. We would like to introduce each of them.
