Private Tour from Istanbul to Cappadocia

If you want to fully enjoy the most beautiful landscapes, explore architectural monuments without haste and fuss, walk through extraordinary valleys, fly in a hot air balloon and listen to the fascinating stories of the guide, addressed to you personally, private tour from Istanbul to Cappadocia –  is just for you.

About private tour from Istanbul to Cappadocia?

Everyone associates Cappadocia with bright hot air balloons in the blue sky against the backdrop of an unusual mountain landscape, but this huge open-air museum also combines ancient churches and monasteries, fabulous valleys and underground cities.

By choosing an Private Tour From Istanbul to Cappadocia, you will save yourself from all the worries and inconveniences. On the agreed day in the morning you will go by comfortable transport (car or plane) to Cappadocia, located in the central part of Turkey.

The first day of the Private Tour From Istanbul to Cappadocia will be satisfied with a busy one, you will visit the Goreme open-air museum, the ancient cities of Uchisar and Chavushin, you will see monasteries and dwellings carved into the rocks. The magical valleys of Monks, Love, Imagination will amaze you with their beauty and uniqueness. During lunch in the pottery town of Avanos, you will have the opportunity to taste traditional Turkish cuisine, and in the evening to taste the wines of a local winery.

The second day of the Private Tour From Istanbul to Cappadocia will begin with visits to the Ihlara mountain gorge and the highest Selime monastery. After lunch in the ancient local village of Belisirma, you will walk the streets of the ancient underground city of Derinkuyu, and at sunset, take an unforgettable flight in a hot air balloon.

The program of Private Tour From Istanbul to Cappadocia is made up personally for you, it can be adjusted in accordance with your wishes and interests.

Uchisar

Private Tour From Istanbul to Cappadocia will begin with an ascent to the highest point – the Uchisar fortress. In former times, the castle served as a watchtower, and now it is an observation deck overlooking the entire valley. Sun-drenched rocks, mountain gorges, unrealistic landscapes that look like distant planets amaze with their unique beauty.

Cave churches and monasteries

It was in Cappadocia that the first Christian settlements on the territory of modern Turkey were discovered. More than 400 ancient monasteries and churches from the era of the formation of Christianity have been discovered in this area. Cave chapels and churches, unsightly from the outside, amaze with their interior decoration and scale.

Columns, arches, ancient frescoes and mosaics, wall paintings, ancient images of biblical stories are filled with secrets and mysteries. In the monasteries carved into the rocks there are cells and chapels, refectories and altars, some temples are multi-tiered. The maiden monastery, for example, has six tiers.

The main churches – the Apple Church, the Church of St. Barbara, St. Basil, the Dark and Snake Churches, the Buckle Church have been perfectly preserved to this day.

Love Valley

Along with balloons, Cappadocia is associated with unusual giant mushroom-shaped rocks. There are especially many of them in the legendary Valley of Love, they create a unique alien landscape and amaze with their scale. A visit to this unique place leaves an indelible impression, and besides, there is simply no better place for a photo shoot.

Chavushin

Going on a tour of Cappadocia, be sure to look into the ancient rock city of Cavusin. It is a mountain slope with caves carved inside, housing buildings, monasteries carved into the rocks, and a cemetery are still preserved here.

Chavushin is interesting not only for tourists, it is also a place of pilgrimage. Thousands of Christians come to Cappadocia to touch the local shrine – the Church of St. John the Baptist.

Avanos

Cappadocia has always been considered the center of pottery, and Avanos artisans are known far beyond the borders of Turkey. Private Tour From Istanbul to Cappadocia will give you the opportunity not only to visit the capital of pottery, but also to learn all the subtleties and secrets of this craft and make a clay souvenir with your own hands.

Valley of the Monks

During Private Tour From Istanbul to Cappadocia, you will also visit the Valley of the Monks. Only here are rocks traditional for Cappadocia – mushrooms can be two or even three-headed.

The Valley of the Monks got its name from the Church of St. Simeon, located at a height of 15 meters in one of the rocks. According to legend, in the 4th century, the monk Simeon lived here in seclusion, endowed with the miraculous ability to heal people.

Imagination Valley

Imagination Valley is the most popular place in Cappadocia. Stone sculptures created by the winds, rains and sun have acquired the most unusual and bizarre forms here. You can see the figures of people, animals, birds, fabulous creatures – it all depends on the imagination.

The valley is especially beautiful at sunset, when the sun floods the mountains with light, and they play with all shades of pink.

The ancient city of Ugrup

The ancient city of Ugryup has retained its original appearance, the sand-colored antique buildings to fit into the surrounding landscape, that they are often mistaken for sheer cliffs and mountain caves. Stone blocks of an unusual shape rise among the mountains, resembling giant mushrooms – these are “fairy chimneys”. Their height sometimes reaches 40 meters, and fantastic forms resemble alien landscapes.

Hot air balloon flight in Cappadocia

Millions of tourists from all over the world come to Cappadocia with the main goal – to make their dream come true and fly in a hot air balloon. The charm of flying is unforgettable, and the feeling of delight is incomparable. Rising to a height of more than 1 km. You will see valleys and rocks, cities and fortresses, bizarre landscapes and landscapes at a glance.

A flight in a hot air balloon  in Cappadocia will give you unforgettable emotions and impressions.

Goreme Museum

Göreme National Park is an open-air museum and one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Spread over an area of ​​300 square kilometers, it includes many rock formations, caves carved into the mountains, ancient churches and temples. From the 6th to the 9th century, Goreme was the largest center of Christianity on the territory of modern Turkey, more than 400 churches were found in this area.

Underground City Derinkuyu

Have you often visited underground cities? By choosing Private Tour From Istanbul to Cappadocia, you can stroll through the streets and squares of the largest multi-tiered underground city of Derinkuyu. The settlement goes 60 meters deep and has 8 tiers, more than 20 thousand people lived in the ancient city. In the old days, the labyrinths of Derinkuyu hid residents from enemy raids and natural disasters.

Ihlara Valley

A 15-kilometer canyon, about 150 meters high, connects the Ihlara Valley with the settlement of Selime. In the 17th century, Byzantine monks chose this place and the temples carved into the rocks still keep frescoes, mosaics and church paintings on their walls. This is a place of unusual beauty, and steep cliffs and a river murmuring at the bottom of the gorge give a feeling of harmony and tranquility.

Selime Monastery

The Selime Monastery became more widely known after the release of the Star Wars movie, which was filmed within its walls. Located high in the mountains, this temple is woven from many cells, refectories, chapels, altars, connected by long tunnels. A visit to this largest religious building in Cappadocia will be a pleasant surprise.

Pigeon Valley

In the rocks of Cappadocia, not only human dwellings are carved, there are also dovecotes. Local vintners used pigeon droppings as a fertilizer, and church artists used pigeon eggs to make a mixture for plastering frescoes. Pigeon Valley stretches for 4 kilometers and is one of the most picturesque in Cappadocia.

Private Tour From Istanbul to Cappadocia will show Turkey from a completely new perspective and will forever remain in your memory.