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Southern Cappadocia Tour: Cavusin, Red Valley, Kaymakli Underground City And Pigeon Valley
Leave your hotel and head to the south of the Cappadocia, known for its fascinating landscape with colorful rock formations, fairy chimneys and ancient underground dwellings. While traveling in the comfort of your air-conditioned coach, your guide will explain some of the geology of the area and its must-see sites.
First stop of your day is in the remote Red Valley, often considered to be Cappadocia’s most serene stretch of land, where people can walk for hours without seeing another soul. Take a stroll along the nature trails here with your guide, enjoying the colorful flowers, grape vines and distinctive rock formations that typify the valley. The area is home to countless hidden cave churches that are thought to have been used by ancient Christians, so take a look at some of the most intriguing ones with your guide, and then head to Çavuşin village.
Now abandoned, the ‘old’ area of Çavuşin is carved into the hillside comprising a collection of fascinating rock houses, monk caves and shelters that have been exposed to hundreds of years of weathering and erosion. Learn about the isolated lives of villagers who once called this precarious place their home, and see the village’s famous Basilica of St John the Baptist that rests high on the cliffs above the ancient village.
Cappadocia is also famous for its intriguing underground cities, and one of the best-preserved sites is Kaymakli. Travel here next by coach and then head below ground to walk around its maze of passages, seeing subterranean cellars and stables.
Before your tour ends, stop for lunch in a local restaurant and then enjoy one last stop at Pigeon Valley (on the edge of Göreme village) to see thousands of sandstone bird houses, carved from the cliffs. For centuries local farmers used the manure from the pigeons nesting here to fertilize their crops. Hop off your coach for a photo stop, and then return to your hotel.
