Goreme

Where to shoot

• Hot Air Balloon Flight — Rise before dawn to drift over hundreds of fairy chimneys as the sun turns the valley gold.
• Göreme Open-Air Museum — A cluster of rock-cut Byzantine churches and monasteries with frescoes still visible after nearly a thousand years.
• Cave Hotels — Sleep inside volcanic tuff rooms with vaulted ceilings, a tradition dating back to the monks who first hollowed out these hillsides.
• Derinkuyu & Kaymaklı Underground Cities — Multi-level subterranean complexes carved to shelter thousands, with ventilation shafts, stables, and chapels intact.
• Göreme Open-Air Museum — a cluster of frescoed rock-cut Byzantine churches in the cliffs
• Fairy Chimneys — tapering volcanic rock pillars, many hollowed into dwellings
• Love Valley — a walking valley of tall rock columns on the edge of town
• Sunset Point — an elevated viewpoint over the valleys and dawn balloon launches

When to go

April to June or September to October, when mornings are calm and clear enough for balloon flights and daytime temperatures are comfortable for exploring the valleys on foot.

What to eat

Try testi kebab, meat and vegetables slow-cooked in a sealed clay pot that's cracked open at your table, alongside gözleme and wine from vineyards grown in the region's volcanic soil.

Where to stay

Stay in a cave hotel in central Göreme for easy walking access to restaurants and tour pickups, or in nearby Uçhisar for elevated views over the valley where the balloons rise.