{"id":2277,"date":"2016-08-28T22:59:19","date_gmt":"2016-08-28T14:59:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/?p=2277"},"modified":"2017-09-29T22:18:14","modified_gmt":"2017-09-29T14:18:14","slug":"20160828goreme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/2016\/08\/28\/20160828goreme\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 10 of Turkey Vacation: Hiking in G\u00f6reme Valleys on August 28th, 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last day in the beautiful Cappadocia region.<\/p>\n

I had been thinking quite hard about what to do for the day, and I was seriously planning for Lake Tuz. But out hotel manager told us that there wasn\u2019t much water in the salt lake in this season, and usually people put Lake Tuz tour along with the Green Tour in one day (and it would be quite a long day then). <\/p>\n

I finally decided on trekking the valleys of the Cappadocia region. I saw online and heard from our tour guides that many of the valleys in Cappadocia can actually be walked, and I was particularly interested in the Pigeon Valley from G\u00f6reme to Uchisar.
\nAfter some more research, I settled on one day\u2019s hiking from G\u00f6reme, through Pigeon Valley to Uchisar, visit its historic castle (that\u2019s often seen in the previous two day\u2019s tours), and then walk North along Love Valley, and then walk back through an ATV trail on some nameless plateau back to G\u00f6reme.<\/p>\n

But before that, I decided to wake up early and watch the sunrise, while the sky\u2019s decorated with colorful air balloons.
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons Preparing to Take Flight<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n


\nThe images in this post are hosted on Imgur. Email me should there be any display problems.<\/span><\/p>\n

So I walked to the same spot where I watched sunset last night. There were already some people up early to watch the sunrise like me, but not as many as yesterday\u2019s sunset spectators.
\n

\"Town<\/a>

<\/br>Town fo G\u00f6reme before Sunrise<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Town<\/a>

<\/br>Town fo G\u00f6reme before Sunrise<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Town<\/a>

<\/br>Town of G\u00f6reme Waking Up<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Town<\/a>

<\/br>Town of G\u00f6reme before Uchisar Castle<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons Taking Flight<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Sky<\/a>

<\/br>Sky Glowing under Rising Sun<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Sky<\/a>

<\/br>Sky Glowing under Rising Sun<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Sunrise<\/a>

<\/br>\"Sunrise<\/a><\/br>\"Sunrise<\/a><\/br>Sunrise over East Cappadocia<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

While I was gazing over the distant horizon for sunrise, the balloons had all taken flight and began to decorate my skies.<\/p>\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons in Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons in Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks Towards East Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\nOn that day there were some clouds just above the Eastern horizon, so I got to watch sunrise twice, once rising over the horizon, and once over the clouds. Meantime, I was also enjoying the balloons on the other side of the sky.
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons in Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Sunrise<\/a>

<\/br>Sunrise Bursting through Clouds over East Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons over Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons over Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Sunrise<\/a>

<\/br>Sunrise Bursting through Clouds over East Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons over Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Sunrise<\/a>

<\/br>Sunrise Bursting through Clouds over East Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons over Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>\"Balloons<\/a><\/br>Balloons over Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons Flying in Rising Sun over Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons over Cappadocia before Rising Sun<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons over Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons over Cappadocia before Rising Sun<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons over Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons over Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons over Cappadocia before Rising Sun<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons over Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons in Cappadocia Valley before Aktepe<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons over Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\nThen there were some balloons flying low right next to us. I guessed they were the ones that got their own launch sites.
\n

\"Balloon<\/a>

<\/br>Balloon Flying Low in Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons High over Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons High over Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloon<\/a>

<\/br>Balloon Flying Low in Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks Towards East Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons over Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons and Birds<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloon<\/a>

<\/br>Balloon Flying Low in Cappadocia before Aktepe<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons over Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons Flying Low in Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons over Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons over Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloon<\/a>

<\/br>Balloon over Cappadocia before Uchisar Castle<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons Flying in Rising Sun over Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons over Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rising<\/a>

<\/br>Rising Sun over East Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloons<\/a>

<\/br>Balloons over Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Uchisar<\/a>

<\/br>Uchisar Castle in the Distance<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloon<\/a>

<\/br>Balloon behind Caves and Hotels of G\u00f6reme<\/p><\/div>
\nThen it was quarter past 7, and I had been watching the balloons and sunrise for more than an hour. I thought it was time for me to head back, had breakfast, and began the day\u2019s hiking.
\n

\"Hotels<\/a>

<\/br>Hotels Being Built in G\u00f6reme Town<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Tower<\/a>

<\/br>Tower of G\u00f6reme Town Mosque<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Then it was the hiking part of the day.
\nI know by choosing to hike the valleys I would leave Cappadocia region without visiting its iconic G\u00f6reme Open-Air Museum. But to this day, it turned out that the most memorable part of my G\u00f6reme trip was its valleys, and I would definitely be willing to trade off one of the Green or Red tours for more hiking experiences.<\/p>\n

Quick verdict, hike Pigeon Valley with its breathtaking scenery, drive up to Love Valley. The Southern part of Love Valley (near Uchisar) wasn\u2019t so hiker-friendly.<\/p>\n

My hiking tracks are on https:\/\/www.wikiloc.com\/wikiloc\/view.do?id=16069197<\/a>.
\nThe trials in the valleys were clearly marked in OpenStreetMap, also, one can easily find the GPS recordings of other hikers. Although there weren\u2019t much signs in the valleys, with a cell phone one shouldn\u2019t get lost.<\/p>\n

\"Uchisar<\/a>

<\/br>Uchisar Castle through Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Caves<\/a>

<\/br>Caves and Pigeon Holes near G\u00f6reme<\/p><\/div>
\nSo I left my hotel room at roughly 9 in the morning. The entrance of Pigeon Valley is clearly marked near G\u00f6reme.
\n

\"Sign<\/a>

<\/br>Sign of Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Bridge<\/a>

<\/br>Bridge over Ditch<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Old<\/a>

<\/br>Old Lady Pushing Cart of Firewood<\/br>After being a proper tourist in the Cappadocia region for two days, it was so glad to see signs of humanity like this.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Farmland<\/a>

<\/br>Farmland by Rocks of G\u00f6reme<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trees<\/a>

<\/br>Trees along Pigeon Valley Trail<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rock<\/a>

<\/br>Rock Tunnels along Pigeon Valley Trail<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rock<\/a>

<\/br>Rock Tunnels along Pigeon Valley Trail<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rock<\/a>

<\/br>Rock Tunnels along Pigeon Valley Trail<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Sun<\/a>

<\/br>Sun Shining through Trees along Pigeon Valley Trail<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Pigon<\/a>

<\/br>Pigon Valley Trail<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Pigeon<\/a>

<\/br>Pigeon Holes along Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rock<\/a>

<\/br>Rock Tunnels along Pigeon Valley Trail<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Sun<\/a>

<\/br>Sun Shining through Trees along Pigeon Valley Trail<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks along Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks along Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Pigon<\/a>

<\/br>Pigon Valley Trail<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks along Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks and Trees along Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks along Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Pigon<\/a>

<\/br>Pigon Valley Trail<\/br>It turned out that I should take another parallel trail, not this one.<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

My hike into Pigeon Valley was all going well, until I was unexpectedly welcomed by some barking dogs. Since I\u2019m dog-phobia, it took me quite a long time to make sure that the dogs were properly leashed before I proceeded with extreme caution into my hike.
\nI turned out that I was passing through what used to be a restaurant (or vending booth) in the Pigeon Valley trail. I guess not many tourists would walk this Pigeon Valley trail, so that catering restaurant or shop was closed at the moment, and some dogs were guarding that property, against thieves I thought. Obviously to the dogs, I qualified as one.<\/p>\n

\"Dogs<\/a>

<\/br>Dogs Guarding Pigon Valley Trail<\/br>The dogs were leashed, but they did bark very loud.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Another problem here was that, there were so many trails in the Pigeon Valley, that I wasn\u2019t aware that I needed to deviate to another trail in a bifurcation 50 meters ago. With the barking of dogs keeping me on alert, it took me quite some time before finally the GPS files I downloaded from other explorers helped, and I got back to the right trail. <\/p>\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks along Pigeon Valley Trail<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rock<\/a>

<\/br>Rock Tunnels along Pigeon Valley Trail<\/br>It turned out that I should take another parallel trail, not this one.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks and Trees along Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Pigeon<\/a>

<\/br>Pigeon Valley<\/br>This is roughly where the annoying barking dogs were.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks and Trees along Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Pigeon<\/a>

<\/br>Pigeon Valley<\/br>This is roughly where the annoying barking dogs were.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cliffs<\/a>

<\/br>Cliffs of Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks along Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Branches<\/a>

<\/br>Branches and Tiny Flowers along Pigeon Valley<\/br>Plants like these were all over in Cappadocia.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Pigeon<\/a>

<\/br>Pigeon Valley Trail[\/caption
\n[caption width=\"760\"]\"Rocks<\/a><\/br>Rocks along Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks and Trees along Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cliffs<\/a>

<\/br>Cliffs along Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trails<\/a>

<\/br>Trails in Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks along Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trail<\/a>

<\/br>Trail in Pigeon Valley<\/br>Arrow points to the direction of Uchisar.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Wave-like<\/a>

<\/br>Wave-like Cliff Rocks of Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Wave-like<\/a>

<\/br>Wave-like Cliff Rocks of Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Pigeon<\/a>

<\/br>Pigeon Valley Trail<\/br>From here on the trials are car-accessible.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\nThere are a number of exits of Pigeon Valley trail on the Uchisar part, and by 10 I was at the first exit. There was a shop open for business at this exit. (The previous close shop guarded by barking dogs was not accessible by cars, but this one was, so I guess this was why it stayed open.)
\nHowever, I decided to stay in Pigeon Valley a little bit longer, which meant I climbed up and got some wonderful bird\u2019s-eye view of the Pigeon Valley and its surrounds, which was spectacular.
\n

\"Land<\/a>

<\/br>Land of Vivid Color near Uchisar<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Pigeon<\/a>

<\/br>Pigeon Valley<\/br>Near Uchisar.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Overlooking<\/a>

<\/br>Overlooking Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Town<\/a>

<\/br>Town of Uchisar with Its Castle<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Overlooking<\/a>

<\/br>Overlooking Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Overlooking<\/a>

<\/br>Overlooking Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Hikers<\/a>

<\/br>Hikers down Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trees<\/a>

<\/br>Trees in Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Aktepe<\/a>

<\/br>Aktepe in the Distance<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rock<\/a>

<\/br>Rock Formation on Top of Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Aktepe<\/a>

<\/br>Aktepe and Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

After that, I climbed down and continued my journey in the Pigeon Valley.<\/p>\n

At one time I happened to spot a cave that\u2019s about my height and my width, so I decided to have a little adventure in it.
\n

\"Cave<\/a>

\"Cave<\/a><\/br>Cave Passage<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cliffs<\/a>

<\/br>Cliffs along Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Pigeon<\/a>

<\/br>Pigeon Valley<\/br>I came out of the cave on the right, and found it\u2019s a dead end.<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

So after scraping my backpack against the rocks for 15 minutes, I came out of the other end of the cave passage on some sort of mini cliff 3 meters above ground, with no way down though. So I took some photos, greeted some passing Turkish hikers (as they wondered how I got up there), and braved myself (and my backpack) for the way out.<\/p>\n

\"Rock<\/a>

<\/br>Rock in Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Pigeon<\/a>

<\/br>Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks along Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Gaps<\/a>

<\/br>Gaps of Rocks down Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks along Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks along Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks along Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Plank<\/a>

<\/br>Plank Bridge in Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks and Trail in Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks and Pigeon Holes along Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trees<\/a>

<\/br>Trees in Pigeon Valley before Uchisar Town<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trees<\/a>

<\/br>Trees along Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Flowers<\/a>

<\/br>Flowers Planted by Local Farmers<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Pigeon<\/a>

<\/br>Pigeon Valley Trail along Fences of Local Farmland<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Caves<\/a>

<\/br>Caves in Cone Rocks<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trees<\/a>

<\/br>Trees along Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trails<\/a>

<\/br>Trails in Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

After taking in all the wonderful sceneries, I exited Pigeon Valley at around 11 o\u2019clock, at the second last exit. (The last exit of Pigeon Valley was way South of Uchisar, which is where Red Tour and Green Tour participants take their photos of “Pigeon Valley and Uchisar Castle”. The other exits are just in the Uchisar town.)<\/p>\n

\"Trail<\/a>

<\/br>Trail in Pigeon Valley Leading to Uchisar Town<\/br>With Rock Caves along the way.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Looking<\/a>

<\/br>Looking Back at Pigeon Valley Trails<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cave<\/a>

<\/br>Cave Rooms outside Uchisar Town<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cave<\/a>

<\/br>Cave Rooms outside Uchisar Town<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cave<\/a>

<\/br>Cave Rooms outside Uchisar Town<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Looking<\/a>

<\/br>Looking Back at Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Aktepe<\/a>

<\/br>Aktepe from Uchisar<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

While I was walking in Uchisar Town, I spotted numerous construction sites where the workers were converting ancient caves to modern cave hotels. One worker on the outskirt of town along Pigeon Valley even invited me to a drink (of water). I guess the town of G\u00f6reme had run out of caves to convert, and so it’s the turn for Uchisar caves.
\nBy the way, it didn’t seem very much a bad idea to stay instead in Uchisar hotels, as the views in Uchisar are in my opinion better than G\u00f6reme, because Uchisar is on high ground and can see much farther. <\/p>\n

\"Cave<\/a>

<\/br>Cave Rooms in Uchisar Town<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cave<\/a>

<\/br>Cave Rooms in Uchisar Town<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Then I happened to spot some pigeons resting on (and flying between) some newly constructed hotel eaves. <\/p>\n

\"Pigeons<\/a>

<\/br>Pigeons on Eaves<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Pigeons<\/a>

<\/br>Pigeons Taking Flight<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Pigeons<\/a>

<\/br>\"Pigeons<\/a><\/br>Pigeons Taking Flight<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Farmlands<\/a>

<\/br>Farmlands beyond Uchisar<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

After that, I got to Uchisar Castle, and climbed it to claim the best view of Cappadocia region (other than on an air balloon).<\/p>\n

\"West<\/a>

<\/br>West Cappadocia from Uchisar<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Uchisar<\/a>

<\/br>Uchisar Castle Exterior<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Room<\/a>

<\/br>Room in Uchisar Castle<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Halls<\/a>

<\/br>Halls in Uchisar Castle<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Yes, parts of the Uchisar Castle interior were accessible to visitors, but with the more magnificent Selime Monastery and underground cities, most visitors to the Uchisar Castle were only for the view, like me.<\/p>\n

\"Uchisar<\/a>

<\/br>Uchisar Castle Exterior<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Landscape<\/a>

<\/br>Landscape of Cappadocia<\/br>With Pigeon Valley and Aktepe.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"South-West<\/a>

<\/br>South-West Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Landscape<\/a>

<\/br>Landscape of Cappadocia<\/br>With country road from Uchisar to G\u00f6reme.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"East<\/a>

<\/br>East Cappadocia from Uchisar Castle<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"North-West<\/a>

<\/br>North-West Cappadocia from Uchisar Castle<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"West<\/a>

<\/br>West Cappadocia from Uchisar Castle<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"East<\/a>

<\/br>East Cappadocia from Uchisar Castle<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"South<\/a>

<\/br>South Cappadocia from Uchisar Castle<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Turkish<\/a>

<\/br>Turkish Flag Flying over Uchisar Castle<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"South-West<\/a>

<\/br>South-West Pigeon Valley<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

After that, I replenish my water supply through local vendors at Uchisar, and headed for the Love Valley.<\/p>\n

\"Aktepe<\/a>

<\/br>Aktepe in the Distance<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rooftop<\/a>

<\/br>Rooftop Decorations of Local Items<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Local<\/a>

<\/br>Local Garden in Uchisar<\/br>That sculpture looked like some ultra-modern horse.<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

From Uchisar it was a short hike along the country road to G\u00f6reme, a left turn at yesterday\u2019s Onyx factory\/shop, a slightly longer hike on country dirt road before a very steep trail down to the beginning of Love Valley.<\/p>\n

\"Country<\/a>

<\/br>Country Road from Uchisar to G\u00f6reme<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Country<\/a>

<\/br>Country Road from Uchisar to G\u00f6reme<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Aktepe<\/a>

<\/br>Aktepe in the Distance<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Country<\/a>

<\/br>Country Road before Uchisar<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Hotels<\/a>

<\/br>Hotels beneath Uchisar Castle<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Hotels<\/a>

<\/br>Hotels beneath Uchisar Castle<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Love<\/a>

<\/br>Love Valley Trail Sign<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trail<\/a>

<\/br>Trail to Love Valley before Uchisar Castle<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Grapes<\/a>

<\/br>Grapes in the Field<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Valley<\/a>

<\/br>Valley Emerging North of Uchisar<\/br>With Aktepe in the distance.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Grapes<\/a>

<\/br>Grapes in the Field<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Grape<\/a>

<\/br>Grape Fields<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Grapes<\/a>

<\/br>Grapes in the Field<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Aktepe<\/a>

<\/br>Aktepe in the Distance<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trails<\/a>

<\/br>Trails Splitting before Love Valley<\/br>I took the left trail, the trail on the right was not on the map yet…<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Overlooking<\/a>

<\/br>Overlooking Love Valley Entrance<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Overlooking<\/a>

<\/br>Overlooking Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Steep<\/a>

\"Steep<\/a><\/br>Steep Trail down to Love Valley<\/br>The trail was steep, and as one can see there were those unstable gravels that could shift at any moment which added to the difficult of walking downwards.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cliffs<\/a>

<\/br>Cliffs of Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cliffs<\/a>

<\/br>Cliffs of Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Slopes<\/a>

<\/br>Slopes of Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks and Slopes of Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Steep<\/a>

<\/br>Steep Trail down to Love Valley<\/br>Walking on them was the norm in South Love Valley.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Curvatures<\/a>

<\/br>Curvatures of Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Sun<\/a>

<\/br>Sun Shining on Top of Trees in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cliffs<\/a>

<\/br>Cliffs of Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trees<\/a>

<\/br>Trees and Cliffs in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Desert<\/a>

<\/br>Desert Plant in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trees<\/a>

<\/br>Trees in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trees<\/a>

<\/br>Trees and Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Flowers<\/a>

<\/br>Flowers with Thorns in Love Valley<\/br>They were everywhere in Love Valley. The problem was that, the trails were much narrower in Love Valley, which meant I was constantly in contact with their annoying thorns.<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

To be fair, the Southern part of Love Valley wasn\u2019t really suitable for hiking. The trails are often too narrow (due to those flowers with thorns and other branches of plants), the slopes were often too steep (and the gravels meant they required additional caution). Worst of all, there were literally zero fellow hikers with barely any cell phone signal, which meant there could be no help in case of accident.
\nAnd the cone rocks were not as dense as the Northern part of Love Valley.<\/p>\n

\"Cliffs<\/a>

<\/br>Cliffs of Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cliffs<\/a>

<\/br>Cliffs and Cone Rocks of Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trees<\/a>

<\/br>Trees and Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Narrow<\/a>

<\/br>Narrow Ditch as Passage in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trail<\/a>

<\/br>Trail in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trail<\/a>

<\/br>Trail in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trees<\/a>

<\/br>Trees and Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Dead<\/a>

<\/br>Dead Tree in Love Valley<\/br>Against which the liveliness of its surrounding was contrasted.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trail<\/a>

<\/br>Trail in Love Valley Overgrown by Plants<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Passage<\/a>

<\/br>Passage into Caves in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Pigeon<\/a>

<\/br>Pigeon Holes in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Grapes<\/a>

<\/br>Grapes Grown in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Fruits<\/a>

<\/br>Fruits Grown in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks and Pigeon Holes in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trees<\/a>

<\/br>Trees in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trees<\/a>

\"Trees<\/a><\/br>Trees and Trail in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Sun<\/a>

<\/br>Sun Shining through Trees along Love Valley Trail<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trail<\/a>

<\/br>Trail along Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trail<\/a>

<\/br>Trail along Piled Rocks in Love Valley<\/br>There\u2019s a grape field on the right. From now on the trails of Love Valley began to be wider and more accessible.<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

After this I was in Northern Love Valley, where there were grape fields since cars were accessible. <\/p>\n

\"Grapes<\/a>

<\/br>Grapes Field and Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trail<\/a>

<\/br>Trail in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rock<\/a>

<\/br>Rock Bridge in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rock<\/a>

<\/br>Rock Bridge and Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Plants<\/a>

<\/br>Plants and Rocks of Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trail<\/a>

<\/br>Trail in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trail<\/a>

<\/br>Trail and Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Plains<\/a>

<\/br>Plains in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Width<\/a>

<\/br>Width of Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks and Grapes Field in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rugged<\/a>

<\/br>Rugged Rocks of Love Valley<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Not after that it was the core area of Love Valley, which got its name from the cone rocks resembling male\u2019s genital parts due to erosion.<\/p>\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks of Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks of Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Dead<\/a>

<\/br>Dead Plant in Love Valley<\/br>From what\u2019s left of it, one can still see its good old days.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley underneath Sun<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Distant<\/a>

<\/br>Distant Table Mountain from Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley underneath Sun<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks of Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley against Blue Sky<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/br>There’s a shop before them.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Then I found a (very steep) path up to one of them, so that I didn’t need to stay on the bottom of this forest of penises<\/del> cone rocks.<\/p>\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Steep<\/a>

<\/br>Steep Hill onto a Cone Rock<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Road<\/a>

<\/br>Road Leaving Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Grapes<\/a>

<\/br>Grapes Field and Rocks in North Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trail<\/a>

<\/br>Trail Leaving Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Plains<\/a>

<\/br>Plains and Rocks in North Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Plains<\/a>

<\/br>Plains and Rocks in North Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Love<\/a>

<\/br>Love Valley Overlooking North Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Country<\/a>

<\/br>Country Road in North Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Aktepe\"<\/a>

<\/br>Aktepe<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Country<\/a>

<\/br>Country Road in North Cappadocia<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

It was half past 3 in the afternoon, and I had two options going back to G\u00f6reme, one was to take the well-paved country road between \u00c7avu\u015fin and G\u00f6reme, the other was to walk a nameless trail appeared on my cell phone map (that later turned out to be an ATV trail). Of course I chose the latter, which appeared to be more fun.<\/p>\n

\"\u00c7avu\u015fin<\/a>

<\/br>\u00c7avu\u015fin Cave Village before Aktepe<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Village<\/a>

<\/br>Village of \u00c7avu\u015fin before Table Mountain<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trail<\/a>

<\/br>Trail onto Plateau back to G\u00f6reme<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Aktepe<\/a>

<\/br>Aktepe and North Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Cone<\/a>

<\/br>Cone Rocks in Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks and Plains North of Love Valley<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Distant<\/a>

<\/br>Distant Table Mountain under Clouds<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Aktepe<\/a>

<\/br>Aktepe and North Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Aktepe<\/a>

<\/br>Aktepe under Clouds<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

<\/br>Rocks in North Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Aktepe<\/a>

<\/br>Aktepe under Clouds<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Pumpkins<\/a>

<\/br>Pumpkins in the Fields<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Uchisar<\/a>

<\/br>Uchisar Castle against Farmlands<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Pumpkins<\/a>

<\/br>Pumpkins in the Fields<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Aktepe\"<\/a>

<\/br>Aktepe<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Aktepe<\/a>

<\/br>Aktepe and North Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Aktepe<\/a>

<\/br>Aktepe with Rocks in North Cappadocia<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

There wasn\u2019t much to talk about on that final leg back to G\u00f6reme, other than the Aktepe was constantly at my left, and I could watch the clouds casting some beautiful shadows onto its cliffs. And that there was literally no traffic on that ATV trail, except for once some ATV\u2019s passed me, and I was waiting on the side for more than one minute before the dusts were settled down.<\/p>\n

\"Paved<\/a>

<\/br>Paved Trail Leading to G\u00f6reme<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Balloon<\/a>

<\/br>Balloon Gondolas Stored<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Sculpture<\/a>

<\/br>Sculpture outside G\u00f6reme Government Building<\/br>Rocks and horses, two things most representative of the Cappadocia region.<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

I got back to G\u00f6reme at 16:20, booked airport shuttle through some local travel agency (I thought the standard price was 20TL per person to Nev\u015fehir Airport), picked up my bags at our hotel, that was basically the end of day (, except the flight log which was one a separate post).<\/p>\n

Of course, on the minivan ride to airport, I took some more photos.<\/p>\n

\"Aktepe<\/a>

<\/br>Aktepe under Clouds<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Table<\/a>

<\/br>Table Mountain under Clouds<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Crossing<\/a>

<\/br>Crossing K\u0131z\u0131l\u0131rmak River outside Avanos<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Farmlands<\/a>

<\/br>Farmlands in North-West Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Farmlands<\/a>

<\/br>Farmlands in North-West Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Farmlands<\/a>

<\/br>Farmlands in North-West Cappadocia<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Crossing<\/a>

<\/br>Crossing K\u0131z\u0131l\u0131rmak River outside G\u00fcl\u015fehir<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Farmlands<\/a>

<\/br>Farmlands West of G\u00fcl\u015fehir<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Farmlands<\/a>

<\/br>Farmlands West of G\u00fcl\u015fehir<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Control<\/a>

<\/br>Control Tower of Nev\u015fehir Airport<\/p><\/div>
\nEND<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last day in the beautiful Cappadocia region. I had been thinking quite hard about what to do for the day, and I was seriously planning for Lake Tuz. But out hotel manager told us that there wasn\u2019t much… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172,2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2277"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2277"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2752,"href":"https:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2277\/revisions\/2752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}