In the heart of the arid and windy steppes of the Central Anatolian plateau Cappadocia is one of the strangest spectacles in the world. Like a true labyrinth, roughcast with ash based peaks and cones, cleft with deep canyons and small valleys with running brooks, this secret land has been used as a refuge by numerous civilisations for thousands of years. Made up of a very soft volcanic ground, a mixture of ash and mud thrown up by the volcanoes Hasan and Erciyes three million years ago, the ground of this plateau and which was due to the both effects of intense erosion by wind and rain, became a spectacular surrealist landscape of rock cones, capped pinnacles and fretted ravines, in colour that range from warm reds and gold to cool greens and grey.
Cappadocia is not only a wonder of Nature. Historical and archaeological interests are added to the geographical beauty of the site. Dwellings have been hewn from the rock as far back as 4000 BC. During Byzantine times chapels and monasteries were hollowed out of the rock, their ochre-toned frescoes reflecting the hues of the surrounding landscape.
This lunar landscape, undoubtedly the 8th wonder of the world, is more splendid when it is covered with snow; it takes a majestic and unreal appearance under this fine “white-coat”. More than a discovery of the fairy landscape with snowshoes, this journey will permit you to get to know the people of the remote villages we cross and experience their legendary hospitality which our country is famous for. A voyage in another dimension…
Itinerary: one week
Day 1 / Ankara:
Meet and transfer to hotel for overnight.
Days 2 to 7 / Cappadocia:
6 days of hiking in the most beautiful snow-covered valleys: Avclar Valley, Red Valley, Akvadi valley, Pigeon Valley, Uzengi Valley, Pasabag Valley, Balkanderesi Valley, Pancarlik Valley which offered refuge to many civilisations. Mustafapasa, Zelve, cavusin, Goreme, Ortahisar, Urgup, Uchisar, Ibrahimpasa: Cave dwellings villages, of which some were centres of the development of Christianity. We will visit churches and chapels decorated with paintings and frescoes. Derinkuyu and Mazokoy: amazing underground cities. Overnight stops are in comfortable pensions.
Jour 8 / Ankara – Home:
Return flight from Ankara airport.
Favourable Season: January – March
Level: Easy.
