2 Days Private Cappadocia and Salt Lake Tour

Day 1: Cappadocia Tour

Explore Salt Lake and Cappadocia with accompany of your local tour guide who is experienced in the region and licensed by Ministry of Tourism. Hiring a private tour guide who is expert of the region will give you flexibility and an opportunity of seeing more than a regular group tour program. Here is the list of suggested sights to visit for your family.

Goreme Panorama; climb to the highest point of Goreme village where you can watch the perfect view of Cappadocia. Here your guide will inform you regarding the formation of region and the valleys. From this point you can see the Mt. Erciyes one of the volcanic mountains which shaped the nature of Cappadocia.

Goreme Open Air Museum; a group of dedicated priests founded many churches inside caves and fairy chimneys to reside and explain their religion to the locals. Now all these churches are gathered under name of Goreme Open Air Museum, and it’s in UNESCO World Heritage List.

Some churches you will visit in the museum are; Carikli Church (Sandals Church), Tokali Church (Buckle Church), Apple Church (Elmali Church). Saint Barbara Chapel, Nunnery and Monastery, Saint Basil Chapel, Snake Church (Saint Onuphrius Church), Dark Church.

Have lunch in a local restaurant that your guide will suggest you according to your food preference.

Cappadocia Cave Churches Tour

Cappadocia Cave Churches Tour

Pasabag; previously known as Monks’ Valley and house of multi-headed fairy chimneys. Some chimneys were carved and converted into chapels where people can live and make use of. Unique shapes of chimneys in this Valley is home of the most various shapes of Cappadocia region. Mushroom shaped fairy chimneys are another beautiful part of this valley.

Devrent Valley; named as Imagination Valley as you can imagine the natural shapes of Cappadocia which look like camel, seal, dolphin and snakes. The Valley doesn’t include man made shapes or churches but consists of nature made shapes off rock where you can enjoy the pink color of valley.

Pigeon Valley; nests of pigeons which are vital for the decoration of dwellings of local, this valley is full of pigeon houses. A picturesque scene of this amazing valley will mesmerize you with its astonishing nature.

Avanos; Kizilirmak ‘Red River’ is the source of life in the area with its fertile land. The primary tribes of Hittite community started making potteries and within time people invented the kick-wheel method of pottery making. So here you can watch a demo which is a part of local art.

After completing the sites of visit your guide will accompany you back to your hotel. We wish you a good evening in your cave hotel where you can have an exceptional Cappadocia experience.

Day 2: Salt Lake Tour

Optional: 1-Hour Hot Air Balloon Ride in Cappadocia

Hot Air Balloon Flight is an activity you can experience in Cappadocia, with its unparalleled landscape. Experience the perfection of nature from the sky with the first lights of the Sun. Enjoy the valleys created by volcanic eruptions and constant floods from prehistoric age.

We will pick you up from your Cappadocia hotel before sunrise and after a breakfast we will drive to the land that we will fly. After getting into the basket it’s a magical experience for you to be remembered for all your lifetime. After 1 hour flight we will land and celebrate with champagne getting your certificate of flight attendance. After celebration, you will be transferred back to your hotel for a proper breakfast before departing your tour.

Most of the lakes in Turkey are freshwater lakes, but few of them have bitter waters or salty waters. The biggest salt lake is Lake Tuz, which is the main center of salt production in Turkey. It provides 40% of the country’s salt, and it looks spectacular due to natural minerals. The lake itself is already extremely shallow in most places, but in the summer months the water may evaporate entirely in some areas, leaving just a large salt bed.

Salt Lake is approximately 2 hours driving distance to Cappadocia. So we will pick you up from your Cappadocia hotel at 10:00am and drive to Sereflikochisar town to see Salt Lake. On the way we will be visiting Tatlarin Underground City which is one of the largest underground cities in the Cappadocia region. Hhowever only some part is revealed for now. Your guide will explain, and you will explore how old Cappadocian people lived for months in 40 meters under the ground, without getting out due to Persian invasions.

Visit Salt Lake

Visit Salt Lake

After visiting underground city we will keep driving to the Salt Lake (Lake Tuz in English, Tuz Gölü in Turkish). Hhere you can walk in the lake by bare foot and enjoy the surface of intense whiteness and sparkle of the salt crystals look deceptively like snow and ice and taking reflection pictures, by walking on salty water of Salt Lake.

Here you will remember scenes of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movie with vast land full of white sands. According to the weather conditions we can arrange a late visit to Lake Tuz and have extra time to take more beautiful pictures during sunset time.

According to the season the lake can be ‘partially pink‘ because of a type of algae that grows in the water (the same algae that flamingos eat that causes it to be pink). That’s why Salt Lake is also a breeding ground for thousands of flamingos! Every year, thousands of flamingos stop here on their journey.

According to the course of your tour, your guide will suggest you a restaurant by the Salt Lake or another place on the way back to Cappadocia.

After Salt Lake we will drive back to Cappadocia which is 2 hours driving distance. We will visit traditional Turkish Caravansaries, which were used as hotels for accommodation for passengers of historical Silk Road traders. Along the Silk Road which is a connection between Ancient China and today’s Istanbul you can see many caravansaries which were built for accommodation and safety reasons.

Back to Goreme Village

With unique structural styles of Seljuk Empire, Tepesidelikhan is another good point to take Instagrammable photos. Before dropping off to your hotel, we will stop at Goreme Panorama for taking photos of sunset over Valley of Goreme. This is the best view point of the Goreme town with high location.

After the tour, we will drop you off back to your hotel for overnight stay in Cappadocia.

Q 1- How long it takes from Cappadocia to Salt Lake, what is the distance between these two?

A- Salt Lake is 2 hours driving distance from Cappadocia, in order to make it more interesting we will visit other important sites on driving our route.

Q 2- What’s the best season to make Salt Lake Tour from Cappadocia?

A-Every season has its own beauty as sometimes water level rises and flamingos can be watched on their migration time.