Goreme Green Tour: Underground City & Ihlara Valley

Eight hours through Cappadocia's hidden valleys and ancient caves

You spend the day moving between four major sites: the Underground City, Selime Monastery, a 3.5-kilometer walk through Ihlara Valley, and lunch in a local village. The route includes a professional licensed guide, and the All Included option adds museum entry. Transport, lunch, parking fees and city taxes are covered. You just show up ready to walk.

Step-by-step itinerary

Stops and time spent at each

1. Derinkuyu Underground City1h 10m · entry included
2. Selime Monastery45m · entry included
3. Ihlara Valley1h · entry included
4. Pigeon Valley30m

Explore Cappadocia's natural and historic sites

• Hotel pickup at 9:30 AM
• Visit Göreme Panorama viewpoint
• Travel 45 minutes to Underground City
• Explore the Underground City for 1 hour
• Visit Selime Monastery
• Continue to Ihlara Valley
• Walk 3.5 km in Ihlara Valley
• Lunch at Belisırma village restaurant
• Visit Yaprakhisar village and church
• Stop at Nar Lake for photos
• Onyx Presentation and shopping
• Walk in Pigeon Valley
• Return to hotel

The experience

You wake up in Goreme wanting to see more than the fairy chimneys from your hotel balcony, but you're not sure how to piece together the scattered sites without spending half the day driving. The Green Tour solves that. It moves you through four major stops and back again, with a guide who knows which paths matter and which ones don't. The route feels less like a checklist and more like someone who lives here decided to show you the real Cappadocia, the parts that aren't just postcard views.

The morning starts at Göreme Panorama, where you get the landscape everyone comes for. Those pale rock towers rising out of the plateau, ancient churches carved into the stone. But then the tour drops you into the Underground City, and suddenly you're walking through tunnels that locals first used as a natural freezer and that later, in late Roman times, served as a shelter from Arab invasions. Your guide walks you through it, explaining how deep it goes and why they built it this way. It's the kind of place that makes you stop talking and just look.

After that comes Selime Monastery, a 13th-century church so large it's hard to believe it was carved into the rock rather than built on top of it. The frescoes are still there, faded but visible, and the scale of the halls tells you something about who worshipped here and how long they stayed. Then comes Ihlara Valley, 52 kilometers and about 45 minutes on from the Underground City: a canyon 80 meters deep, formed over millions of years by the Melendiz River cutting through volcanic stone. You walk 3.5 kilometers along the valley floor, past the river and the weight of geological time. Lunch happens in Belisırma village at the south end, local food at one of the region's well-known restaurants.

The afternoon loops back through smaller stops: Yaprakhisar village with its fairy chimneys and old church, Nar Lake if you want thermal water and quiet, an onyx workshop where you can see how local stone becomes jewelry. Pigeon Valley closes the day, another famous valley where the rock formations are so dense and strange you understand why people used to breed pigeons here and why visitors still come just to walk through it. Lunch and a licensed guide are included, and the All Included option also covers entry fees. You don't arrange transport between stops or figure out where to eat. The tour carries all of that.

What’s included

• Hotel pickup and drop-off, private transportation throughout the day, lunch in Belisırma village, professional licensed English-speaking guide, parking fees, and access to workshops including the onyx presentation.
• museum tickets come with the All Included option. The tour also includes stops at Göreme Panorama, the Underground City, Selime Monastery, Ihlara Valley (3.5-kilometer walk), Yaprakhisar village, Nar Lake, and Pigeon Valley.

Options for this experience

2 options

Green Tour, tickets not includedGuide in English or Turkish · 09:15, 09:30 and 09:45Small Group Green Tour: traditional meal is included, museum tickets are not included, and pickup is included

Deluxe Green Tour Cappadocia, All IncludedGuide in English or Turkish · 09:15, 09:30 and 09:45Pickup is included

You pick the guide language when booking.

You'll see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates and prices

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDepartures at 09:15, 09:30 and 09:45

AgesAdult (3 to 90 years) · Under 3: can't be booked

GroupUp to 15

Live guideEnglish and Turkish

Audio guideEnglish and Turkish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 13 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortStroller-friendlyInfant seats availablePets welcomePublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Cappadocia Woi Travel

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see Cappadocia's main historical and natural sites in one day without arranging your own transport between them: the fixed schedule and included lunch mean you move through the valley, the monastery, and the underground city without stopping to figure out logistics.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Turkish.

How much walking is involved?

You walk 3.5 kilometers through Ihlara Valley. The rest of the day involves shorter walks at each stop: the Underground City, Selime Monastery, Pigeon Valley, and Yaprakhisar village. Total walking is moderate and spread across the day.

Is lunch included?

Yes. Lunch is served in Belisırma village, a restaurant in the Ihlara Valley area, and is included in the tour price.

What's included in the price?

Hotel pickup and drop-off, lunch, professional licensed guide, private transportation, parking fees, and workshop visits (such as the onyx presentation). Museum tickets come with the All Included option.

How far is Ihlara Valley from the Underground City?

Ihlara Valley is 52 kilometers away, about 45 minutes by car from the Underground City.

Is there time to shop or rest during the tour?

Yes. The onyx workshop and village stops provide time to browse and rest. Lunch in Belisırma village is a full meal break.