Cappadocia North Tour: Fairy Chimneys, Cave Churches & Pottery

The fairy chimneys have shapes hidden inside them, and the guide teaches you how to see them.

A small-group guided tour of Cappadocia's northern sites, departing from Uchisar and moving through Zelve Open-Air Museum, Çavuşin, Pasabağ and Devrent Valley over 6 to 7 hours with an English-speaking guide and air-conditioned transport. The tour includes a stop at an underground pottery workshop in Avanos where you can try the potter's wheel yourself, and lunch is available on the all-inclusive option. Children from age 4 are welcome.

Step-by-step itinerary

Stops and time spent at each4 stops

1. Uchisar CastleEntry included45m
2. Zelve Open-Air MuseumEntry included1h 30m
3. Monks ValleyEntry included1h
4. Devrent ValleyEntry included30m

Explore Northern Cappadocia Highlights

• Visit Uçhisar Castle
• Tour Göreme Open Air Museum
• See old Greek houses in Çavuşin
• Enjoy buffet lunch in Avanos
• Visit pottery workshop in Avanos
• Explore Paşabağı (Monks Valley)
• Walk through Devrent Valley

The experience

The day starts at Uchisar Castle, the highest rock formation in the region, where your guide explains how Cappadocia's landscape came into existence. From there you move to Zelve Open-Air Museum to walk through 10th and 11th century cave churches and monasteries carved into the rock, their walls still holding frescoes of biblical scenes. The guide sets the context (the role of Christianity and monastic life in the region), then leaves you free to explore at your own pace.

In Çavuşin village you see the abandoned Greek houses left behind during the 1924 population exchange. Then comes Avanos, where you stop for a buffet-style lunch (on the all-inclusive option) and visit a family-run pottery workshop built into an underground cave. A master potter demonstrates the wheel, and you can try making your own pot if you want. The clay has been worked here since before 1700 BC, when the Hittites first used it. Painters and glazers work in the same space, applying patterns by hand.

Pasabağ, also called Monks Valley, holds clusters of multi-headed mushroom-shaped rock formations, the "fairy chimneys", that rise in unusual formations across the landscape. Devrent Valley, known as Imagination Valley, is where the rock shapes start to look like animals and objects: the famous camel-shaped rock is there, and the guide encourages you to spot others. The tour wraps in Cappadocia, with the air-conditioned vehicle and professional guide included throughout.

What’s included

• Air-conditioned vehicle and professional English-speaking guide throughout.
• entry to Zelve Open-Air Museum and Uchisar Castle.
• access to the pottery workshop in Avanos where you can try the potter's wheel.
• buffet-style lunch with Turkish mezes, salads, meat and vegetarian dishes (on the all-inclusive option).
• hotel pickup (on the guide & transfer and all-inclusive options).

Options for this experience

3 options

Classic route with guide and transferGuide in English or Spanish · 09:30Licensed professional tour guide: you will visit with a licensed professional guide, unlike most companies that use only a driver or an unlicensed guide. Usual/classic red tour: we have been running the usual red tour for 17 years, covering 85 km in total. We do not skip any place to lower the price. Transfer included: some companies offer meeting at a specific point to cut prices, but we pick you up from your hotel and drop you back. Pickup is included.

Classic Route, lunch not includedGuide in English or Spanish · 09:30Licensed professional tour guide: you will visit with a licensed professional guide, unlike most companies that use only a driver or an unlicensed guide. Usual/classic red tour: we have been running the usual red tour for 17 years, covering 85 km in total. We do not skip any place to lower the price. Transfer included: some companies offer meeting at a specific point to cut prices, but we pick you up from your hotel and drop you back. Entrance tickets included: this tour covers the usual Red Tour archaeological sites, with tickets included. We do not skip any place to lower the price. Pickup is included.

Classic Route, everything includedGuide in English or Spanish · 09:30Licensed professional tour guide: you will visit with a licensed professional guide, unlike most companies that use only a driver or an unlicensed guide. Lunch included: we serve lunch at a local family restaurant, while most others stop at a simple restaurant to cut prices. Usual/classic red tour: we have been running the usual red tour for 17 years, covering 85 km in total. We do not skip any place to lower the price. Transfer included: some companies offer meeting at a specific point to cut prices, but we pick you up from your hotel and drop you back. Entrance tickets included: this tour covers the usual Red Tour archaeological sites, with tickets included. We do not skip any place to lower the price. Pickup is included.

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

Before you book

Lasts 6h–7h, runs every day at 09:30, from US$ 27 per person, with a live guide in English and Spanish, in groups of up to 15 and with free cancellation up to 24 h before.

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 09:30

Book up to1h before

AgesAdult (9 and older) · Child (4 to 8 years) · Under 4: can't be booked

GroupUp to 15

Live guideEnglish and Spanish

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 today

Good to know

Low physical effortStroller-friendlyPublic transport nearby

Operated by Gorgeous Travel - Daily Tours & Balloon Flights

Is this one for you?Book the all-inclusive option if you want lunch and hotel pickup arranged, so the day holds together without deciding where to eat or how to get back. The classic route without lunch works if you prefer to choose your own meal stop or are staying within walking distance of the meeting point.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Spanish.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (4 to 8 years). Children under 4 can't be included in the booking.

What exactly are the fairy chimneys in Pasabağ?

The fairy chimneys are natural rock formations shaped like mushrooms with multiple heads, created by erosion over millennia. Pasabağ (Monks Valley) is named for the Chapel of Saint Simeon found among them, and you walk through the clusters to see the formations up close.

Can I actually make pottery at the workshop in Avanos?

Yes, the pottery workshop in Avanos is a working family studio in an underground cave where a master demonstrates the wheel and you can try it yourself to make your own pot if you wish. The clay comes from the Kızılırmak River and has been used for pottery since ancient times.

What's the difference between the three tour options?

Classic Route Without Lunch includes the guide, transport and all stops but no meal; Classic Route Guide & Transfer adds pickup from your hotel; Classic Route All Included adds both hotel pickup and a buffet lunch in Avanos with Turkish mezes, salads, meat and vegetarian dishes.