This was our first day out exploring the Cappadocia region of Turkey and it was magical. The landscape in this part of Turkey is surreal and as soon as we left, we were talking about going back. There is just so much to do, especially for nature lovers. There are tons of hiking trails to explore, as well as ATV tours, hot air ballooning, and so much more. This place is packed with history as well and we enjoyed learning something new each day.
This was our first day full of adventures where we hiked some of the Ihlara Valley and ended at the Selime Castle. The Ihlara Valley is so beautiful in the fall and we can't wait to go back someday and hike the entire trail. It is quite a drive from the center of Cappadocia, but well worth the trip. Selime Castle is somewhere we need to go back to because we are so sad we had to rush through it.
We didn't do our due diligence of checking opening hours and got there at closing, leaving us 15 minutes to run around and explore. Your ticket to the Ihlara Valley includes Selime Castle as well, which we didn't know until we got there. But it has to be the same day!
On arrival, we got approached by a man who took us down a side entrance instead of the main entrance to Selime and tried to sell us his guided tour. When we said no, he said it was closed. We went down to the entrance desk, and they said we had a little time if we wanted to go in.
What an adventurous day. We definitely recommended coming here and exploring these 2 places, but don't do what we did and make sure you leave yourself enough time for both.