Devrent Valley

Devrent - also called Hayal Vadisi, imagination valley - is a small basin of eroded tuff where the shapes the rock has weathered into are the whole attraction. There are no churches, no cut chambers and no history to speak of: this is a valley nobody settled, and what is left is pure erosion, pinkish and pale rock formed into cones, columns and lumps that people have spent a long time naming. The camel is the fixed point - a formation with a head, neck and hump that genuinely does look like one from the right angle - and guides will point out a snake, a seal, a kissing couple, Napoleon's hat and whatever else the group is willing to see. It takes half an hour, it is free, and it works best as a five-minute stop on the way between Paşabağ and Ürgüp rather than a destination. Light in the early morning and late afternoon does much more for the rock than the middle of the day.

What you actually see

• The camel rock - the formation everyone stops for.
• The eroded basin - cones and columns in pink and pale tuff.
• The named shapes - whatever the guide suggests you see.
• The bare valley - no churches or cut rooms, just rock.

When to go

April to June and September to November. Early morning or late afternoon for the light; midday flattens the shapes entirely.

Honest expectations

There is nothing here but rock formations - half an hour at most, and the resemblances take goodwill. It is a roadside stop on tour itineraries, so it fills and empties with the coaches.

Nearby

Paşabağ and Zelve are minutes away; Avanos is north and Ürgüp south-east.