Ihlara Valley

The Melendiz has cut a gorge roughly fourteen kilometres long and around a hundred metres deep through the tuff south-west of Aksaray, and unlike the bare country above it the valley floor is green and shaded by poplars for the whole length. Monastic communities hollowed churches into these walls, dozens of them, and several still hold wall paintings: the Church under the Tree, the Snake Church and the Fragrant Church among the named ones. The usual walk starts down a long stair at Ihlara village and follows the river about three and a half kilometres to Belisirma, where tea platforms stand over the water, then carries on towards Selime if you have the time and the legs for it.

What you actually see

• The stair at Ihlara - a long descent into the gorge from the rim.
• The painted churches - rock-cut chapels with surviving wall paintings.
• The river walk - poplar shade and running water the whole way.
• Selime - the rock-cut monastery complex at the lower end.

When to go

Spring and early autumn give the best walking; midsummer is hot even in shade, and winter ices the steps. The valley is busiest between eleven and three, when tour groups do the short Ihlara to Belisirma section. Starting early, or walking up from the Selime end instead, avoids most of that traffic.

Honest expectations

The main stair runs to a few hundred steps and you may well have to climb back up them. Church interiors are dark, smoke-blackened and often fenced off, and photography without flash yields very little. The path is uneven with a couple of rough scrambles. The popular section carries a steady stream of people, and the tea platforms charge accordingly.

Nearby

Selime, the old town at Guzelyurt and the wider Cappadocian valleys.