Narman Fairy Chimneys

The country around Narman is built of soft red sandstone and clay, and water has cut it into a landscape of pinnacles, cones, ridges and small canyons in a strong brick red that goes almost scarlet in low sun - which is why it gets called the red Cappadocia, and why it is one of the more photographed landscapes in the east. Unlike Cappadocia there is no rock-cut architecture here: nobody carved into these formations, so what you see is pure erosion, with the shapes given the usual local names - castles, mushrooms, a set called the fairy chimneys proper. Paths and tracks run into the valleys from the roadside and there are viewpoints on the ridges, but development is minimal: no ticket office, little signage, a few informal parking spots. Narman itself is a small town, and the wider district holds Georgian church ruins and the Oltu stone workshops. Early morning and the last hour of light are when the colour does what it does.

The landscape

• The red pinnacles - eroded cones and towers in brick-red rock.
• The small canyons - cut valleys between the ridges.
• The ridge viewpoints - the formations seen from above.
• The low-sun colour - the rock going scarlet at either end of the day.

When to go

May to October; the plateau is snowbound and bitter in winter. Early morning or late afternoon for the colour - midday flattens it entirely.

Practical notes

There is no infrastructure - no signage, facilities or marked trails, and a car is essential. Ground is loose and steep in the valleys. It is smaller in extent than Cappadocia and there is no rock-cut architecture.

Nearby

Oltu and its stone workshops are east; Erzurum is an hour and a half south-west.