Pigeon and Love Valleys

I walked out of my room at Anatolian Cave Houses a little before 6am and saw a couple of hot air balloons passing overhead, waving at the folks on one of the nearby balloons. It looked like a more mellow morning than when we had gone, and looking out over Göreme I could see a number of other balloons making their way past the town. Given it was summer and temperatures were going to be in the 80's, I wanted to get an early start and complete the hike before it really warmed up.

Hot air balloons over our room at the Anatolian Cave Houses

I walked down into the main area, and started walking up the road towards Uçhisar, checking my phone to make sure I didn't miss the turn off onto the dirt road. The morning's hot air balloons were starting to thin out quickly, and soon a steady stream of cars came pouring down the dirt road back towards Göreme. Many of the cars were old vintage convertibles, with tourists, some very dressed up, in the back, obviously done with their selfies with Göreme and hot air balloons in the background. The road was narrow in some spots, and it was a little awkward with the traffic, but fortunately it didn't last long.

Hot air balloons over Göreme

Without any further traffic, I made good progress along the road and was keeping an eye out for the trail down into Love Valley. Of course, I cruised right by the spot where I needed to get off the trail. I consulted the All Trails app and turned back around, heading into a large parking area, where after a little confusion, I found the unmarked trail heading down off to the side. Having to continually consult the map was a common occurrence on this hike, and the others I did around Göreme. There are basically no trail signs, and a ton of trails criss-crossing, and it's very easy to get mixed up. I have never used a hiking app like All Trails before, but found it very useful on this trip, as having the hike overlaid on the map was key to not taking the wrong trail.

Start of Love Valley

The trail descended down into Love Valley, and I started to get some nice views of the rock formations. The trail eventually merged into a road, and I followed that for a bit. Along the way, I passed by a couple dressed to the nines, flowing dress and tuxedo, getting their picture taken in front of some fairy chimneys. The fairy chimneys, which are typically referred to as a Hoodoo in the states, are the towers rising from the ground which resemble mushrooms (or something a little more phallic…) and are the result of millions of years of erosion from a volcanic ash which was spewed across Cappadocia. You will find them and other cool rock formations all over the Göreme area, including in the town itself, where people have carved out abodes in some of the wider ones.

Fairy Chimneys in Love Valley

A little farther along I passed a couple returning on the trail, and they mentioned the trail dead ends above a steep slope not too far up. I kept going and sure enough, the trail stopped above a fairly steep rock slope. It was probably about 50 feet up, but I was able to slowly make it down as the rock was pretty grippy and it wasn't as steep as it first appeared. At the bottom I hooked up with the trail I was supposed to be on, unsure of where I had split off.

The valley was a bit more constricted at this point, and while there continued to be a number of trails criss-crossing, it was fairly straightforward to continue in the right direction. There were a couple of spots where the trail passed through the rock formations. They weren't quite as impressive or long as Sword Valley or even later on in Pigeon Valley, but it's still pretty cool to hike through the rocks.

Trail going through the rocks

Through the narrowest part of Love Valley, the trail ascended a bit onto a small ridge, providing some nice views of this part of the valley. As always, there were cool colors and rock formations. Gone were the standalone fairy chimneys, however this section of the valley had fairy chimneys still embedded into the wall with wavy like rocks above, with varying shades of gray and beige.

Love Valley

The trail continued up the valley and eventually ascended out of the valley and onto a dirt road, at which point I could see the town of Uçhisar, with Uçhisar Castle perched above the town. I crossed the main road and ran into an unfriendly dog which gave me quite the scare. I'm pretty sure it was a pitbull and it aggressively approached me growling and barking, only relenting when I backed up. When I tried to cross the street and proceed up towards town,, the dog again started barking and walking towards me. After a quick look at the map, I saw a way to cut the hike short and head down in Pigeon Valley without having to go by the dog. Fortunately there was a couple that wanted me to take a selfie, and when I mentioned the dog, the gentleman didn't seem concerned and walked on by, staring at the dog. He beckoned me over, and I walked past the dog without incident this time...

Town of Uçhisar

I followed the street up towards town, veering off onto a footpath for a bit, before getting back on a road. I probably could have figured out how to get up to Uçhisar Castle without consulting the map, but given how many wrong turns I had taken on my hikes, I stuck closely to the All Trails hike and after a number of streets and a couple of footpaths, arrived at Uçhisar Castle. With an entrance fee of 250 Turkish Lira, or $7 US dollars, It was a bit pricey to get in, considering I just wanted to get a view from the top. But ultimately it's worth the price, with nice views from the top and very few people inside at this early hour. .

Views from the top of Uçhisar Castle

After a short amount of time in Uçhisar Castle, I made my way back down through the streets of Uçhisar and found the footpath the descended down through some apartments and then by a couple of carved out, and apparently still occupied (there was a satellite dish on one) fairy chimneys. I was on a dirt road for a bit, before getting back onto another trail. There looked to be a more direct trail descending to the valley, but I stuck with the current trail as it wrapped its way around Pigeon Valley and was treated to some nice views.

Descending into Pigeon Valley

As I made my way down into Pigeon Valley I passed a couple hiking, and then along the valley floor saw a couple of more groups hiking. The valley is easy to access from Göreme, it's impressive with cool canyon walls and lots of carved out rocks, and seemed straightforward to do in an out and back hike, with fewer side trails venturing off, likely given the steep rock walls for most of the lower valley.

Hiking through Pigeon Valley

Once on the valley floor, there was a well defined trail which was easy to follow, with a couple of sections passing through cut out rock. There looked to be lights in the canyon, maybe they lit it up at night? I thought about trying to come back with the family to see if it was lit up, but realized that probably wasn't going to happen.

Pigeon Valley trail

The trail eventually terminated at a street, and I followed the street back into the center of Göreme and made my way back up to the hotel room, for a quick shower with enough time left to grab breakfast. It was a great loop, and highly recommended if you want to see Pigeon and Love Valleys. While both valleys are impressive, if you don't have time for the loop and are staying in Göreme, Pigeon Valley would be a great hike, as it's close by and I thought easier to navigate than Love Valley.