Things to do in Cappadocia: the essentials

location_onGöreme

Butterfly Balloons is a deliberately small company that flies smaller baskets, so you get more elbow room and a calmer flight than the 24-plus passenger giants. We picked it for couples and photographers who want space at the rail and an unhurried sunrise. Pilots are repeatedly praised for being calm and attentive, and the company keeps to its own airspace for breathing room. Flights are entirely weather-dependent, so if winds are high the morning call may ground you, keep a spare day in case.

location_onGöreme

Royal Balloon is one of Cappadocia's most established operators, flying a premium imported fleet and providing passenger insurance. We picked it for travellers who want a polished, carefully run flight and don't mind paying for it. Like every balloon in Cappadocia, flights are weather-dependent and the morning briefing decides whether you lift off, so build a flexible day around it. Expect a calm sunrise drift over the fairy chimneys, a steady experienced pilot, and a champagne toast on landing.

location_onGöreme

Kapadokya Balloons is the region's pioneer, the first licensed operator to fly commercially here back in the early 1990s, with decades of accumulated know-how. We picked it for travellers who value a long track record and deep local experience over flashy branding. The pilots have seen every kind of Cappadocia morning, which matters most when wind and weather are marginal. Flights are weather-dependent like all balloons here, so treat the sunrise slot as flexible and keep a backup morning if you can.

location_onAvanos

Voyager Balloons pairs an attentive, well-organised operation with a warm pre-flight ritual, picking you up by minibus and giving you a heated indoor breakfast before sunrise rather than leaving you shivering at the launch field. We picked it for travellers who want premium care without the very top-tier price. The pilots are seasoned and the operation runs like clockwork, from hotel pickup to the post-landing champagne and certificate. As with every Cappadocia balloon, the flight is weather-dependent, so keep your morning loose in case the wind says no.

location_onGöreme

The Göreme Open-Air Museum is Cappadocia's single most important sight and a UNESCO World Heritage site, a cluster of rock-cut Byzantine churches and monasteries carved into the tuff between roughly the 10th and 12th centuries. We picked it because the frescoes here, especially in the Dark Church (Karanlık Kilise), are among the best-preserved in the region thanks to the little light that reached them. Go early, before the tour buses, and budget the small extra ticket for the Dark Church, it's worth it. Wear proper shoes for the uneven rock steps and give yourself a couple of hours to take it slowly.

location_onÜrgüp

A UNESCO-listed open-air museum where Byzantine frescoes, underground towns, and iconic fairy chimneys converge - the essential anchor for any Cappadocia itinerary.

location_onKaymaklı

Kaymaklı Underground City is one of Cappadocia's astonishing subterranean towns, a multi-level warren of carved tunnels, stables, kitchens, wine presses and chapels where whole communities sheltered from raiders. We picked it over its deeper neighbour Derinkuyu for travellers who find tight, low passages a little less daunting, its galleries feel wider and more navigable. It's part of the same UNESCO World Heritage landscape and just as atmospheric, with the great round stone doors that once sealed each level. Bring a light jacket, it's cool below, and skip it if you're strongly claustrophobic, as the connecting tunnels are genuinely low and narrow.

location_onDerinkuyu

Derinkuyu is the deepest of Cappadocia's underground cities, descending some eight levels and once capable of sheltering thousands of people along with their livestock. We picked it for the sheer scale and the engineering: ventilation shafts that still draw fresh air, a deep well, communal kitchens, a church and the famous rolling stone doors that locked each floor from the inside. Part of the UNESCO landscape, it's a genuinely jaw-dropping feat of ancient survival architecture. Go with a guide to understand what you're seeing, bring a layer for the cool air, and be honest with yourself about the steep, narrow, low descents if you don't love enclosed spaces.

location_onÜrgüp

A small, knowledgeable wine-tasting house in the centre of Ürgüp, and our pick when you want guidance rather than a quick pour. The staff here genuinely walk you through each wine, talking through the flavours and the traditional methods behind them, including natural Gelveri wines made the old way. It is more intimate shop-and-tasting-room than big production cellar, which suits unhurried, curious drinkers. Don't miss the wine sorbet, a fun local touch you won't find everywhere. Easy to fold into an afternoon wandering Ürgüp's old streets.

location_onAvanos

A 300-year-old cave turned wine cellar in Avanos, and the most generous tasting on our list. Salkım lets you work through a serious range, often 25 to 30 wines across whites, rosés, reds and a few local liqueurs, in a cosy, candle-lit rock room. What makes it is the host: the tasting is talked through with real passion and tailored to what you actually enjoy, so beginners and keen drinkers both leave happy. It is a place to settle in and learn, not just sip and go. Our pick in Avanos for a hands-on, friendly introduction to Turkish and regional wine.

location_onOrtahisar

A characterful wine cellar in Ürgüp for tasting beyond the usual reds and whites. Alongside local Cappadocian wines, KY leans into the region's fruit wines, the sort of pomegranate or cherry bottles that surprise first-timers and make for fun, easy gifts. It is a small, cosy cellar rather than a slick showroom, so the experience is personal and unhurried. Come to taste a broad local spread, ask questions, and pick up a few bottles you genuinely can't find at home. A good pairing with Ürgüp's other tasting houses if you are making an afternoon of it.

location_onUçhisar

The family winery to visit if you want to taste Turkey through its own grapes. Started in Uçhisar in 1972 from a single cave carved into the volcanic tuff and now run by the founder's sons, Kocabağ works almost entirely with indigenous Turkish varieties: whites like Emir and Narince, reds like Kalecik Karası, Boğazkere and Öküzgözü. The wines ferment and age in huge tanks cut straight into the rock, which makes the tasting room itself part of the story. It is a polished, refined setting rather than a rustic shed. Come for an unfussy, genuinely local tasting and leave knowing what Cappadocia actually grows.