Ihlara Valley Hiking Tour

Ihlara Valley Hiking Tour

This 14 km hike is one of the most popular amongst our day treks. It is generally an easy walk, following the river; there are some short parts where we have to scramble on rocks. We will pick you up from your hotel after the breakfast and our car will take us to Ihlara town centre (1.15 hours).

We will begin walking after we arrive in the quaint and colorful village of Ihlara where we walk down to the small waterfall and pools. Local villagers still fish in this part of the river and this is where the gorge begins to narrow. We will walk along the side the river with lush trees surrounded by sheer rock walls on both sides. There are several hidden cave churches that were carved into the side walls – throughout the day we will visit some with beautiful frescoes painted with scenes from the New Testament.

Halfway on the trail, at the base of the village of Belisirma, we will stop to enjoy lunch on the river. The local restaurants provide a hearty feast of traditional dishes from the region. After lunch we continue along the more remote trails until we reach the village of Selime. This part of the walk looks significantly different as the gorge widens and many farmers use the lands for planting vegetables or grazing their cows, donkeys and sheep.  The trail ends in Selime village – if time allows we will be able to visit the breathtaking Selime monastery perched at the top of the valley. Our driver will be waiting to take you back to your hotel.

Please note: the hiking routes are an example of a regular hiking/walking tour – changes may be made due to weather, fitness levels or other situations. Any changes will be discussed with you to ensure you have a hike that works for your interests, weather conditions and walking ability. The trails are mostly well-worn and easy to walk on, however, there are several steep trails going up and down the valleys, therefore good walking or hiking shoes are recommended as we will be walking on tufa (pressed volcanic ash) most of the time. Sunscreen, hats and sunglasses are necessities as there are few places with shade on these trails and the sun is very intense. All of these items can be purchased here in souvenir shops, if necessary.

Customize Your Tour: Add-On Options

Flight Bookings: Domestic or International flights and upgrades. We are a full-service travel agency
Hotel Upgrades / Changes: we offer our Top Picks for hotels in each area. If you have a different hotel in mind or would like an upgrade please let us know. You may also book your own hotels and join in the tour. For more information please email us 

Included in Tour Packages (inclusions)

*Professional English Speaking Guide in tours,
*Lunch or Boxes Lunch on tour days (without drinks),
*Transportation in non-smoking Luxurious Vehicles with comfortable seat s & AC
*Entrance fees to all the sightseeing places and museums (except Dark Church in Goreme Open Air Museum),
*All parking and highway fees,
*All the expenses of guide & driver
*All local taxes.

Not Included in Tour Packages (exclusions)

*International or Internal Flights,
*Accommodation,
*Airport Transfers,
*Meals not mentioned at the itinerary and Drinks during meals,
*Airport transfers in Istanbul or Other airports,
*Dark Church in Goreme Open Air Museum is optional to see and the entance fee is extra,
*All personal expenses,
*Tips to the guide, driver and hotel personnel (Not compulsory but encouraging)

Additional Info

*For all Daily or City-only tours: Hotels, Flights and airport transfers are not included
*All rates are shown in EUROS and are per person, based on 2 adults sharing one double room
*For all of our Private Tours: English-speaking professionally licensed tour guides will be provided if no other language request is made. Additional languages include Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German or Japanese – based on availability.
*Our Daily Tours are with an English-speaking professionally licensed tour guide.
*We offer special rates for groups or families traveling with 6 or more people.