Planning Çavuşin & Ortahisar: where they fit in a valley day

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Paşabağ, often called Monks Valley, has Cappadocia's most extraordinary fairy chimneys, tall cones crowned with two or even three separate caps, a shape found almost nowhere else on earth. We picked it because it pairs that geological oddity with real history: Byzantine hermit monks carved cells and chapels into the chimneys, including one dedicated to Saint Simeon, the stylite who lived atop a pillar. It's compact and easy to wander in under an hour, which makes it a perfect stop between Avanos and Zelve. Come in the softer light of early morning or late afternoon, when the cones cast long shadows and the crowds thin out.

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Love Valley's phallic fairy chimneys rise in such distinctive forms they've become iconic—sculpted red stone pillars unlike anywhere else in Cappadocia. The easy 2–3 km hike between Çavuşin and Göreme opens into silence and raw landscape, best at sunrise or sunset when light catches the chimneys. Free entry, no crowds at dawn, a walker's choice when you want something genuinely off the main trail.