Luxury holidays in Cappadocia

Cappadocia’s loopiest landscape may look like it’s been lifted from the moon – with enough hot-air balloons to make Phileas Fogg proud (even if he never actually set foot in one) – but it’s Anatolia (or Asia Minor) all the way. Central Turkey’s jaw-dropping geology includes man-made dovecotes carved into the volcanic tuff, Christian-sheltering caves and connicles, high plateaus and honeycomb-holed hillsides, ancient villages and underground cities, with the famous fairy chimneys topping it all off. The Silk Road stop has various valleys to hike over or hover above, including the world’s prettiest homage to everybody’s least favourite urban avians (sorry, pigeons) and Devrent Valley, famed for its bizarre animal-shaped boulders (squint and you’ll definitely see a craggy camel) that are surreal enough to make Dalí proud.
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When to go

July and August are the hottest months – for cooler weather (and fewer hovering hot-air balloons) visit outside of the summer. If you like your lunar landscapes snow-capped, book a trip between December and February, when things get even more surreal (and snowy).

Getting there

  • Planes

    Most international arrivals will have to change in Istanbul for a domestic flight to either Kayseri (an hour and a half from Cappadocia) and Nevsehir (40 minutes away).

  • Automobiles

    Unsurprisingly, there’s not much public transport out here on the moon – the best thing to do is hire either a car or your own driver. If you’re planning on staying in and around your hotel, book a transfer and arrange all of your activities from there.