Additional photos by Britt Walker

Our time in Türkiye began by taking on the Cappadocia Delight route. The loop would see us ride over volcanic plateaus and through ancient valleys. At times, it felt as if we were on another planet. The countryside hosts a plethora of fascinating historic caves, churches, and even underground cities that have been carved into the soft stone, dating back as far as the 6th and 7th centuries. People still lived in some of the shelters until the 1960s, and we met one man who had actually been born in a cave.

The route had a bit of everything: bushwhacking, flowy singletrack, tough hike-a-bike, and some of the most mind-boggling scenery we’ve ever seen, let alone ridden through. We were amazed by the diversity of the landscapes and how quickly they changed from day to day. One minute, you’re riding through deep valleys with fairy chimneys all around, and the next, you’re cruising over vast plateaus with mountains and dormant volcanoes in the distance. 

Outside of the main tourist hubs, the valleys, caves, and sights are completely empty, and riders can experience a more authentic version of Türkiye. We saw very few people and didn’t encounter another rider on the entire trip. In the villages and towns, we did meet many friendly locals, though, keen to find out about where we were going or to gift us some tea or food. 

From day one, we felt so welcomed and experienced the kindness of the Turkish people, which we had heard so much about. As soon as we exited the airport, we had our first random act of kindness. We thought we had jumped into a taxi, but it quickly turned out that a local man had decided to give us a lift along with the friends he’d been waiting for. On another evening, as we were nodding off to sleep in a family’s orchard, they tapped on our tent door and treated us to an evening feast. We could barely move as we rolled back into bed. The acts of generosity and thoughtfulness only continued, and our love for Türkiye grew as we kept on pedalling.

Field Notes from the Ride

On our first day of riding, we unzipped our tent door to see the balloons rising into the sky as the sun peeked over the horizon. The orange rays bounced off the sides, and we could hear people cheering and chuckling as they bobbed overhead. Slowly, the light started to touch the valleys we were about to drop into, revealing the ancient caves and pigeon-hole structures that had long been left behind. 

We decided to start our route in Göreme instead, as we managed to get a bus there straight from Ankara. This felt like a good decision, as we had plenty of energy to explore the section to Urgup, which we found the most interesting and slow going. This section featured the Rose and Red Valleys, and we made sure to check out every nook and cranny, which meant it took us a good few hours to make it through. After having lunch, we dropped into some more valleys. A highlight was the pigeonniers’ troglodyte apartment blocks, which featured hundreds of ancient pigeon dovecotes carved high up into the valley walls.

The riding through all these valleys and others was super fun, but we found many overgrown sections, which made for some arduous bushwhacking. The distances may be relatively short, but this route really makes you work for the good stuff. Our first day finished after riding through Uzengi Vadisi Canyon, before climbing up to the plateau above Şahinefendi with Mount Erciyes in the distance. 

Day two started with an epic view above the valley with Mount Erciyes in the distance. The first sight of the day was the abandoned village of Baskoy, which was once a Greek village, but after a population exchange in 1923, the settlement now has a mix of architecture, with the church being converted to a Mosque. In the 1960s, the village was evacuated due to the risk of rock falls. We rolled down in Sognali next, an ancient village from the 6th and 7th centuries. Historically, it was inhabited by the Byzantines who came to escape the wrath of the Romans. They built many caves and rock-carved churches due to their fear.

There are 15 churches that can be visited today, and it’s thought that about 50 churches were lost. The effort and skill it would have taken to create some of the caves and churches was immense; the detail and scale were so impressive. We gazed for hours and had lunch in a cave, where we imagined what life might have been like many years ago along this valley. Next up was Yeşilhisar, where we resupplied and then took the dual carriageway to Dognali—we decided to miss the three kilometres of sandy hike-a-bike marked on the official route.

It was a long day, and it had been super hot. We were both cooked. At kilometre 77, an excited young boy shouted, “Keep pedalling! Keep pedalling!” which got us going. Then, at kilometre 95, a kind local invited us in for a couple of espressos. That really got us going. We shared some images of our families and chatted over Google Translate as the sun dipped lower and lower. We set off to find camp with one last climb to go. As we made it to the top, we caught a last glimpse of sunset over the peaks of Aladaglar National Park. We pitched up next to the river along Maiden Canyon with mountains all around us. It felt completely different from where we had started the day, and it was awesome to see a completely different side to Türkiye.

Our time in the national park was short-lived, as the route skirts along the edge after a little climb into the mountains and then loops back to the north. It was stunning, though. After leaving the park, we rode towards Camardi and stopped at a lovely little restaurant called Zerve Et Mangal. It was absolutely delicious and one of the best lunches we’d had on the road. The ride out of Camardi and onto the plateau was a tough one as we’d eaten so much. Slowly, we got there, and we then enjoyed our last descent into Nigde. We didn’t fancy the next climb to the marked camp at Nidge Reservoir and didn’t want to stay in a fancy hotel, so we asked around, and a little restaurant kindly allowed us to sleep in their orchard. 

At 9:30 p.m., as we were just nodding off, we heard a little tap on our tent door. The family proceeded to reveal a massive platter of food. We couldn’t believe our eyes. Obviously, we jumped out of bed, enjoyed all of the tasty treats they made us, and then went to bed with two very large food babies. 

Their kindness didn’t stop there, though. We probably could have started cycling still full from the night before, but they insisted we have breakfast. We ended up tackling the first climb out of Nidge a good few stone heavier. There wasn’t a ton of off-road riding from Aladaglar National Park to Ihlara, but the views of the mountains behind were stunning. The descent down the other side was so much fun—the roads here are super smooth, and you fly along when there’s no headwind. As it was Saturday, there were many locals and children outside cycling and playing. Through the villages that followed, we had many races, did some skids, and Britt even got given a delicious veggie wrap from the back of a tractor. As you can tell, the Turkish folk like to gift food and drink. We eventually made it to the Ihlara Valley and stayed the night in Belisirma. 

The next section from Belisirma to Selime was tough to start, but it turned into some great single/doubletrack that was a joy to ride along. We had more and more caves to explore, and in Selime, there were some incredible towers, churches, and even cathedrals carved into the hillside. This was a highlight of the trip, and it felt as if we were in a Star Wars set. After Selime, the riding was gentle but out in the sun, crossing open farmland and plateaus towards Tatlarin.

By this point, our legs were tired, and the riding was quite repetitive, so we decided to try and grab a lift to Nevsihar. The driver to picked us up was off for a date, dressed all in white and with his best aftershave on. We jumped in and made sure he wasn’t late. Sometimes, if you’re not having fun, it’s fine to get a lift. We felt good about our decision and put the tent up at last light, above Pigeon Valley, ready to watch the balloons rise above us in the morning. 

Our bodies wanted a nice long lie-in, but at 5 a.m., we could hear the balloons floating into the air in the distance. A few moments later, we could see them high up and above the horizon. The sky was a beautiful deep orange tone, fading up through hints of yellow and blue. By 5:30 a.m., the sun was popping, and there were hundreds of balloons above the valleys. To make it back to Göreme, we had a short section through Pigeon Valley. It was a great way to end the ride. It was fast, flowy, and completely empty. A real joy.

Overall, we loved the route; the scenery was more incredible and unique than we could ever have imagined, and the kindness of the Turkish people made this so memorable for us. We found the real Türkiye could be experienced at the south of the route, in the national park, villages, and towns that rarely see tourists roll through—this is where we had our best interactions and built the fondest memories. 

Further Reading

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