Pigeon valey and Zemi Valley

Pigeon Valley (Pigeon valey / Güvercınlık Vadisi)

The advantage of Gereme is its central geographical location. It is convenient to make most of the walking routes. For example, this route is: Gereme - Dove Valley - Zemi Valley - Gereme.
The entrance to the Dove Valley is within the city of Göreme (see map below), starting with a sign (photo below).

    Entrance to the Valley of Doves

1.     fork to Café #1
2.     observation point
3.     turning to the Zemi valley
4.     fork in the Zemi valley

In terms of importance, this valley is not given a leading place on the Internet. However, the Dove Valley has a number of advantages to choose it for a walk:

•     Convenient and easy access.
•     Beautiful views all around.
•     There are typical Cappadocia landscapes
•     There are viewpoints

Pigeons are only found in one place. The valley gets its name because of the special canopy, the "pigeon houses".

An important point - there is a fork in the road - this is the area of cafe number 1. In the pigeon valley there are two cafes on the whole route. On the way from Gereme at the first cafe, if you go on the upper road, exactly through the cafe, the road will be easy wide as on the whole route. But this way you will not get to the viewpoint of the entire valley. If you leave Café #1 "on the right hand" and keep going, the road will turn into a trail that twists upward. The path will be easy for everyone. It is the one that will lead to the upper plateau. On the way there will be cafe #2. You will have a view of Uchhisar very close on the right hand and on the left hand - a view of the Dove Valley in all its glory. You can go down from the plateau by the path from the side of Uchhisar and continue the route on the wide road from which you turned to the cafe. Alternatively, if you do not go down, you can go straight to Uchkhisar.

Zemi Valley

We continued onward through the Dove Valley. The road eventually turned into a path, at the end it seemed like there was none at all. So we reached the "loose" hills. On them we climbed up and found ourselves directly at the sign to the Zemi Valley (the turnoff to the town of Gereme).

The Zemi Valley is a valley with no views along the way, no viewpoints, and no landscapes. The entire route is a narrow trail in an almost impassable forest. In places, underground water springs beneath your feet turn the ground into mud - you have to gallop very often. There is also a fork. We went on the right side, the road led to the side of the open-air museum. Before the fork the road is bearable, after that it is muddy and rutted. We don't advise it by personal experience. It is possible to assume, that the road to the left will be the same.

Advice: walk through the valley of Doves from Gereme to the observation point, then go out to Uchhisar. The road will not make you tired. In time, no more than 2 hours walking and photographing. You will therefore be able to see the fortress and the town of Uchkhisar as a whole on the same day. Then you will return to Goreme by minibus.