カッパドキア：日の出の熱気球観覧体験

We were a little afraid of going up in a hot air balloon, but we didn’t want to miss the experience of seeing them, so we absolutely loved watching them take off and then seeing them fly while enjoying the views from the viewpoints.

There’s one thing in our minds when it comes to visiting Cappadocia - that is seeing its famous Hot Air Balloons riding gently and mightily over the skies of this historic city carved amongst the rocks. The stunning and alluring beauty of Cappadocia could be seen, heard and experienced up in the skies and on top of the world like in a Hot air Balloon!! Cappadocia is also famous of its Fairy Chimneys or Hoodoos and underground citiies. Located in Central Turkey, it is a semi-arid place located at an elevation of 1000 m. The Fairy Chimneys occurred naturally from Volcanic rock erosions over millions of years and which gives beauty and mystery now to Cappadocia’s natural charm and wonders! We took a flight from Istanbul to Cappadocia via Turkish Airlines and it took around 1 and a half hour. The flight was smooth and the experience and snacks provided in the plane is relaxing and comfortable. Its a full board flight with sandwich, drinks and entertainment. As we landed Cappadocia’s Kayseri airport, we saw from our windows the unbelievable landscape of this magical place - the rock formations carved for millions of years were absolutely stunning!!! The weather is also sunny that day and surprisingly this winter of 2024 is quite mild even feels like Spring. Its our mistake not to study how to go to Goreme, the famous town in Cappadocia famous for its Fairy chimneys and a must stay place here in Cappadocia. We didn’t know that time that there is a shuttle bus and it will only cost 10 euros for a 1 hour ride. We booked a taxi outside the airport and it cost us 100 SGD++ for more than an hour’s ride - big mistake. So if you’re not a big group travelling , a shuttle bus service is the most economical way to travel. The shuttle bus starts/stops in Goreme’s main town around 10 mins walk from our hotel. Since we booked a taxi, we were dropped off to our hotel. Despite the long ride, the views were Amazing!!! Central Turkey is a mountainous, hilly place and mountains/hills/valleys surround you from all over the place. The landscape is arid more like desert but you could see vegetations like trees and shrubs on them. We even saw Mount Erciyes standing at more than 3000 m it is the tallest inactive volcano in this area with its majestic snow capped peak. We arrived just past lunch in our family run hotel in Cappadocia (see my review: Serene Premium Stone house). It was a very unique and memorable experience staying in this style of hotel - very authentic and special for us. How the local people made us of their rock formations and transformed it to become useful and beautiful is truly a work of art and man made marvel. The area surrounding us is truly amazing and magical!!! Fairy chimnies and Rock wonders right beside u and right before our eyes. Their just literally a step away and we have the most magical and wonderful view for the past 3 days we’ve stayed here. Goreme is not just a natural, raw landscape, quiet laidback town - it’s a colorful, vibrant town also for all its visitors and residents to enjoy, dine, have Turkish coffee, stroll, shop, relax and have fun. It offers food and drinks both for both Asian, Western and local Turkish food. We tried Quick China restaurant here 2x and we loved their Chinese-Turkish fusion food. On street side, we tried their freshly squeezed Orange juice. Walking around Goreme offers fantastic and memorable experiences both day and night. As we stroll we could see both Fat Chubby Furry kitties and doggies. Shopping options include Turkish Evil Eye ornaments and jewelries, Turkish carpets and rags, Touristy items like ref magnets, t-shirts, cups and keychains and we did bought some items here especially the Evil eye bracelets. We booked a Hot Air Balloon sight seeing tour from our hotel’s front desk and its a half-day private tour on just for us in the morning till lunch. The driver will pick us up and tour us around different spots in Cappadocia where we could view the Amazing Hot Air Balloons from below and up above. Hot air balloons fly only on good weather and the next day was perfect for take off. It’s a bit pricey of around 100 SGD per head so since were not going on it we decided to take our lovely photos and videos from the grounds. We still did wake up early to witness the preparation time of the balloons before they took off. The weather was cold that morning around 6 and the sun is not yet rised but the excitement fills the air. We saw the huge fires blowing the Hydrogen gas to inflate the huge colorful patterned balloons and the lif the big wooden basket that could fill a dozen people or more. Its amazing to see the strong and massive Hydrogen fuelled flames inflating the huge colorful balloons enough to fight gravity and lift you up and carry a dozen people on a big basket - its the firts human invention that gave way to flights and fighting off gravity thru Airplanes/Helicopters which allows us to travel the world faster and just in hours. From here we took our lovely photos and videos already as they take up in the air. Once the balloons have risen, our driver took us to the first spot to view them up on the valley with a perfect vantage point. We saw each of more than a dozen colorful Hot air balloons from different companies rise up on the air, lifting and gliding them gently across the beautiful and mysterious terrains of Cappadoccia - one of the world’s natural wonders!!! Our driver also took some of our shots from this vantage points and we stayed for few mins here witnessing the balloons and the famous fairy chimneys surrounding us before we moved to another vantage point. From the hilly terrain we went from the low arid lands for a different vantage point a sea level. This view gives us another different settings and environment to which is equally magical and lovely as compared to an elevated one. We also saw different fairy chimneys, stone formations and low rock mountains all around us. We finished our early morning tour for just 3 hours that’s the exact time when the Hot Air balloons have already landed. Our driver dropped us back into our hotel in time for our sumptuous and my favourite breakfast of all time - Turkish breakfast lots of cheese/olives/bread it is my ultimate breakfast of all time!!! We decided not to try the Hot air balloon ride and since were still not sure the next day the weather is cloudy preventing it from happening which is also the time for us to get back to Istanbul. For sure next time when we get back to Cappadocia we will defnitely try the Hot Air balloons but no regrets the sight seeing itself gave us a different experience and perspective of the Hot Air Balloons and the different natural settings of Cappadocia!!! Goreme town is a tourist attraction of itself, walking along this town, with lots of Fairy Chimneys, Turkish shops, colorful lanterns, magical carpets, mysterious alleyways, intricate cave systems - which we didn’t try will do next time, Galleries and Museums around town, delicious food both Turkish, Asian and Western choices, unique boutique hotels some even on actual stone houses ar natural caves, picturesque views and the feeling of just by yourselves alone in this magical world is really a unique and once in a life time experience. We really left were in the story of Aladdin on its magic carpet ride which is a whole new world for us!!!! If you visit Turkey then Cappadocia is a must see wonder and place which will give you a magical experience and ride that you will never forget and cherish in your lifetimes!!!! Highly recommended, See you soon Cappadocia till we meet each other again!!! Teşekkürler :=)

+1

We booked a sunrise gaze at hot air balloons . The day before the trip, the operator called to confirm the pick-up time and details. The driver was friendly and punctual. We were taken to two spots: the first was the launch site, and the second was a perfect viewpoint to watch the sunrise alongside hundreds of balloons. It was an amazing experience!"

They took us to places where the sunrise and the balloons looked divine.

It is magnificent. A must-do once in a lifetime.

Very nice spots! The driver contacted us the previous night to confirm pickup time.

The guide is great, super punctual and took us to spectacular viewpoints. 100% recommended

One of the prettiest sights ever. Loved the tour. Ozan was a great tour guide as well. Highly recommend 😌

Very good experience, punctual at pickup and leave you time on site with views, all great

Your personal is very kind and patient. Thank you for your service