Hiking the Love Valley from Uchisar Town

Hiking the Love Valley from Uchisar Town

Love Valley is one of the most popular spots in Cappadocia. Loads of people come here to view sunset as it’s said to be one of the best sunset spots around Göreme. Love Valley is specially famous for its intriguing rock formations that took penis-like shapes. Thus the name: Love Valley. Hiking Love Valley is one of the best things to do in Cappadocia. Read on, how to complete the hike all the way from Uchisar.

How to visit Love Valley

There are 3 ways that you can experience Love Valley.

1. Arriving by taxi/car to the view point and watching the rock formations from above. Its one of the most popular sunset spots in Cappadocia.

Read : Love Valley – Best for Sunset and Sunrise

2. Walking to the entrance of Love Valley from Göreme, walking around the rock formations and exiting the same way.

3. Walking all the way through the Love Valley either from Uchisar (like we did), or starting in Göreme and finishing in Uchisar.

We chose the last option. We left Göreme in the morning, hiked Pigeon Valley and visited Uchisar Castle. In the afternoon, we made our way to the Love Valley and walked all the way to the famous rock formations.

Leaving Uchisar

The entry point to the Love Valley from Uchisar is the Ozle Art Center. Walk past it and keep on the left. Soon there will be a sign pointing the direction of Love Valley to the right.

Note : We turned right and followed a path for a while. Soon, we were passed by 2 bikers. They seemed to reach the end of the hill quickly and started driving back. It seemed that the way down wasn’t there. At this moment we turned around and made our way to the ‘pink house’ where we knew the entrance is for sure. However, by the time we reached the pink house, the bikers somehow found a way down. Conclusion: there is a path also if you turn right. As we didn’t take it, we can only direct you to the way we did.

Soon after you will reach a small pink house. We actually saw it all the way from the Uchisar Castle and marked it as an entry point to the Love Valley. Passing the house you will find yourself on a tiny path. This is the only part that is tricky. The rocks are very slippery and it’s hard to get down.

Read : 4 Days in Wonderland – Complete Guide to Cappadocia

The Love Valley

Make your way straight, following the path down. At points you might need to slide down from the rock. Stay safe. It was a bit tricky to get to the bottom of the valley, but after 10 minutes or so, we found ourselves on the small path all the way down.

From here the way is easy. Just walk straight, trying to stay at the bottom of the valley. There isn’t a defined path or any trail marks. Nevertheless, it’s a fun trail leading through a beautiful valley.

After 45 min or so, we finally reached the most famous part: the penis-shaped rocks. Unfortunately, the sun was already gone from this part of the valley. It was still very cool to walk around the area. There is a small cafe with many chickens on the site. You can rest here before heading out.

Note : There is no path leading up to the view point from the bottom. One of the hills rises and it looks like there might be a way, but there isn’t. We looked for it both from up and from down. ??‍♀️

The way back to the road takes another 15 min. You can turn left, walk for a bit and then turn left again: this will lead you to the view point above the valley.

Read : Love Valley – Best for Sunset and Sunrise

Otherwise, turn right and make your way back to Göreme (at the crossroad take right again). You can either walk (it’s about 2. km), or hitchhike as we did. The friendly locals that gave us a ride, didn’t even speak English, but were thrilled to help us out. Hitchhiking is a popular way to travel in Cappadocia and we got a ride from locals on multiple occasions.

Practical info

How long does it take

The whole hike will take around 1.5 h.

Best time to go

Ideal time to visit Cappadocia and do this hike is spring and autumn. The temperatures are high, but it doesn’t get too hot.

You can visit Love Valley in the morning and hike to Uchisar. If you choose to follow our steps, make sure to start early. By 5PM when we reached the famous rock formations, the sun was already gone.

What to bring

  • Wear comfortable shoes. You don’t need hiking boots, a good pair of sneakers will be enough.
  • Take a hut, sunglasses and sunblock. Pack your camera and drone if you have one.
  • Pack some snacks. Energy bars will be perfect for this hike. Make sure to have plenty of water with you. There aren’t any cafes on this hike until you reach the rock formations. Make sure to have enough water when you are leaving Uchisar.

Read : Red Valley Sunset Point – Best Place to End the Day in Cappadocia

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