“Explore the magical land of Cappadocia!”
7 Day Active Trail Horse Riding Tour in Cappadocia, Turkey
Ürgüp, Nevşehir Province, Cappadocia, Central Anatolia, Turkey
Guided Horse Riding Tour Turkey
Leaving from the ranch between Urgup and Ortahisar, in the heart of the national park, the progressive trail takes you around Cappadocia. Be ready to enjoy the magnificent trails off the beaten tracks!
Key information
- Rider Weight Limit: 188 pounds / 85 kilograms
- Horse Height Range: 15 hands
- Tack type: McClellan light trailing saddles and saddles made by Kapadokya Ranch
- Horse breed: Anatolian, cross-Arab, and pure Arabian endurance horses
Meet the instructors
Nicolas
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Highlights
- 5 riding days
- Approximate daily riding time: 5 hours
- English-speaking guides
- 6 nights accommodation
- Daily meals
- Free use of a horse and riding equipment
- Airport pick-up and drop-off
Skill level
- Intermediate
Styles
5 days with instruction in English
The organizer also speaks: Bulgarian, French, Russian
Airport transfer included:
Erkilet International Airport
Airport transfer included:
NevÅŸehir Kapadokya Airport
Accommodation
Check-in Time:
12:19
Check-out Time:
08:13
Accommodations are in charming hotels in Cappadocia's prettiest villages, in front of which your horses are spending the night. You can choose between two kinds of accommodation: standard or luxury rooms with ensuite toilets and showers. You will stay in picturesque, comfortable hotels located in ancient stone houses or renovated cave houses, typical of the local architecture. Most guesthouses offer internet access and a laundry service.
- Nights 1 and 6: Surban Hotel or similar (standard rooms) or Selcuklu Evi or similar (luxury rooms) in the town of Urgup
- Nights 2 and 3: Dilek Tepesi Hotel or similar in the village of Ayvali
- Nights 4 and 5: Kilim Pension or similar in the village of Uchisar
Surban and Selcuklu hotels are next door. Dinners and breakfasts will be taken all together. Your luggage will be transferred by Kapadokya Ranch's logistics vehicle. You should pack several, lighter bags rather than one large, heavy suitcase.
Surban Hotel
The rooms at Surban Hotel are decorated with refinement and various handicrafts. They are equipped with central heating and double glazing, a telephone, a television satellite, a bathroom with marble washbasin, a shower, and a hairdryer.
Dilek Tepesi
Dilek Tepesi is located in the traditional village of Ayvali, on a scenic hill where you can receive positive energy and listen to yourselves. It is a place to enjoy the beauty of Cappadocia, with a nice view of the village and of the valleys around it. The hotel is facilitated with suite cave rooms, one archery room, one deluxe room, one standard cave room, three standard rooms, and one arch for family rooms.
Kilim Pension
The rooms, courtyard, terraces, and dining areas of Kilim Pension are decorated with old traditional kilims, wooden handicrafts, pottery, and special fabrics of the Ottoman period. Each room is named to commemorate villagers of importance as a celebration of heritage such as Hasan Ali, Cici Ahbap, etc. Most of the rooms have a magnificent view of Pigeon Valley with its countless pigeon lofts. Breakfast is served on the terrace where you can enjoy views are Erciyes Volcano and the serene passage of hot air balloons.
Selçuklu Evi Cave Hotel
Selçuklu Evi Cave Hotel offers a blend of past and present in Cappadocia. The hotel is facilitated with a number of cave rooms and a luxury restaurant located in the area of food and cooking.
Program
Daily itinerary
Day 1
Arrival at Kayseri or Nevsehir airport. You are met by your chauffeur and transferred in 50 minutes to your guesthouse in Urgup, where you have dinner with your guide at 8:00 p.m.
Day 2: Keslik Monastery
You start this day by cantering through fields of the high Anatolian plateau (1600 meters high): barley, wheat, oat, and beans fields. You ride through a steep single trail down to Damsa Lake. Villagers cook lunch for you on a woodfire. Opportunity to visit the monastery. Passing by and overlooking a valley of fairy chimneys, the afternoon scenery is made of bare hills surrounding the lake. Visit the underground village of Golgoli. You canter along tracks of soft red clay leading you to the village of Ayvali through a hidden canyon and stop at your hotel for the night in this village.
Day 3: Uchisar
Today’s itinerary takes you to the beautiful valleys of north Cappadocia and the village of Uchisar. You trot and canter through vineyards and orchards and over rolling hills of white tuffa to reach Ibrahimpasa, where you will have your lunch. From this picturesque village, you start ascending the ‘twin hills' of Cappadocia. A nice canter at the top takes you to a panoramic viewpoint encompassing northern Cappadocia and the towering rock fortress of Uchisar. As you ride towards the village, you can admire the multicolored rock formations of the famous Pigeon Valley and Uchisar’s picturesque fairy chimneys. Night in Uchisar.
Day 4: Red Valley
Optional hot-air balloon ride in the early morning: travel with the wind over Cappadocia’s magical landscape at sunrise. You enter another beautiful canyon called the White Valley. You sneak your way through arches, rocky labyrinths, and lush vegetation, then into the Sword Valley and Red Valley. With its citadels of red, pink, and ochre rocks and beautiful troglodytic churches, this is Cappadocia’s most spectacular ensemble of geological formations.
A cave cafe located in an ancient monastery welcomes you for lunch. In the afternoon, you keep exploring the Red and Rose Valleys, then ride out into the fields, surrounded by the rocky hills of north Cappadocia. The winding paths of the Shepherd’s Valley take you back with a long canter to your guesthouse in Uchisar, in time to admire north Cappadocia in the sunset light.
Days 5 and 6: Balkan Valley
Leaving the village on horseback, you ride through the rock tunnels, arches, and small woods of the spectacular, four-kilometer-long canyon called the Green Valley. You make a detour through the famous Love Valley and its gigantic phallic rock formations, then ride to the village of Ortahisar, where you will have lunch. You canter on a sandy track lined with trees. You cross the Valley of Pancarlik and its multicolored fairy chimneys, and you arrive at the ranch in the afternoon. Short transfer to your hotel in Urgup.
Day 7: Departure day
After breakfast, depart to Kayseri (or Nevsehir) airport for your flight to Istanbul.
The itinerary is an example of a trail Kapadokya Ranch often does, but for a reason like the weather forecast or a safety reason, the guide can change the itinerary of the trail at the last moment.
About the tour
From the peasants' Cappadocia of the south to the most beautiful valleys of the north, a succession of fantastic rock formations, lush canyons, high plateaux, and steppe-like landscape, along with vineyards and orchards, compose a surprisingly varied route. On the way, the villages reflect the Anatolian way of life while frescoed churches and other troglodytic treasures testify of the area's rich past.
The itinerary takes place entirely within the national park. The active trail is for autonomous riders, who want to discover the beauty of Cappadocia on Arabian horses. The riders will not lead their horse on long walks uphill or downhill; only on a few rough passages where they need to dismount from the horse and a short walk in the morning before getting in the saddle.
Fitness and horse riding levels
The difficulty of this trail is 3/4 with several fun canters every day.
- Riding level: Strong intermediate to advanced riders
To take part in all trails, you must have a competent riding level to be able to stay in control during group canters on forward-going horses, ride or lead your horse on short technical passages, get on or off your horse several times a day alone and groom, tack and untack your horse without assistance. Good physical condition is essential. This ride (Cappadocia in general) is not suitable for riders who have vertigo. Riders are advised about cliffs and narrow altitude passes.
Rhythms of the trail
- Five riding days
- Five hours on horseback each day, except day four (ride in the morning and afternoon at leisure in Uchisar)
- 28 kilometers (average) each day
- Saddles: Kapadokya Ranch's own-made trek saddles
Pace
Some technical canters are up to eight minutes. Technicals paths. Riders must be able to canter at a safe distance in a group and handle their horse in rough terrain.
Maximum weight
Riders' weight on the progressive trail is limited to 85 kilograms (on riding clothes). Riders upper 85 kilograms could book with an extra charge for the loan of a second horse. This option is only on demand, it will depend on the horse riding level of the rider and the availability of Kapadokya Ranch's horse.
Riders's contribution
Riders are in charge of their horses. They will be asked to tack and untack their horse, water and feed their horse, and take care of their horse equipment.
Instructors
Nicolas Guillo
Kapadokya Ranch is owned and managed by French-born Nicolas Guillo. Nicolas decided to make Cappadocia his home over nineteen years ago and has been organizing horseriding trails since then. He speaks English, Turkish and French.
Location
This horse riding tour will take you to explore Cappadocia in Turkey. Your journey will start and end in Urgüp. You will have the time to visit Cappadocia's nicest villages and experience the legendary Turkish hospitality and the Anatolian way of life.
Food
You will be served daily meals included in the price. Lunches are taken in different restaurants and for snacks, you will taste local specialties. Dinners and breakfasts are taken at the hotels. Hotels serve Anatolian cuisine for each dinner comprising a starter, one or two courses, and a dessert. The vegetarian menu is available on request. Tea and mineral water are included. Cappadocia wine, local alcoholic drinks, beer, and soft drinks are available as an option.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Snacks
- Drinks
The following drinks are included:
- Water
- Tea
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Vegetarian
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
- Other dietary requirements on request
If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation
Things to do (optional)
Hot-air balloon
Balloon rides could be booked in advance and paid locally. Prices will be given at the beginning of the season.
Other activities
- Hammam
- Visit to Open Air Museum of Gorëme
- Swimming pool
What's included
- 5 riding days
- 6 nights accommodation
- Full-board meals
- Loan of a horse and riding equipment
- English-speaking guides (1 per group of 8 or less)
- Regular transfers between local airports and hotels
What's not included
- International flights
- Optional activities
- Extra drinks
How to get there
Recommended Airports
ASR
Erkilet International Airport
52 km
Transfer included
NAV
NevÅŸehir Kapadokya Airport
36 km
Transfer included
Airport: Erkilet International Airport
Airport transfer included: Erkilet International Airport
No additional charges. You can request this in the next step.
Airport: NevÅŸehir Kapadokya Airport
Airport transfer included: NevÅŸehir Kapadokya Airport
No additional charges. You can request this in the next step.
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 14% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.
For this organizer you can guarantee your booking through BookHorseRidingHolidays.com. All major credit cards supported.
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