8 Day The Sportive Ride in Cappadocia, Turkey for Fit and Experienced Riders
Breathtaking Turkey Horse Riding Trail
Leaving from the ranch between Urgup and Ortahisar, in the heart of the national park, the progressive trail takes you on a six-day tour around Cappadocia. 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 landscapes, along with vineyards and orchards, compose a surprinsingly varied route. On the way, the villages reflect the Anatolian way of life while frescoed churches and other troglodytic treasures testify of the rich past of the area. This itinerary takes place entirely within the national park.
Key Information
- Rider Weight Limit: 85 kilograms / 187 pounds
- Horse Height Range: 15 hands
- Tack Type: Trail riding tack, between English and western tack
- Horse Breed: Forward-going Anatolian, Arab, and cross-Arab
Meet the instructors
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Highlights
- 6-day horse riding
- Approximate daily riding time: 5 to 6 hours
- The loan of a horse and riding equipment for use
- Professional English-speaking horse riding guide
- Regular transfers from / to the airport
- 7 nights accommodation
- Full board meals
Skill level
- Advanced
Styles
Accommodation
Accommodation is in charming guesthouses in Cappadocia's prettiest villages, in front of which your horses are spending the night
Depending on availability, guesthouses are located in Urgup, Akkoy, Ayvali, and Uchisar.
You will stay in picturesque, comfortable hotels located in ancient stone houses or in renovated cave houses, typical of the local architecture. You will have the time to visit Cappadocia's nicest villages and experience the legendary Turkish hospitality and the Anatolian way of life.
You will stay for 7 nights in a double / twin room with ensuite toilets and shower. Most guesthouses offer internet access and laundry service. Your luggage will be transferred by our logistics vehicle. You should pack several lighter bags rather than one large, heavy suitcase.
Standard or luxury?
Two kinds of accommodation are available:
Standard room
- Night 1 & 7: Suban Hotel or similar, in the town of Urgup
- Night 2: Lavender Hotel or similar, in the village of Akkoy
- Nights 3 & 4: Dilek Tepesi Hotel or similar, in the village of Ayvali
- Night 5 & 6: Kilim Pension or similar, in the village of Uchisar
Luxury room
- Night 1 & 7: Selcuklu Evi or similar, in the town of Urgup
- Nights 2 : Lavender Hotel or similar, in the village of Akkoy
- Nights 3 & 4: Dilek Tepesi Hotel or similar, in the village of Ayvali
- Night 5 & 6: Kilim Pension or similar, in the village of Uchisar
Surban Hotel and Selcuklu Evi are next door. Dinners and breakfast will be taken all together.
Single room supplement (full week): 380 EUR (Standard) / 490 EUR (Luxury).
Luxury options include 2 nights in Urgup - arrival and departure nights - in Selcuklu Evi instead of Surban Hotel. For private groups, a full luxury option can be organized on all 7 nights.
Without the single supplement, the rider accommodation could be in a twin or triple room. Single rooms cannot always be guaranteed. If Kapadokya Ranch can't manage to pair riders in a twin or triple room (especially men coming alone), Kapadokya Ranch will ask guests to pay the single supplement.
Program
Itinerary
The description below is an example of a trail guests often do, but for a reason like the weather forecast or a safety reason, the guide can choose to change the itinerary of the trail at the last moment.
Please note that this trail is for fit, active, and autonomous riders. The circuit includes difficult passages where you will be asked to get off your horse and lead it, sometimes up steep paths. The effort is rewarded by stunning views, but a good physical condition is essential.
All Kapadokya Ranch's rides are not suitable for the riders who have vertigo. Riders are advised about cliffs and narrow altitude passes.
Arrival day
Arrival at Kayseri airport. You are met by your chauffeur and transferred in 50 minutes to your guesthouse in Urgup, where you have dinner with your guide.
Day 1
You are driven to the ranch in the morning to meet your horse and get acquainted with the riding equipment. You will have time to try your horse on a 1 km training course going around the farm. The trail begins with a one-hour ride through lush vegetation and along the stream of the Uzengi canyon. Villagers cook lunch for you on the woodfire, at the foot of troglodytic citadels of dovecotes carved out the abrupt rock walls.
After lunch, you will ride in the stream of Uzengi very quickly; the first long canter brings you to Avlak Mountain, with a magnificant encompassing view of Cappadocia. The rocky hills could provide the perfect background to a Western movie... The afternoon is spent riding through a huge valley where the ghost village of Karain takes place. Arriving in Akkoy, the horses are tied; you can enjoy a drink looking at them in your hotel.
Day 2 : Keslik Monastery
You start this day by cantering through felds of the high Anatolian plateau (1600 m high): barley, wheat, oat, and bean felds. You dismount for 20 minutes of a steep single trail down to Damsa Lake. Arriving in Keslik Monasteri, villagers cook lunch for you on a woodfire.
Passing by and overlooking a valley of fairy chimneys, the afternoon scenery is made of bare hills surrounding the lake. (In case of hot weather, you can swim in the lake with your horse.). You canter along tracks of soft red clay leading you to the village of Ayvali through a hidden canyon, and stop at your hotel.
Day 3: Golgoli
In the morning, a quick start with a canter brings you to visit the underground village of Golgoli. Your sure-footed horse takes you off the beaten tracks along a scenic path through rock formations, vineyards, and orchards, surrounded by table mountains.
Arrival in the center of the old Greek village of Mustafapasa and visit on horseback. You climb a scenic plateau where you have the opportunity to gallop your horse again. After a short ride, you arrive to your hotel in Ayvali.
Depending on the season and weather forecast, you'll enjoy lunch in Mustafapasa or next to the swimming pool in Ayvali.
Day 4 : Uchisar
Leaving the hotel on horseback, you can enjoy a varied scenery of narrow tracks, small canyons, farmed land, and the wide-open spaces of Subasi, where shepherds lead their flock. You sneak your way along the lush, narrow canyon of a remote village before galloping on large sandy tracks. Visit of a second and different type of underground village, Kirkule.
Long canter leads you through vineyards and orchards and over rolling hills of white tuffa to reach the fairy chimneys of Gomeda valley, then more fun riding awaits you in the narrow corridors and arches of the canyon of Gumuslu. You ride uphill to reach one of the best restaurants for lunch, Babayan evi. Very good and healthy local food. From this picturesque village, you start ascending the ‘twin hills' of Cappadocia to reach 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. You reach your panoramic guesthouse on horseback and enjoy a drink on the terrace.
Day 5 : Valley of roses
Optional hot-air balloon flight in the early morning: travel with the wind over Cappadocia’s magical landscape at sunrise.
You sneak your way through the rock tunnels, arches, and small woods of the spectacular, 4 km-long canyon called the Green Valley. You make a detour through the famous Love Valley and its gigantic phallic rock formations, then into the Sword Valley and Red Valley. With its citadels of red, pink, and ocre rock and its 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.
Day 6: Boz Daha’ Plateau
You enter another beautiful canyon called the White Valley, after the color of its rock. You ride through stone labyrinths and lush vegetation and pass the impressive fairy chimneys of yet another Love Valley...
Crossing the picturesque village of Cavusin, you dismount for a short walk to reach the plateau of Boz daha. You canter on the crest overlooking Red Valley on one side and Devrent Valley on the other, with its strangely shaped fairy chimneys on the other side.
You enjoy more long canters through the maze of woody, sandy paths of the valley of Urgüp before reaching the valley of Pancarlik and its multicolored rock formations, gardens, and orchards. You return to the ranch in the afternoon. After tea on our terrace, you have the option to be driven to the hamam in Urgüp for a relaxing steam bath and massage. Short transfer back to your guesthouse in Urgup and farewell dinner.
Day 7: Departure day
After breakfast, departure to Kayseri (or Nevsehir) airport for your flight to Istanbul.
Fitness and horse riding level
- The difficulty of this trail is 4/4
- Riding level: strong intermediate to advanced riders.
- To take part in all our 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 long technical passages, going strongly uphill; 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 the riders who have vertigo. Riders are advised about cliffs and narrow altitude passes.
Rhythms of the trail
- 6 riding days
- 5 to 6 hours on horseback each day
- 35 kilometres each day
- Pace: mostly walk, with opportunities for trots and canters each day
Maximum weight
Riders' weight on the progressive trail is limited at 85 kg (on riding clothes). Riders over 85 kg 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 the horse.
Riders's contribution
Riders are in charge of their horses. They will be asked to tack and untack their horse, to water and feed their horse, and to take care of their horse equipment.
Pace
A lot of technical canters, even some long ones (15 minutes). Technicals paths. Riders must be able to canter on light-down hills and rough terrain.
Fitness
Every day, sometimes more than 20 minutes of walking on hilly and mountainous terrain. You need to be fit to mount
and dismount your horse, walk some distance uphill. A regular practice of a sport is compulsory.
Way of guiding
Riders must be autonomous in all situations. Riders will have the opportunity to lead some canters.
Saddles
Kapadokya Ranch's own-made trek saddles.
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 trail will take place in Turkey. Turkey has been a secular republic ever since Ataturk came to power in the late 20s. Islam, as it is observed by the very large majority of Turkish people, is moderate and tolerant towards foreign visitors. You cannot eat pork in Turkey. However, the Turks love their raki, and you won't have any difficulty finding other alcoholic drinks such as beer and wine.
Turkey remains quite traditional, and in the most rural areas, such as Cappadocia, few women have jobs outside the home or participate in public life. Family in Turkey is sacred and so is hospitality. Wherever you'll go, you can be sure that you will be welcomed with friendliness and dedication, even though average living conditions remain modest.
Cappadocia is a 40-square-kilometer-wide, giant meringue formed between two and ten million years ago by a couple of hallucinatory volcanoes on the Anatolian plateau. While cooling, the warm ashes turned into layers of ‘tufa’ of varied colors and density.
Water, wind, and man have eroded and carved the soft rock, giving birth to a wonderland of deep canyons and fantastically shaped rock formations that are simply unique in the world. From prehistoric times, civilizations have flourished here, and the Hittites, Persians, early and Byzantine Christians, Mongols, Greeks, and Ottomans have left abundant evidence of their passage. Cappadocia is unique and, as such, is listed as World Heritage by UNESCO.
Food
Meals will be served on a full board basis (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). Lunch is taken in different restaurants and snacks; you will taste local specialties.
Dinner and breakfast are taken at the hotels. Hotels serve Anatolian cuisine for dinner, comprising a starter, one or two courses, and a dessert. Vegetarian menu 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
- Drinks
The following drinks are included:
- Water
- Tea
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
Things to do (optional)
A hot air balloon ride could be booked in advance and paid locally; prices will be given at the beginning of the season.
What's included
- 6-day horse riding
- The loan of a horse and riding equipment
- English-speaking guide (one per group of 8 or fewer)
- Local transfers
- Regular transfers from / to Erkilet International Airport (ASR) or Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport (NAV)
- Meals on full board basis
- 7 nights accommodation
What's not included
- Airplane tickets
- Optional activities (hot air balloon, hammam, Open Air Museum of Gorëme)
- Other drinks
How to get there
Recommended Airports
Erkilet International Airport
52 km
Transfer included
NevÅŸehir Kapadokya Airport
36 km
Transfer included
Arrival by airplane
Please book your flight to arrive at Erkilet International Airport (ASR) or Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport (NAV). Transfers from and to the airport are included. Kapadokya Ranch will pick you up from the airport.
The transfer is all day long, and a shuttle bus is available for each flight. From the airport, you will be picked up by a shuttle minibus. Then, inside the national park of Cappadocia, the logistics to transfer the luggage will be done by 4x4-WD.
Shuttles operate according to flights going to or coming from Istanbul. For flights coming directly from or going to another direction, guests will join shuttles linked to Istanbul’s flights.
If you are arriving one night earlier, Kapadokya Ranch recommends that you book an extra night in Urgup and not in Kayseri. It’s much nicer and easier to organize with shuttles.
- Extra night in Surban (standard room, half board): 132 EUR (single occupancy), 99 EUR (per person, double occupancy)
- Extra night in Selcuklu (luxury room, half-board): 183 EUR (single occupancy), 133 EUR (per person, double occupancy)
- Extra arrival or departure night in Avanos: 110 EUR (single occupancy, bed and breakfast basis), 97 EUR (double occupancy per pax, half board)
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 50% 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.