Cappadocia
Villages cut into volcanic rock on a plateau twelve hundred metres up, hotels in the caves, balloons at first light, and two airports, one half an hour from Nevşehir.
- Arrival
- Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport · NAV
- To the city
- About 30 minutes to Nevşehir by road
- Private jets
- Nevşehir Kapadokya, with business aviation handling; Kayseri as an alternative
- Best time
- May to October
The city
Rooms in the rock.
Cappadocia is a high plateau of soft volcanic stone, and for centuries people have hollowed it out: underground cities, and houses whose rooms are caves. The best hotels keep to that habit. At Uçhisar a former monastery became Argos, with tunnels found during the restoration now holding the wine cellar and a concert hall, and its neighbour the Museum Hotel fills restored cave dwellings with Roman and Ottoman antiques.
At 1,200 metres the air is dry and the seasons sharp. From May to October the afternoons run from 19 to 29 °C, and July and August see barely ten millimetres of rain; winter brings frost and snow. Since the 2026 guide the region has a MICHELIN star of its own, at Revithia in Ürgüp, where old Anatolian recipes are cooked with local produce.
- Uçhisar The village of the two-Key hotels, with cave rooms and terraces looking over the valleys.
- The underground cities Whole towns carved into the volcanic rock by early Christians, a short drive from the hotels.
- Ürgüp The old Kayakapı quarter above the valley, where Revithia earned Cappadocia its first MICHELIN star.
Arriving
Two airports on the plateau.
Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport lies at Tuzköy, 31 kilometres from Nevşehir and about half an hour by a four-lane road, the nearer of the two airports to Uçhisar, Göreme and Ürgüp. Kayseri Erkilet, to the east, has more flights but a longer drive through the city, about an hour to Göreme.
- Tel Aviv 1 h 20
- Athens 1 h 35
- London 4 h 20
- Johannesburg 9 h 40 long-range jet
- Miami 13 h 25 long-range jet
When to go
May to October.
A continental climate on a high plateau: cold winters with snow, warm dry summers, and a rainfall peak in spring. May to October is the season; July and August are hot by day and almost without rain, while May and September are the gentlest months for walking.
- 4° J 44
- 6° F 42
- 11° M 48
- 16° A 46
- 21° M 57
- 26° J 38
- 29° J 10
- 29° A 10
- 25° S 14
- 19° O 30
- 12° N 33
- 6° D 49
Where to stay
Caves with Keys.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Argos in Cappadocia A monastery turned into 71 rooms, some with pools inside the cave, and tunnels below that now hold the wine cellar and a concert hall; two MICHELIN Keys.
- Museum Hotel Thirty-four restored cave dwellings furnished from the owner's collection of Roman and Ottoman antiques, with two MICHELIN Keys.
- Ariana Sustainable Luxury Lodge Eleven rooms and suites in a modernist lodge with its own gardens and vineyard, and one MICHELIN Key.
Where to dine
The first star on the plateau.
From the MICHELIN Guide 2026, shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these restaurants.
- Revithia One Michelin star Traditional Anatolian ₺₺₺₺ Kayakapı, Ürgüp
- Nahita Cappadocia MICHELIN Guide Traditional Turkish ₺₺₺₺ Argos in Cappadocia, Uçhisar
- Lil’a MICHELIN Guide Country cooking ₺₺₺ Museum Hotel, Uçhisar
- Seki MICHELIN Guide Turkish ₺₺₺ Argos in Cappadocia, Uçhisar
- Moniq MICHELIN Guide Ottoman palace cuisine ₺₺₺ Taşkonaklar Hotel
Elsewhere in Turkey
More reasons to come.
-
Istanbul
Hagia Sophia, the Topkapı Palace, and the waterside mansions of the Bosphorus.
-
Bodrum
The castle above the marina, and the bays of the peninsula.
- Göcek A sailing bay with a dozen islands.
- Antalya The walled quarter of Kaleiçi, and the resorts along the coast.
- Çeşme A resort town on the Aegean, an hour from İzmir.
Flying to Cappadocia?
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