Ihlara Valley

Ihlara Valley Cappadocia

Cappadocia attracts many tourists with its fairy chimneys and different stone structures. Therefore, Devrent Valley, Love Valley and Pigeon Valley are frequently visited. Ihlara Valley, which is less popular than other buildings but is an excellent natural wonder, is often one of the destinations of the Cappadocia Green Tour concept. Unlike other valleys in Cappadocia, the valley offers an exquisite green area. In the rest of this article, we provide detailed information for people who want to visit Ihlara Valley.

Detailed Informations About Visiting Ihlara Valley

In fact, Ihlara Valley is not exactly within the borders of Cappadocia. Spread over a 14-kilometer wide area, the valley is also within the boundaries of the district called Aksaray. It is possible to come across Cappadocia stone forms in the valley. The ground shaped by the Melendiz Stream has a very indented protruding structure. Melendiz Stream is the reason for the green areas surrounding these stones.

Ihlara Valley offers people a unique trekking route. Unlike other valleys, you need about 5 hours to walk the trekking route.

Ihlara Valley has a pretty steep hillside. You have to go down the stairs to walk around the valley. The meander structures formed further increase the surface area of the valley. Taking into account the folds formed by the these structures, the length of the valley reaches about 18 kilometers.

Ihlara Valley is not only an area rich in natural beauty. There are many traces left by the tribes that lived centuries ago. The people who lived in this large area have built 105 religious buildings that are able to leave their mark. The majority of these religious structures are churches. Of the 105 buildings, the number of buildings that can remain fully intact is unfortunately only 14. Therefore, this place is protected more carefully than before.

The churches were sometimes built as two or even three floors by taking advantage of the curved structure of the valley. In order to reach the upper floors of the church, stairs were used. The construction dates of the churches in Ihlara Valley vary. In general, it is possible to say that these churches were built between the 3rd century AD and the 11th century AD.

How To Go Ihlara?

Ihlara Valley is quite far from Nevsehir city center. The distance to Nevsehir is approximately 100 kilometers. If you want to go to Ihlara Valley, we recommend you to start your route from Aksaray. The distance between Aksaray and Ihlara Valley is only 40 kilometers. You can use the private tourist services to get here. There are also many signage on the road for those who want to travel by private vehicle. In order to reach Ihlara Valley, it is necessary to continue on Hasan Hasan direction.