Cappadocia Sights: Entrance Fees, Time Needed and 1-3 Day Routes

The main sights of Cappadocia are the Göreme Open-Air Museum (€20), the fairy chimneys of Zelve and Paşabağ (€12 on one ticket), the underground cities of Derinkuyu and Kaymaklı (€13 each), the Ihlara Valley (€15), and free viewpoints and valleys such as Uçhisar, Love Valley and the Red and Rose valleys. Those are the current foreign-visitor prices on the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism's list. Seeing the essentials takes two full days, and three days is comfortable. If you want them grouped into ready-made days with transport and a guide, our 3-day Cappadocia tour from Nevşehir or Kayseri airport with three routes starts from $297 per person.

This guide is written with travellers from the Netherlands and Belgium in mind. Conveniently, the state sites in Türkiye set their foreign-visitor prices in euros, so the entrance fees below are what you budget, with the lira amount at the till depending on that day's rate. Below you will find each sight with its fee and the time you need, three routes for one to three days, and the practical points for getting there from Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Brussels.

Sights, entrance fees and time needed

The ministry has announced new prices for most sites from 1 April 2027; our Turkey museum prices 2027 update has the figures. A MuseumPass Cappadocia, which covers the ministry sites in the region, is sold on muze.gov.tr; it only pays off if you visit several paid sites.

The times are what we allow on a guided day, including the walk from the car park. Photographers and people who read every sign should add half an hour per site.

Göreme Open-Air Museum: the one to see first

If you only pay for one site, make it this one. The open-air museum is a cluster of rock-cut churches, chapels and refectories from the Byzantine period, many with painted frescoes, and it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia.

• Opening hours: the ministry currently lists 08:00 to 17:00, with the ticket office closing at 16:15. The site is open every day.
• Dark Church (Karanlık Kilise): a separate €6 ticket, inside the museum. It has the best-preserved frescoes on the site, so we recommend it.
• When to go: at opening time or in the last hour and a half. Late morning is when tour buses arrive.
• Photos: photography is not allowed inside some of the painted churches, so plan to look rather than shoot.

The north: Zelve, Paşabağ, Avanos and the valleys

The north of Cappadocia has the classic fairy chimney landscape and is the area covered by the Cappadocia Red Tour.

Zelve and Paşabağ share one €12 ticket. Zelve is a valley of abandoned cave houses, inhabited until the mid-20th century. Paşabağ, also called Monks Valley, has the tallest multi-capped fairy chimneys in the region. Allow an hour for Zelve and half an hour for Paşabağ.

Devrent Valley and Love Valley are free to walk into and need only a short stop each. Devrent is known for rock shapes that look like animals; Love Valley for its tall, smooth chimneys.

Avanos sits on the Kızılırmak, Türkiye's longest river, and is the pottery town of Cappadocia. A workshop visit is free, although the workshops naturally hope you buy something.

Red Valley and Rose Valley are best on foot. The trails between Göreme, Çavuşin and the valleys take two to three hours and are free. At sunset, the viewpoint above the valleys is one of the busiest spots in Cappadocia. If you would rather not walk, our sunset ATV tour through the Red and Rose valleys starts from $65 per person.

The south: underground cities, Ihlara and Selime

The south is covered by the Cappadocia Green Tour. Distances are longer, so you need a car or a tour.

Derinkuyu and Kaymaklı are the two underground cities open to visitors, at €13 each. Derinkuyu reaches a depth of about 85 metres and could shelter up to 20,000 people with their animals and food stores; it was rediscovered in 1963. You only need one: Derinkuyu goes deeper, Kaymaklı is a little closer to Göreme. The tunnels are narrow and the steps steep. People who dislike confined spaces can stay on the upper levels.

Ihlara Valley is a canyon about 15 km long and up to 150 m deep, cut by the Melendiz river, with around 50 rock-cut churches in its walls. The entrance costs €15. Most visitors walk the stretch from the main staircase to the village of Belisırma, about 3.5 km on a flat, shaded path, after a long staircase down into the canyon. Walking the whole valley from Ihlara village to Selime takes a full day.

Selime Monastery is a large rock-cut monastery on a cliff at the northern end of the valley. It is usually combined with Ihlara.

Routes for one, two or three days

One day: the highlights.
Göreme Open-Air Museum at opening time, then Paşabağ, Devrent Valley and Avanos, and Uçhisar for sunset. Add the Dark Church. Entrance: €38 per person (Göreme, Dark Church, Zelve-Paşabağ). The Best of Cappadocia day tour, with valleys, Zelve and an underground city, starts from $57 per person.

Two days: north and south.
- Day 1, north: Göreme Open-Air Museum, Zelve and Paşabağ, Avanos, Love Valley, sunset at the Red and Rose valleys.
- Day 2, south: Derinkuyu or Kaymaklı, the Ihlara Valley walk with lunch in Belisırma, Selime Monastery.
- Entrance: about €66 per person if you visit Göreme with the Dark Church, Zelve-Paşabağ, one underground city and Ihlara.

This is the route of our Red and Green day tours. The Cappadocia Red Tour with lunch and the Cappadocia Green Tour with Derinkuyu, Ihlara and Selime each start from $80 per person, with entrance fees to the sites on their itineraries included. There is also a simpler Red Tour from $50 per person. For a full plan with the balloon, see our Cappadocia 2-day itinerary.

Three days: add a slow day.
Use the third day for a valley walk, the second underground city, a sunrise balloon or the south valleys on the Cappadocia Yellow Tour, from $50 per person. Our Things to do in Cappadocia page has more ideas, from horse riding to evening shows.

Getting there from the Netherlands and Belgium

Flights. The nearest airport with flights from the Low Countries is Kayseri Erkilet (ASR), about 1 hour 10 minutes by car from Göreme. According to the airport's published airline list, SunExpress flies from Amsterdam and Pegasus from Rotterdam The Hague, with seasonal flights from Rotterdam by Corendon and from Brussels by TUI fly Belgium and SunExpress. Schedules change by season, so check with the airline. The other option is to fly to Istanbul and take a domestic flight of about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes to Kayseri or Nevşehir. Our Kayseri airport transfer page explains the drive.

Documents. Dutch and Belgian citizens can visit Türkiye without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, according to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Dutch government's travel advice says Dutch citizens can travel on a passport or an ID card, which must be valid for at least 150 days on arrival in Türkiye. Belgian travellers should check the Belgian Foreign Affairs advice for their own document rules.

Time. Türkiye stays on UTC+3 all year: two hours ahead of the Netherlands and Belgium in winter, one hour in summer.

Guide. Our tours are led by licensed English-speaking guides. A Dutch-speaking guide can be arranged on request, subject to availability; see our Dutch-speaking guide page.

When to visit the sights

• April to June: green valleys and flowers, mild days. The best time for the Ihlara walk.
• July and August: hot afternoons, average highs near 29°C in Nevşehir. Visit the open-air museums early and the underground cities, which stay cool, at midday.
• September and October: warm days, quieter sites, good walking.
• November to March: cold, with snow on the fairy chimneys. Nevşehir's average January high is about 4°C, and night lows are below freezing from December to February (Turkish State Meteorological Service, 1991-2020 averages). Valley paths can be icy.

Tours that cover this

• Cappadocia Red Tour with lunch: Paşabağ, Zelve, Avanos and Love Valley: from $80 per person.
• Cappadocia Green Tour: Derinkuyu, Ihlara Valley and Selime with lunch: from $80 per person.
• 3-day Cappadocia tour from Nevşehir or Kayseri airport with three routes: from $297 per person.
• Cappadocia tour from Kayseri airport with the north valleys and lunch: from $68 per person, if you land in the morning.

All our Cappadocia options are on the Cappadocia tours page, and the Cappadocia destination guide covers hotels and getting around.

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