Hotels near Zemi Valley (Zemi Vadisi)

Zemi Vadisi starts at the Göreme Open Air Museum car park and runs 5.8 km one way to an unremarkable junction of dirt roads between Uçhisar and Ortahisar, which is the only awkward thing about an otherwise excellent walk. Reckon on 2.5 hours, about 90 m of cumulative climb, and easy to moderate difficulty. A small stream runs the length of the valley and the path crosses it perhaps a dozen times on stones and improvised planks, so this is the one route where wet feet are likely and the one where the mud turns genuinely slippery after rain.

Zemi Valley is also the best-signposted trail of the five, with markers that give both direction and the distance remaining in metres - a rarity in these valleys. Twenty minutes in, a short signed detour climbs to El Nazar Kilisesi, a free-standing cone church with 10th-century frescoes and its own small admission charge. The rest of the walk alternates between poplar shade and open, unshaded stretches, and the fairy chimneys along the northern wall are riddled with dovecotes and abandoned cave dwellings. Because it is one-way with no transport at the far end, either arrange a taxi to collect you on the Uçhisar to Ortahisar road or walk back the way you came and accept an 11.6 km day.

Pro Tip: Pair it with the Göreme Open Air Museum by visiting the museum at 08:00 when it opens and the tour coaches have not arrived, then walking Zemi Valley from the same car park. Ask your accommodation to book a taxi for a fixed time at the Uçhisar end before you set off, because there is no signal down in the valley to call one.